Mina (Russell) Hemminger

Mina Brown Russell Hemminger   Mina Brown Russell Hemminger, age 97, a resident of Hale, Missouri, died at Livingston Manor, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Thursday, January 12, 2017.   Mina was born on October 5, 1919, in Hustonville, Kentucky to Clayton Filmore Brown and Mary Elizabeth McWhorter Brown.   She was predeceased by her husband Hubert Russell and their son Lonnie and her second husband, Bob Hemminger, along with her seven brothers. She is survived by her daughter Wanda Russell Kelly and son-in-law Walter Kelly of Fullerton, California, and her sister Iva Leach of Junction City, Kentucky, along with many nieces and nephews who have fond memories of their "Aunt Mina."   Mina was an intelligent and talented woman who was active in community organizations and service. She was an artist who won prizes for her paintings, she sang solos at church, she was an accomplished seamstress and quilter, she was a collector of recipes and cookbooks who loved to entertain, and she was proud of the house she designed and she and Hubert built.   Genealogy was one of her many interests, and she shared her information with interested relatives, using the internet for some of her research. She belonged to the local Rebekahs Lodge and participated in a variety of farming and community organizations in both Livingston and Linn Counties.   One of her joys in life was attending the annual McWhorter family reunions in Illinois and the Brown family reunions in Kentucky. She was a faithful visitor to friends in nursing homes and tried never to miss a memorial service for those she knew.   Another of Mina's talents was writing. She not only wrote poems to accompany her original Christmas card drawings, she also wrote about her early life on the family's farm when she was a young teen in Kentucky. The following is an excerpt from her memoir, "Our Valley, Our Hollow."   "As election day drew near the talk about it had ceased. Everyone had become very quiet about the New Deal and the Hoover years. Then one day when we had finished our noon meal, my father dismissed all the younger members of the family. I didn't rush out of the house or to another part of it but lingered as my father said no one was ever to repeat what he was about to say. I was noticed and sent on my way. As I went to the backyard to join the others, I passed the kitchen window. Looking in, I saw they still had their places at the large oblong table my father had made and my mother had covered with oil cloth. I never knew what that meeting was about, but I had a guess. Election day was soon over and F.D.R. had won by a large majority. Now I could only draw one conclusion. My guess was that there had been many meeting in other cabins like the one at our kitchen table that day. Later, I heard my father say the excitement of that election was second only to the day he borrowed a horse and buggy and with a friend to drive it, he and my mother eloped. They went to Jellico, Tennessee, and were married there. They knew my mother would be disowned because of it, so they considered staying in Tennessee. But after thinking it over, they decided to return. Anyway, the borrowed horse and buggy had to be returned to the owner, and my father couldn't be sure his friend Milford wouldn't stop for some moonshine and, without funds, trade the rig for it.   My parents were very proud people. They never took charity, and my father constantly taught us children that everyone should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow - and that we must always be honest, truthful, decent, and respect ourselves and others. Without these things, poor people had nothing. With them, we were the richest people in the world. He never talked much about money. Where there was a will there was a way.   Funeral Services will be held on at the Lindley Funeral Home, Hale, Missouri, on Monday, January 16, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. There is no scheduled family visitation. Friends may call after 10:00 a.m. until service time on Monday, January 16, 2017, at the Lindley Funeral Home, Hale, Missouri. Burial will be held at the Fairland Cemetery, Hale, Missouri. Memorial contributions may made to the Fairland Cemetery and may be left at or mailed to Lindley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 47, Chillicothe, Missouri 64601, Online condolences may be made at www.lindleyfuneralhomes.com Arrangements are under the direction of the Lindley Funeral Home, Hale, Missouri.