Alta May Barnason Obituary (1927

Alta May Barnason was born April 10, 1927, in Scott City, Kansas at her grandparents' house approximately one mile from town. She is the oldest of 6 children. Parents Ora May (Keatley) and Clyde Harold Wilson resided in Scott City. Her mother Ora worked at a hotel and her father Clyde farmed with his dad. Alta lived in Scott City, but they moved around a lot and didn't stay in the same house very long. Alta lived through the dirty 30's and recalls all the dirt piles blown up against the house and the rabbits that barely had room left in their cages. They would wet the curtains down to help keep the dust out of the house. Alta attended country school through the 8th grade. Alta worked cleaning houses. Alta remembers having a doll that had rubber underpants. Her very onery brothers Harold and Junior would blow on her dolls pants until they popped holes in them. They also would climb up the windmill for lack of entertainment and have Alta hold the brake while they got on and then she was instructed to let the brake go so they could fly around on the windmill until they told her to stop. She was threatened to have her head rubbed in the cow pies if she did not follow orders. For some reason she forgave them and still loved them very much! Alta left with her Aunt Mary and Uncle George Lantz in the 40's and moved to her Grandparents Roy and Lottie Wilson in Red Cloud when she was about 14 years old. She babysat and cleaned house for a lady in Red Cloud. Her Aunt Hazel, daughter of Roy and Lottie, introduce Jess Barnason her school friend to Alta at the Bladen County Fair who would eventually be Alta's future husband. Jess didn't dance so they went to shows together. They were married Feb 23, 1948, when Alta was 20 years old. Alta's Mom and Dad, Ora and Clyde were then living in Ord Nebraska which is where they were married at the home of the minister. Jess brought good friends Bud and Alice Derr from Red Cloud to be their witness's. After a supper in St. Paul Nebraska, they returned to Red Cloud to live with Jess's parents Ulah and Perry Barnason in a 2-story house until they could get the original farmhouse fixed up. Jess was farming with his dad Perry at the time. Ulah & Perry owned the land the old farmhouse was on, and it hadn't been occupied for at least seven years. After a month of cleaning and painting Alta and Jess moved in. Jess's only brother Duane was in the service at the time. Alta remembers staying on the farm for a whole month because of snow & mud. Roads were not graveled then, and they could not get off the farm in the cars. They used the horse and wagon to get around or the tractor with chains. They would go to town to get coal, groceries and 15 gallons of kerosene. With their 200 chickens to feed they brought back chicken feed in the front of the wagon and coal in the back. They hauled approx. 3 cases of eggs to town to sell and returned with the wood egg crates to refill. They were married 5 years before they got electricity on the farm. They had three milk cows and sold the cream and purchased calves to raise also. They slowly built a heard. Jess rebuilt the chicken house and built a hog shed so they could have chicken & hogs plus the cattle. Jess also built a shop and was working on the washhouse when there first daughter was born. Perry had seven milk cows all this time to sell cream to make money. Alta had a wood cook stove when they started out and she cooked and canned and cleaned. Alta found a gas stove at a farm sale she really wanted as that is what she had been used to cooking on prior to getting married. Grandma Barnason was scared to death of the gasoline stove as you had to keep them pumped up to run the burners and oven. To this union was born two daughters Cindy Diane, November 11, 1957, and Connie Jean December 15, 1963. Alta had several memories of her kids she often repeated. Cindy was out with her dad and fell in the cow poo. Alta remembers Jess bringing her back to the house and saying, "Here clean her up!" Cindy loved to sprinkle comet all over the kitchen floor. Mom could never have a bath, but Cindy wasn't outside the door crying to get in and when it came to messy hands Cindy would not stop crying until someone wiped off her hands. At some point in the preteen years Cindy became onery and then the daily statement from Mom was "I hope you grow up to have brats just like you!" She didn't say this to Connie but I do remember my sister coming home from school and using the "F" word. I was dumbfounded and wasn't sure how this was going to go for her. She is still alive today even though we have tried killing each other a few times. Connie was the cook in the family and Mom remembers her coming home from school and cooking up a huge bag of pasta. Although Cindy and Connie are usually in complete opposition, they cannot agree more they got the creme of the crop for parents. Alta was an incredibly hard worker keeping her family fed and all our clothes patched and cleaned. She canned 100's of bushels of fruits and vegetables in her lifetime and processed many chickens for eating. It was a family event to pluck the chickens. She worked tirelessly into the night sewing clothes for her daughters and all their dolls, especially the Barbies. She also made many Halloween costumes and costumes for school plays. She hauled us to all the 4-H meetings. Alta started decorating cakes for her family and it turned into a side hobby for her as friends and family would ask her to make cakes for their celebrations. I can't imagine the number of cakes that went through her kitchen or the immense work it took to keep up with that and her regular household chores. Alta made at least 50 cakes just for her daughters counting birthdays, Easter, Valentines, etc. They were never simple cakes. It was a passion for her to please others always. She had the kindest of hearts and was always saying "If you can't say something good, don't say anything at all." Alta also enjoyed crafting and created many things for the home and gifts for all. She made stuffed bears adorned with Husker vests or dressed up for other occasions she gave to many people. Her hands were always busy. Alta's Mother Ora came to live with her and Jess for a while after losing her husband. She loved having her Mother there to help and it was great for us kids to grow up around her. Alta's brothers and sisters remained remarkably close throughout their lives and usually came to Alta's home for Thanksgiving and Christmas's as Jess had livestock to feed always. Hours were spent by Alta and her mother making candy and food for the Holidays. Pitch and Hearts were standard card games for all Wilson gatherings. Stories of their youth were repeated over and over for all to enjoy, and it seems the laughter never stopped. Alta made a Santa Suit, and some brother or husband would play the part for all the young kids to enjoy. Cindy was sure her dad was to be Santa and spread the rumors only to be fooled. Connie didn't care who was Santa, she just wanted to sit on his lap. Jess built a go cart and merry-go-round for his daughters and the cousins thoroughly enjoyed them when they came to visit. Some older cousin figured out how to rev up that old go cart, so it became a race car much to my father's concern. 1984 the first granddaughter Megan came along and then the second Jesica in 1989. They came to the farm almost every summer and became Alta's and Jess's new little girls whom they enjoyed immensely. Alta and Jess continued to farm and raise Hereford cattle until 2002 when they purchased a home in Red Cloud. Jess maintained his cattle herd with the help of friends. Alta and Daughters have kept a small portion of the herd today. Jess passed away November 28, 2011, and Alta stayed in Red Cloud on her own for about a year later. They had 63 years together. Alta then moved in with her daughter Cindy in June 2012 to Fort Collins, Colorado. She could walk on her own but not long distances, so we used a wheelchair a lot for getting around. Cindy took care of her most of the time until the summer when her other daughter Connie would bring her back to her home in Nebraska while she was off for the summer. She then returned to Cindy's for the remainder of the year. Cindy kept her busy taking her on trips and shows in the Fort Collins/Denver area. She visited Branson several times and went to Disney World around Thanksgiving. She enjoyed the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade at Disney and got to see all the spectacular Christmas lights only Disney can do. She went on a train trip to California with her daughters and granddaughter Jesica. Cindy loved to take her to parks and push her on the many bike trails in Fort Collins. Alta loved to see all the flowers, go to movies, and visit with Cindy's friends some whom became her care givers. A big thanks to Susan Swanson and Sally Foster for the friendship, care and love they gave her on her Colorado Journey and her return to Nebraska. She remained with her daughter there until Jan 2022 at which time she became ill and completely wheelchair bound. After about three months of rehab at a nursing facility in Fort Collins she was no longer able to walk. At this time her daughters moved her back to her home in Red Cloud where Cindy has been her main caregiver. One of my Mom's daily sayings is "I'm doing the best I can!" Alta loved little children especially babies and she would wave at all the little children when seeing them in the store. Cindy especially loved watching her mom enjoy baby videos on You Tube as she would just smile that smile from ear to ear. Another show I liked to turn on in Colorado was Naked and Afraid as I just loved to hear her comment on how anyone could do such a thing. Alta became ill with a respiratory virus in December 2024, and it quickly advanced to a critical stage, and she was hospitalized. She passed December 24, 2024, in the late evening at 97 years. She was so lucky to have lived a long life and loved by her family. Not all of us get to witness that many years and go from a horse & buggy era to high speed internet systems we have today. The world has moved tremendously fast in a hundred years time when you look through her eyes. I think Alta would tell you all to go out and enjoy each day and just do the best you can and always treat others with kindness as that is how she lived her life. Left to cherish her memories are her daughters, Cindy Barnason, Livermore Colorado and Connie Holsworth, husband Mike Holsworth, Black Hawk, South Dakota. Her granddaughters Megan Holsworth, significant other Jeff Sullivan, Rapid City, South Dakota; Jesica Holsworth and significant other Travis Avers, Temple Texas; She was recently blessed with a new great grandson, Emerson Avers; She also has one remaining sister-in-law Velda Wilson, Anchorage Alaska, wife of brother Harold. Those preceding her in death are her parents, Ora and Clyde Jr. Wilson. Sisters Donna (Wilson) Stewart and husband Lyle; Ora Jean (Wilson) Kovarik and husband Frank; Brothers Harold Wilson; Duwane Wilson and wife Beverly, Clyde Jr. Wilson and wife Phyllis. Step-brother Alvin Wilken and wife LaVergne. Funeral Services were Williams Funeral Home, Red Cloud, Nebraska December 31, 2024, 11:00 a.m.; Jeff Ord officiating services; Interment was at Red Cloud Cemetery; Lunch following at the Methodist Church. Williams Funeral Home 241 West 4th Avenue Red Cloud, Nebraska 68970 Phone 402-746-2500 williamsfuneralhomes@yahoo.com