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Eltha Maud (Minard) Slack
(1887-1964)

 

Dallas Center Cemetery - Roger Newby, Find-a-Grave
Eltha Maud (Minard) Slack
was born on Jan. 2, 1886 or 1887 in Hepburn, Page County, IA, the daughter of Albert Everett and Mary Ellen (Knepple) Minard.

On March 15, 1903, at the age of 16, Eltha entered into the rite of marriage with 26-year-old Isaac Lewis "Ike" Slack (March 11, 1877-1956). He was a native of Ireland, and the son of George and Jane (Lewis) Slack.

They were a decade apart in age.

Having emigrated to the United States in 1881, at the age of four, Isaac became a naturalized citizen in 1919.

They produced one daughter together, Dorothy Mae Anderson.

When the federal census enumerations were made in 1920, 1930 and 1940, the Slacks resided on a farm in rural Nodaway Township, Taylor County, IA.

Their 80-acre, rectangular tract in Section 32 was located southwest of the only community of any size in the township, the village of Guss. It was sandwiched between the Nodaway River on the near west and West One Hundred and Two River further to the east.

Above: the Nodaway River near the Slacks' farm. Below, circled, their tract southwest of Guss, IA - Plat Book of Taylor County, Iowa, 1930, Iowa Digital Library

The Slack farm, east of Nodaway River 
Courtesy Iowa Digital Library

The last four-and-one-half years of their lives were spent in retirement from farming in Clarinda, Page County, IA, at the address of 513 North 11th Street.

Sadly, having suffered for more than a decade with hypertensive heart disease, Isaac died in Clarinda on Aug. 10, 1956, at the age of 79. Funeral rites were conducted by Rev. Lester Greenwood, with organ music furnished by Aletha Hutchings. He was laid to rest in the Dallas Center Cemetery, in New Market, Dallas County, IA.

Among those who traveled to attend the funeral were Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Mankle and Cass Mankle of Topeka, KS, Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Crawford of Avoca, IA, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Minard and Mrs. Dorothy Compton of Omaha and Edwin Minard of Council Bluffs.

Funeral card, 1964
Eltha lived for eight more years and remained in their 11th Street residence 

Suffering from a cerebro-vascular accident, or "stroke," she was admitted to Municipal Hospital. There, six hours later, at the age of 78, she passed away on Dec. 21, 1964. On the official Iowa certificate of death, signed by her daughter Dorothy, the maiden name of the deceased's mother was spelled "Kiper."

The remains were laid to rest beside her husband's. According to the funeral card seen at right, the "casket bearers" included Merle Kendrick, Alvin Brummett, Manley Madden Sr., Milo Whitehead, Guy Fielder and Ernie Thompson. Organist was Aletha L. Hutchings, and the service was led by Rev. G.R. McGhaghy.

 

~ Daughter Dorothy Mae (Slack) Anderson ~

Daughter Dorothy Mae Slack (1904-1997) was born on April 11, 1904 in Nodaway Township, Taylor County, IA.

Dorothy grew up in New Market, Page County, IA and completed her public education through the ninth grade.

At the age of 21, on Dec. 11, 1924, she was united in holy matrimony with 23-year-old farmer Joseph Montgomery "Red Joe" Anderson (Oct. 8, 1902-1983). He was a native of Page County and the son of John W. and Maggie (Clowser) Anderson. The wedding was conducted by Rev. A.B. Marshall, a local Presbyterian Church pastor, and held in Clarinda.

Three known children of this union were Beverly Jo Lovitt, Robert Lewis Anderson and Donna Lee Anderson.

Aerial view of Clarinda and the Page County Courthouse

Dallas Center Cemetery- Roger Newby, Find-a-Grave
When the federal census enumeration was made in 1930, the family made its farm home in Dallas Township, Taylor County. By 1940, census records show them as farmers renting a residence in Holt in rural Taylor County. When required to register for the military draft in 1941, he was self-employed, and they dwelled in Harlan Township near Clarinda, Page County, IA. Joseph changed jobs during the 1940s, becoming a chemical salesman for an agricultural chemicals business, with the family relocating by 1950 to Fisher, Fremont County, IA. The Andersons resided in Shenandoah, Page County circa 1956-1964.

Joseph passed away in Texas on Nov. 23, 1983, at the age of 81.

Dorothy Mae outlived her spouse by nearly 14 years. Sadly, she died in Omaha on July 25, 1997. The remains were brought back to her native New Market for burial in Dallas Center Cemetery.

Daughter Beverly Jo Anderson (1928-2007) was born on June 10, 1928 in Taylor County, IA. In 1948, at the age of about 20, she was united in matrimony with Wendell William Lovitt (1923-2002), a native of Gravity, Taylor County. Two offspring of their union were Randall Dean Lovitt and Shelly Chryssoverges. During World War II, Wendell served in both the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy. The couple resided in 1965 in Davenport, IA. Then in 1966 they migrated to Metairie near New Orleans, LA, where Wendell founded his own business, Bunny Bread Bakery. He ran the bakery until selling it to Flower Foods of Thomasville, GA in 1981. He also was an alumnus of the Dale Carnegie leadership training and taught the program to others over the years. He was a founding member of the Greater New Orleans Executive Association and was named its "Man of the Year" in 1979. He also helped found the John Valvin Presbyterian Church in Metairie, was a 32nd degree Mason, and belonged to the New Orleans Real Estate Association and the Riverlands Country Club. After disposing of Bunny Bread, said a newspaper, Wendell "made an unsuccessful attempt to revive the floundering Reising French Bread Co., before retiring in 1984... [He was] a charismatic salesman and promoter." Said an obituary, "Beverly was a founding member of John Calvin Presbyterian Church and was a charter member of the Rambling Rose Gardeners. She loved playing Canasta with friends." Sadly, Wendell passed away at the age of 79 on Nov. 28, 2002, bringing to a close their marriage of a remarkable 54 years' duration. Beverly died at the age of 79 in Metairie, LA on Nov. 19, 2007. Interment was in the Garden of Memories in Metairie.

  • Grandson Randall Dean "Randy" Lovitt ( ? - ? ) was wed to Candy Drake ( ? - ? ), daughter of George L. and Jeanette (Pickens) Drake Jr. Their trio of children are Scott Lovitt, Matthew Lovitt and Emily Lovitt.
  • Granddaughter Shelly Lovitt ( ? - ? ) exchanged marital vows with David Chryssoverges ( ? - ? ), son of Theophile Constantine and Rosemary (Bartels) Chryssoverges. One known son of the pair was Kyle David Chryssoverges. They made a home in Kenner, LA. Their world was shattered when son Kyle was killed in an automobile accident in 2010.

    Great-grandson Kyle David Chryssoverges (1990-2010) was born on Sept. 5, 1990 in Metairie, LA. He spent his life in Kenner, LA. Kyle was a 2008 alum of Brother Martin High School and went on to study at Baton Rouge Community College and Delgado Community College. Circa 2010, he was employed as a security system technician for OnGo Live. Said an obituary, "Kyle had an infectious smile and would light up any room he walked into [and] was a caring, compassionate and all around 'good guy.' Kyle had his own 'Kyle' outlook on life and it was priceless. Kyle could always make people laugh. He said 'Life’s a garden, dig it',... [his] motto was 'Chill' and he taught everyone he knew to love life. He lived life to the fullest." Tragically, in the early morning hours of Nov. 8, 2010, he was killed in a one-vehicle accident in Kenner, The Monroe (LA) News-Star reported that he "was driving a pickup truck westbound Sunday night when the vehicle veered and struck a drainage culvert... [The] vehicle then overturned in the drainage canal along the Joe Yenni Boulevard." He was pronounced dead on arrival at Ochsner Medical Center. Following a funeral mass, his remains were laid to rest in Garden of Memories Cemetery.

Son Robert Lewis Anderson (1933-2018) was born in about 1933 in Holt, Taylor County, IA. At age 17, in Fisher, IA, he earned income as a stock room clerk for a retail dime store. He made a dwelling-place in 1965 in Casper, WY. Robert in 1967 married Judith K. Fair (1942-2020), a native of Fairfax, Atchison County, MO. Together they bore a son, John Anderson. They were in Omaha in 2007. The angel of death swept him away in Omaha at the age of 85 on Sept. 21, 2018. Judith survived him by about a year and a half. She passed away at age 77 on Jan. 26, 2020.

  • Grandson John Anderson is a graduate of Omaha North High School and studied at Creighton University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He tied the knot with Erica ( ? - ? ). Their two children are Aidan Anderson and Devin Anderson.

Daughter Donna Lee Anderson (1939- ? ) was born in about 1939 in Iowa. She tied the knot with Harold Lynch ( ? - ? ). The pair lived at Crystal Lake, IA as of 1965 and Jefferson City, MO in 2007. 

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