Carol Jean Kirk ^{2 3}

  General Notes:

From Theresa Fish Smith 8 July 2010:
Happy Birthday to Mema, 7-8-1932. Her favorite Birthday Dinner _ Hot Dogs with mustard and onions, dessert - Banana Split.

  Research Notes:

Family records of Carol Jean (Kirk) Fish and George Michael Fish.

From memoirs of Carol Kirk Fish:
"To continue with my young memories, when I was six years old, we went to California, as did a lot of 'Okies' seeking better living because of the job situation. Daddy had rheumatoid arthritis, and with the depression job situation, even able-bodied men had trouble finding good work. There were five children by this time, and unbeknownst to me, the sixth one on the way. We all loaded our worldly possessions into a Model B Ford sedan and headed west on Route 66. I don't recall much in detail and I probably only heard about it and understood through a six year olds mind, but when we arrived in Bakersfield, we turned around without even stopping and headed back to Miami, Oklahoma. I recall a terrible odor and assumed people made it, but it was probably smoke from factories. On the return trip we stayed at a motel only once and it had an outside toilet."

"When I was in second grade we lived in a house Dad built near my grandparents and uncles and aunts. One summer evening we had a tornado or a cyclone. We all gathered in my grandparent's house and we children had to stay under tables, etc. The men actually held up the walls of the house. After it was over, we went to our own home, but it was sitting halfway off the foundation. I assume we slept at my grandparents that night. We had oil lamps with heavy bases and thin globes, and I recall one base was broken, but no globes.

"I remember in second grade when they passed out ages of children for the needy program, some children the ages of my brothers and sisters were not there and I went and whispered to the teacher that this was an oversight, since I knew we were among the needy. This was one of those embarrassing moments, but I didn't want any one of us left out so I did speak to her. She explained to me that our family had been chosen already by a group and that was why our ages weren't there. In looking back, I know I had a lot of courage to talk to her and that I probably embarrassed her too."

"I remember the times dad blew warm cigarette smoke in our ears when we had earache. Dad was a very warm loving man and mom was the one who pushed us to learn and better ourselves, both of them were good parents who did everything they could to make our lives good and happy."

"The 17th year of my life was one of the most eventful. I met my husband that summer before my senior year in high-school. His sister and I both worked in the same drug store, she as a cosmetologist and I as a soda jerk. It was a drug store in which my older brother and sister had worked. It was on the corner of Main and 1st Avenue in Miami, Oklahoma. I grew up there and went through all my high-school years at Miami High. Junior high was in the same complex. I was a good student and sort of planning a medical career when He came along. I remember well that I did my junior essay on medicine, but my senior I did it on roller skating which was my sporting passion. We dated all through that year. He was a freshman at the junior college there, having spent his time in the Army Air Force after high-school graduation. He really had a problem with my age I believe, because he always treated me as if I were soo much younger. But a few weeks into the summer after he had left for LA to attend UCLA he called and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes. I was devastated when he went away. I had told my Mom I was going to join the WACs when I was 18, just a few weeks away. She preferred that I marry rather than THAT. So she signed for me to marry. We were married on June 24th by a Justice of the Peace with only a couple of friends as witnesses. The JP chewed tobacco during the ceremony and spelled LeRoy's middle name incorrectly. But we were married. We went to Noel, Missouri for the night. It was a teen-age place then. Since then, the area has become something of a resort town. we spent our second night in a motel in Miami, then left on Monday by train for LA. I had never ridden a train; I had never seen a city as large as Kansas City, Missouri, where we changed to the Silver Streak for LA. It was a fairy-tale kind of trip. The dining car was sumptuous; we did not have berths or a compartment to save money. But we managed to enjoy the whole ride since we were so young and didn't really sleep. When we arrived in the LA station it was again a fairy tale land. The station was like a castle and when we left the station and were outside once again a magic land with palm trees and hibiscus and many kinds of flora. We walked to Olvera Street which was a Mexican paradise, and we ate hot food and walked around. It is still there. I went with my son and his wife and son when I was there last year [1999 or 2000]. We caught a city bus to Santa Monica which was where his sister lived. The Pacific Palisades were fantastic. When we arrived there, we walked to her place of work, picked up a key and went to her apartment. She and her husband had a TV, which I certainly had seen before but never owned. When they got home we toured the city a bit, but didn't go near the Pacific because LeRoy wanted to show me that on his own. They had rented us an apartment, actually the lower floor of an old house in Venice, and we had a car which they had sold LeRoy. The next day the first thing we did was go to the ocean. So vast and noisy and beautiful, but also so cold! Venice as a beach town was one curious shop after the other."
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Obituary and memorial bookmark from Carol's funeral:

Carol Kirk Fish "Mema"

RALEIGH, NC: Carol Kirk Fish, 75, entered into eternal rest on Thursday morning, February 7, 2008. Born on July 8, 1932 in Miami, Oklahoma; she was the daughter of the late George and Hattie Switzer Kirk.

Carol was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Raleigh and was a wonderful and nurturing homemaker and mother.

She is survived by her four children: George Michael Fish and wife Karen, of Slymar Park, CA [sic], Gregory LeRoy Fish and wife Sharon, of Tallahassee, FL, Theresa Fish Smith and husband Eric and Mark Joseph Fish, of Wake Forest, NC, of Raleigh; by her seven grandchildren: David Aaron Fish, Kenneth LeRoy Fish, Michelle Laraine Fish, Erica Lynn Smith, Curtis Watson Smith, Margo Leanne Layerd, and Danielle Paschal Fish; by her seven great-grandchildren and "one on the way"; and by her siblings: Buddy Kirk and Joy teal, both of Oklahoma.

Carol was preceded in death by her husband: LeRoy P. Fish; by her son: David Paschal Fish; and by her siblings: Bob Kirk, Jimmie Kirk and Pat Wright.

Family will receive friends on Saturday, February 9th from 12 Noon until time of service at St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Poole Road. A funeral Mass will be held at 1 PM, with Committal Services to follow at Raleigh Memorial Park.

  Birth Notes:

Standard Certificate of Birth
Oklahoma State Board of Health
Bureau of Vital Statistics
Oklahoma City, Okla.
Place of Birth: Ottawa County, city of Miami
Name: Carol Jean Kirk
Date of Birth: 7-8-32
Father:
Geo[rge] Kirk, Miami, Okla., White, 26, born Okla., laborer
Hattie Suntze [sic], Miami, White, 25, born Ark,

  Noted events in her life were:

• Moved: to California from Oklahoma, 1938. then turned around in Bakersfield, California, and returned to Oklahoma.

Carol married LeRoy Paschal Fish, son of Joseph Paschal Fish and Clara Mae Carnal, on 24 Jun 1950 in Miami, Ottawa, Oklahoma, United States.¹ (LeRoy Paschal Fish was born on 21 Aug 1928 in Peoria, Ottawa, Oklahoma, United States, christened on 15 Aug 1948 in Sambongi, Japan, died on 6 Sep 1983 in Rex Hospital, Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, United States and was buried in Raleigh Memorial Park, Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, United States.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Holy Matrimony: in Holy Roman Catholic Church, 22 May 1954, Miami, Ottawa, Oklahoma, United States. Recorded in LeRoy Paschal Fish family Bible.