I don't know whether she was always ornery, for those early memories of her are fuzzy now, but I suspect that's so. She decided, for some reason unknown to me, that we should be friends. I thought she was a pain in the ***. Nevertheless, it happened. And I shall be forever grateful.

Maria Effie Campo, age 97, born Albion MI 6/17/1923, died 10/24/2020. Eldest of 10 children, she never had any of her own, having raised so many brothers and sisters. She never told me how she felt about that. More kids later, when she taught home economics at the Glenrock High School, then grown-up kids when she worked as a helper at the Dave Johnston Power Plant in Glenrock. That's where we got acquainted.

After she left the power plant, she got involved with the Veterans Club, which held free monthly dinners for retirees. As secretary, she called everyone every month to remind them to come. 50 or 75 or 100 members. Every month. Called everyone. She did the same with the Casper Artist's Guild and their monthly meetings. For years. When we took a summertime outdoor landscape painting class together, she brought cakes baked in her electric skillet. See the pattern? Food, gatherings?

She lived in the country by herself. Well, with a milk cow, 2 llamas, 10 or 15 geese, 3 or 4 dogs, 5 or 6 cats (and rabbits and chickens for a while. She hated chickens). She sold milk, made butter. She was pretty independent, as you might have guessed by now. Never took medicine. When she got sick, she gave herself the same antibiotic she gave the milk cow. Had all her own teeth, and proud of it. When she got in a jam, she called her friends. Mark, Ron, the mechanic who fixed her car in exchange for cakes baked in her electric skillet, or mending his work clothes, me. Who knows how many others helped out over the years?

I hadn't realized just how bad her memory had gotten the morning she called me asking for help finding her car. Couldn't find it. Nope, not at the mechanic shop. Hadn't left it someplace and gotten a ride home. Couldn't find it. I said I'd help. The nice policeman said, sure he knew where her car was. In the junkyard in Douglas. She had totaled it. Jump the curb at the post office, took out the handrail, took out the bottom of the motor. She didn't remember. Took her to look at it, it looked fine. But too expensive to repair. Still didn't want to move to town, so I let her think about it a few days. She called about a week later, said maybe it was time. Turned out, she had already filled out the paperwork to move to the senior apartments two weeks before. Didn't remember it.

It takes a lot to move a lifetime of “stuff” into an apartment. Eventually we got it done. Even the plants. Did I tell you about the plants? Maria could grow anything. Everything. She would drag home from the store every scraggly, bedraggled still-almost-green thing she could find, and coach it back to exuberance. (Gotta tell ya, it's a real trick to protect apartment carpet from spilled plant water. Still, we did it). Her piano came to the apartment too, and she decided to take piano lessons. I know she was practicing, because one of the neighbors complained to me about it!

Assisted living followed the apartment, and then a nursing home. Everywhere she went, she was loved. Her scowl and rude remarks, for those who were courageous, would break into a mischievous grin when you handed them right back to her. Even the nurses and the housekeeping woman were grinning as we packed up her things after we said our goodbyes to her at the nursing home.

A Gathering of Friends will be held 1:00 P.M., Sunday November 8, 2020 at the Glenrock Senior Center, 615 West Deer Street, Glenrock, Wyoming 82637. Ya'll come, and bring your stories!

The Gorman Funeral Homes – Converse Chapel of Douglas, Wyoming assisted with the arrangements.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.gormanfh.com

In her papers, I discovered she had written her own obituary back in 2007. Here it is:

Maria Campo was born June 17, 1923 in Albion, Michigan. And named for her grandmothers on both sides of the family. She was the oldest of ten (10) siblings born to Mildred Hubbard Campo and James Vincent Campo.

She graduated from Albion High School in 1942, from Casper College in 1962 and Colorado State University in 1965 with degrees in home Economics/Education. She taught Home Economics for (13) thirteen years in Glenrock Wyoming high school.

On January 30,1 943 she married Eugene Evanoff. They divorced after (25) twenty-five years. On June 17, 1976 she married Clyde Hopkins. They later divorced.

She was the secretary for the Pacificorp Veterans Group since her retirement from Pacificorp in 1984.

At her request there will be no funeral services. 

I like mine better. Rest in peace, my friend.

Pat Sherwood