Marcia Benjamin O’Donnell, It’s All About Family

Marcia Benjamin O’Donnell 

After reading the many and varied articles about all the accomplishment from our Class of 1960, I decided my life was completely different.  My biggest and most important accomplishment was my contribution to the population!  We had nine children within a 20-year period.  In order of age they are Renee, Maureen, Colleen, Tim, Pat, Mary, John, and twins Jean and Joan.  Our Catholic faith kept us going through good and lean times.

We moved from Wichita in 1973 to Washington, Missouri where my husband T.J. O’Donnell became part-owner of a new Pizza Hut.  As they say, from the ground up!  T.J. had worked as an accountant for the Carney brothers when they were first starting their business.

In the new business I was soon helping out (on call!) when the older kids were in school.  I remember bringing three little ones with me.  We would make a “corral” of pizza sauce cans to keep them in one place so I could help.  When the kids became older, they all worked in the Hut.  That is how they paid for tuition in the Catholic school.  Once a priest told me he would never forget the O’Donnell kids, especially the girl who would dump all her loose change and bills and say, “You count it!”

This same daughter was waiting on tables one evening and had to deal with a very drunk man.  He was complaining loudly and embarrassing his friends.  He told her, “I want your manager’s name and number!”  “Fine,” she said. “It’s T.J. O’Donnell – I call him Daddy!”  It shut up the drunk and the friends left her a big tip and apologized.

I know that the kids hated working, especially on weekends.  But it made very dependable adults out of them.  Most are married and have children – thus giving us twenty-nine grandchildren and nine greats!

My husband T.J. passed on in 2007.  In this photo he is with one of his favorite dogs Fury. The dog belonged to Joan, one of the twins.  When she married, Fury was part of the deal.  Jean, the other twin had a yellow lab.  When she married, her lab was part of the deal too.  When T.J. was working, he lived for the weekends, which meant Mass at church and family.  And don’t forget his Hamm’s beer!  He coached and sponsored a Pizza Hut little league baseball team from T-Ball until our boys dropped out.  He was active in the American Legion and Knights of Columbus.  T.J. loved bowling on Friday nights with the guys and he made bowlers out of everyone starting with me.  He carried a 190 + average.  That in its self is another story.  All this and trying to keep me happy too!

With T.J. gone, I lived with one of my daughters and her husband until October of 2020.  I now live in a 55+ residential area.  It’s all handicapped-ready for my next step in life.  I always wondered about people who said they lived on social Security – and now I am one!  But I am happy and enjoying my family, friends, and my independent life.

 

Family time for all of us included float trips on the Meramec River.  Where do I start?  The first trip we went on was in rented canoes.  It was uneventful, but really hot.  So the next time we picked October for cooler weather.  It had rained the night before so the river was full and we hardly had to paddle.  Because the water was cold I decided to put 30-gallon trash bags on my feet so they wouldn’t get wet!  T.J. and I were in a canoe together with our first-timer John.  The rest of our kids and some friends were in other boats.  They started first and we said we would all meet at our favorite spot.   

Suddenly, the water got vicious and started to tip our canoe.  We were headed for a log jam and I remember jumping out so I wouldn’t drown.  I knew T.J. would take care of John.  Under the water and kicking as hard as I could, I was wondering why I wasn’t going up…could it be the 30 gallon trash bags??   Sure enough, they were filling up with water and pulling me down.  So I just kept kicking until I was free to pop to the surface.  T.J. said all he saw was my Pizza Hut jug that I was still holding onto. STUPID!!!  John was standing on a log or something because T.J. couldn’t get to him right away.  When he finally grabbed him John said there was nothing under him.  To this day, we are firmly convinced his guardian angel was holding him up. 

We walked back to the beginning point where a kind soul called our canoe owner.  He had always said watch out for the speed boats, but ironically, that is what rescued us.  The owner went with T.J. down-river to catch the kids, while I had visions of dead children from over-turned canoes.  John and I stayed in the bus worrying.  When the owner saw the kids were all right, he let them finish the float.  John was six years old at the time and really upset with me because I jumped and ruined his trip.  To this day he loves the water and camping.  After our canoe experience our leader suggested rafts, which I loved.  We had one hold-out, it was John.  He liked to be by himself in a kayak.

Sometimes our relatives would come from Wichita and go with us on these floats.  One of our favorite spots on the river was at a fresh water cave. Freezing waters flow out of it. Most of the kids would go in and plunge into the water quickly and lie there until they were too cold.

The year T.J. died we had a float planned.  At that time he was in the hospital and knew he was nearing the end.  He told me to not cancel the upcoming float trip and insisted that we all go.  We had the funeral on a week day and the float that weekend.  Because of the funeral, more family members than usual had come from Wichita, which made many more to go on the float.  That was the start of our memorial float trips in remembrance of T.J. 

My son Tim and his wife and three kids live in Branson, but Tim never missed a float.  He always came to keep me company.  The owners of the raft-rental place remembered the O’Donnell Memorial Floats whenever the kids went again, usually yearly.  I opted to stay home and fix dinner for when they got back.  I aged out first!  Also, I made a good free baby sitter.  Now that everyone has aged out, not so many trips are planned but we share great memories.