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Written by Mary Ann Josephine (DeCoursey) Cleary
It was a clear, crisp day in Leavenworth, Kansas, when the DeCoursey brothers proudly cut the ribbon to open their new business. Frank, Jim, Edwin and Will joined forces to create the DeCoursey Creamery. In the heart of the Kansas dairyland, in a town that was beginning to boom with new life, the young brothers were establishing lasting roots that would find a resting place for the DeCoursey heritage. The family was rich with experience, one that began in Norway and extended through France, England, Ireland (where there is a DeCoursey Castle and a DeCoursey Square in Orange), Canada, Colorado (where they still hold stock in a silver mine) and now, Kansas. It was a new beginning for the boys and their sister Mary.
The people of Leavenworth gathered around the imposing building in the center of town and congratulated the brothers that later went about their hard-working tasks of processing and manufacturing dairy products for the growing town. One regular customer who noticed the brothers - and whom the brothers noticed - was Mary Poff.
Mary Poff (Poff in her German heritage) was the l3th child in a family that depended upon her. She was devoted to her parents, who lived well into their 80s. Mary was pretty, blond, and a dependable mainstay of the Poff family. She lived at home and took care of her brothers faithfully. All of the DeCoursey boys were impressed with her. But instead, Mary had her eye on the dark, handsome brother, Edwin. But those qualities that attracted her were also the ones that caused him to be uncomfortable with the staid, rooted life of a businessman. Edwin DeCoursey broke from the family business to roam, leaving Mary and causing a rift in his mother's feelings that never quite healed. He broke his mother's heart.
The DeCourseys continued to prosper in Leavenworth. Uncle Frank turned out to be a business man who "liked his flash." Jim became well-known in the social circles of the day. Will had great spiritual strength and went, along with all the brothers, to Mass every single day. Uncle Will married a woman named Regina and retired to join the California DeCoursey clan in later years. But for the most part, the Kansas DeCourseys were established and prospered. All of their sons went to Notre Dame and most of their daughters to St. Mary of the Lake College.
Meanwhile, Eddie DeCoursey learned about the world. From his birthplace of Leadville, Colorado, the move to Kansas did not satisfy his wanderlust. After leaving the family business, he worked himself around the world on a steamship and may have ruined his health in the process. But Eddie loved life. He was a gambler and a maverick, but somehow managed to come out ahead.
Once he landed in the States, Edwin opened a vegetable stand in Los Angeles and was soon a success. He progressed to be an active part of the produce mart in downtown L.A. His success established, Edwin sent back to Leavenworth for pretty, blond Mary Poff, now 29 years old, to join him as his wife.
So, in a joyous ceremony at a church on 20th and Cherokee in downtown Leavenworth, Kansas, Edwin J. DeCoursey and Mary Poff became man and wife. On their honeymoon, they headed back to the west. 1
Children were a priority at this late date for Mary.2 Their baby came in the first year with much anticipated joy. But tragedy followed when the little girl 3 did not survive due to a stomach disorder, a "locked stomach". 4 Soon afterward, Mary became pregnant again. But again the couple had to face the horrible loss of a baby. Their little boy 5 had a mental disorder and only lived for five days. Their loss was keen.
By this time the couple had moved to Casa Grande, Arizona. It was here, in the dry strange beauty of the desert, that William James DeCoursey was born and thrived. Naturally, Bill was favored, cherished and doted upon. After 17 months, the family was blessed with the birth of Mary Ann Josephine. Four more years passed until Robert Oliver completed the family.
Casa Grande was a quiet place, no more than a mission, really, but again Edwin DeCoursey found success. He opened a business that was a restaurant, pool hall, and farm-implement center. Mary worked in the store, and the family was able to buy three houses and cotton fields. Once a month the children were dressed and bundled, and the family drove one hour to the mission for a Mass that was held by an itinerant priest. They were the only non-Indians in town.
It was there, in that cool adobe sanctuary , that little Mary Ann Josephine was confirmed in the Catholic Church. Her Aunt Ann had supervised the preparation for the pretty little girl to be dressed in her finest and taken to midnight Mass. There in the candlelight, just before Christmas, Mary Ann was received into the Church.
Finally, however, the years of heat, dust and lack of companionship took its toll. With typical determination, Mary decided that it was time for the family to get out of Casa Grande. They sold the business and the houses and got $100. After a three month trip that took them throughout Canada and Yellowstone National Park, they only ended up as far as Phoenix. Mary and the children got out of the worst heat by traveling to Long Beach for the summers, but Edwin lingered in Arizona. He got into the habit of gambling again and finally lost quite a bit of money. Mary again took charge. "Enough of this!" she said, in 1931. The family became Californians.
Again, Edwin and Mary worked hard and made a success of themselves. Edwin was happy to be back in California. He took his little son, Billy, to the Hollywood studios and had him sing and dance for the top executives. Edwin's love of life never diminished and those prosperous times were his times. He always wore a boutonniere. He always had a dog. He always called his little girl "sweetheart."
Mary Ann responded to this special man with love, and she never questioned his affection for her. When she was six, Mary Ann was hospitalized with a kidney infection, which worried the family for days. Finally, when she was pronounced well, Edwin brought her a red hat, picked her up and carried her out of the hospital.
Whenever birthdays came around, Eddie would hand Mary Ann his wallet and say, "Let's do the town." As Mary Ann grew up, their love did not diminish. Once the family went to Lake Arrowhead and the young Mary got ready for a swim. "Mary Ann!" teased Eddie, "What are you doing with that bathing suit! Look at yourself!" She never felt belittled, only loved.
The family had taken over an abandoned movie theater in Alhambra and turned it into a successful grocery store. There was a meat market, soda fountain, and produce - the beginning of what later became a supermarket. Through the difficult decade, there was always food on the table, and everyone helped. Mary opened the store at 6 a.m. Bill would design and pass out flyers advertising the store and Mary learned to stock shelves and run a register. The family was enlarged to include a string of housekeepers for the children. Toodlebaum and Alice were some of the children's favorites.
The housekeepers had their hands full. The boys teased Mary Ann and her friends, and the girls tried to get the better of the boys. Once, when Eddie had taken the family fishing, Bill told Mary Ann to go to the front of the boat if she felt sick. "Watch the waves," he told her. Another time, Mary Ann spent a painstaking morning making caramel popcorn balls. As they were laid out on the kitchen counter, Mary Ann left the house. Bill took the opportunity to pass the popcorn balls out to all the kids in the neighborhood. When Mary Ann returned, they were all gone! She grabbed a kitchen knife and chased her big brother down the street! At the same time, little brother Bob loved to creep up and surprise his older siblings whenever possible. With the dogs, mice, children, business and housekeeper, it was an active home. Within a few years, however, Edwin's extravagant personality took its toll on his health. In 1934, Eddie was hospitalized for a stomach ulcer. He was in St. Mary's hospital, under the quiet and constant care of the sisters. One day, during a visit, the whole place began to tremble and then shake. There was an earthquake and the hospital began to collapse. Mary was lucky to find Mary Ann and the boys covered with bricks, but safe. They went outside and feared for Daddy.
They needn't have worried. Eddie was getting up to get a cigarette when the trembling began. He fell under the bed and was protected, then got up to find the quiet, devoted nuns on their knees in a circle. "Get the hell out of here and turn off the gas!" he shouted. It probably saved them all. But the stomach ulcer did not go away. Finally, the ulcer burst and after a three-month illness, flamboyant Eddie DeCoursey was laid to rest. Mary Ann was 13.
When this tragedy occurred, the DeCoursey family held together. All of the brothers came out from Kansas during Edwin's illness to take Mary to the hospital. They handled all of the funeral arrangements and made sure to care for Edwin's family. They bought Mary a car and saw to it that the family was settled.
Uncle Will went ahead and moved his family to California shortly afterward. He bought an orange grove and retired. His children, Vincent, Bill, Aileen, Regina, Mary Ann, and Jack, visited often with the DeCoursey cousins.
Mary continued to work hard and put her family first. She was the practical parent. She wanted Mary Ann to wear corrective shoes. She kept a close watch over the family and was determined to give them opportunities. No liquor was allowed in the house.
High school for Mary Ann meant a dreary uniform at the Catholic girl's school across the street from the DeCoursey home. But the petite, 88lb. young woman had fun in her youth. She was invited to a dance at the Long Beach Hotel that was quite an event. She had sequined shoes and a velvet coat when up pulled a limousine with a chauffeur. Don, her date for the evening, looked fabulous and graciously danced with his date. But youth won out. After a little while, they decided, sequin shoes and all, to go to the Pike at the beach, where they rode all the rides and had a great time. There, he admitted that he was not quite 16 and the "chauffeur" was his brother.
After spending a miserable first year of college at the local College of the Holy Names, Mary DeCoursey consented to send Mary Ann to San Francisco to St. Mary's College. Again, Mary Ann was the center of attention more than once. She used to take the train from the Santa Fe Station with the Frieze brothers, Bobby and Ben, their father used to kindly slip Mary Ann a $10 bill at her station. Another young man took Mary Ann to the St. Francis Hotel in downtown San Francisco, where she caught every one's attention with her fox-collard coat. That night she was crowned Queen of the Prom. College was completed for Mary Ann at Immaculate Heart, back home. She then went to UCLA and earned a teaching credential. It was then, as she taught second grade in Bell Gardens, that Mary Ann and her girlfriends joined the Officers Club at the Ambassador Hotel. Handsome servicemen came calling often and the young people enjoyed the heyday of Hollywood's night life. They danced to the big bands of Phil Harris and Earl Carroll.
But tall, handsome Joe Cleary was Mary DeCoursey's choice for her daughter. Joe was a Chief Mate in the Merchant Marines and on St. Patrick's Day became the youngest man to reach the rank of Captain. He bought a diamond ring and asked Mary DeCoursey for the hand of Mary Ann. A dress was commissioned and a beautiful ceremony took place in 1944.
Mary's peace of mind in seeing her daughter securely married was a comfort. But only three months after the wedding, the hardworking Mary DeCoursey suffered a massive heart attack. Mary Ann left her new husband and flew down to take care of her mother. It was a challenge for the young bride. While she was in town, her brother Bill taught her to drive. It was a disaster, but Mary needed the mobility . She went for her license and the reviewer said, "You shouldn't have a license, you're dangerous!" "I have to have it!" replied Mary and she told him her hard luck story. The man kindly backed down. "I'm giving you a license," he finally said, "But you don't deserve it!" For 59 days Mary Ann returned the commitment to the woman that had raised her. Holding her hand, Mary DeCoursey spoke with a frail voice to the attending nurse. "Mary Ann is married to a wonderful man," she whispered. It was her last, comforting thought as she slipped to her reward.
Bill was married to Margaret Linehan and they had six children. Before his death, the family traveled back to Leavenworth, Kansas to visit the homestead and the site of the DeCoursey Creamery. He died in 1988. Bob had eight children and died at the age of 49. Mary Ann and Joe Cleary have two boys.
1 Several sources indicate that "back to the west" meant Texas, not California. Their first child was born in San Antonio in June 1914, another child was born in Mexia in September 1919.
3 Mary was 29 years old when she got married, this was not an unusually old age even in those times.
3 Edwin and Mary's first born child was not a girl but a boy named Edward Richard, born in San Antonio, Texas. He died only 7 days old of a stomach disorder called pyloric stenosis. (See his death certificate.)
4 According to his death certificate, "locked stomach" was in fact a condition called pyloric stenosis, where the pyloris, the opening from the stomach to the small intestine, is too narrow to allow the stomach contents to pass through. The condition in itself is not fatal, but if untreated death occurs due to dehydration and eletrolyte imbalance caused by severe vomiting, the main symptom of this disorder. It occurs most commonly in firstborn caucasian males. Today pyloric stenosis is easliy corrected by surgery.
5 Their second child was a unnamed boy who was stillborn. He was born in Dallas, Texas in Jun 1915. Edwin and Mary had yet another child who died in infancy, a boy named Charles, who is not mentioned here. He was born in Mexia, Texas a few years before William. He died shortly after the family moved to Arizona of pneumonia at the age of 1 year and 9 months about a year before William was born.
