LaVerne Mooney Part III - A Happy Ending!

 

LaVerne ~ 1960

LaVerne’s father, James, died on Jan. 15, 1936 at the Ohio Hospital for Epileptics.  The following year, her terminally ill Uncle Charles returned to Cleveland after liquidating his business in San Antonio.  Charles lived with Zita, LaVerne and Sarah (Sadie) for 6 months and died on May 20, 1937.  LaVerne’s great Aunt Sadie died on April 3, 1939.  As noted in Part II; Sadie, Zita and LaVerne resided at 1343 West Blvd.  Charles’ and Sarah’s death certificates confirm this to be the same address in 1937 and 1939.  In all likelihood, Sadie owned this home on West Blvd and took in LaVerne and Zita after their sojourns to Texas and Pennsylvania respectively. 

 

 

Source: Cleveland Historic Maps

After Sadie’s death in 1939, LaVerne and Zita moved less than a mile from 1343 West Blvd. to 1375 West 80^th Street into separate apartments units.  The two remained at that address for the rest of their lives.  (I remember visiting and staying with Aunt Zita overnight in her apartment during one of the Hallinan-Mooney-O’Malley reunions (1956?) along with Terry Mooney but I don’t recall ever seeing LaVerne’s apartment.)

The 1940 U.S. Census lists LaVerne as a stenographer for the Cuyahoga county prosecutor.  She likely retired from that position in 1963 at age 65.  During her term as stenographer, LaVerne may have had a role in the sensational 1954 murder trial of Dr. Sam Sheppard.  I tried to place LaVerne in the courtroom for the murder trial at the stenographer’s table in a photograph taken as Sheppard’s trial began. My technical advisor for this piece

thinks it unlikely that the prosecutor’s stenographer would also act as the courtroom stenographer due to the obvious conflict of interest.  I yield to his impeccable logic but encourage you to be the judge (you may employ, as I do, the Irish rule on storytelling).  I’d copy/paste the full Getty image but the royalty is pretty steep so here’s the link:

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-is-the-general-view-of-the-court-room-in-the-cuyahoga-news-photo/514963076?adppopup=true

(Original Caption) This is the general view of the court room in the Cuyahoga County Criminal Courts building as the first degree murder trial of Dr. Samuel Sheppard (arrow) gets under way ….

    And here’s the revealing snippet: 

 

I shared LaVerne with 24 other “1^st cousins-once-removed” (1C1R).  From 1938 to 1955, LaVerne’s world of 1C1R increased from none to 25.  Three of those 25 descended from her Uncle Frank and 22 from her Uncle Bill (aka Captain Bill).  After LaVerne retired, I suspect her free time revolved around engaging with her extended family especially the locals, the Hallinan’s and O’Malley’s.

 

Sitting next to most favorite 1C1R  

1863 Beersford Road

LaVerne, attended always by her Aunt Zita as I remember, often celebrated holidays with the O’Malley family.  Both would arrive at around mid-day bearing presents for Christmas day or bakery deserts for Easter day.  I recall looking out the front room window of our Beersford Road home anxiously awaiting the appearance of the twosome walking up the street traveling from Cleveland’s west side to the last stop on the east side -- the Windermere terminal of Cleveland’s Rapid Transit light rail system.  Of course, I wanted to see them but I also knew their presence meant dinner was not too far away.

(Note my excellent imitation of the excitedly nervous child by employing the "Oliver-Hardy-Tie-Twiddle".)

 

My Dad, LaVerne’s nemesis when armed with his camera, attempted in the clip above an ambush shooting.  At about 13 seconds into this clip, LaVerne spots my Dad behind a tree with his  camera rolling.  

                 My sister Sharon remembers LaVerne’s disposition at being photographed:

Xmas 1955

Our dad would like to photograph the family and LaVerne was very shy about being photographed and never wanted her picture taken. One time when she was exiting the bathroom on the first floor on Beersford Rd, Dad snapped a picture of her. I think she said, “Oh, you little dickens.”  Harsh language for a sweet shy woman!

My brother Paul recalls LaVerne may have retired as a stenographer but her fingers did not:

The one thing that sticks in my mind about LaVerne is the Christmas Mom and Dad got the mechanical Royal typewriter.  I remember they had it set up on the piece of furniture behind the dining room table (can't remember what that was called).  LaVerne started typing on it and I couldn't believe how fast she ripped on that thing.  … her typing skills really dazzled me.

Xmas 1960

Paul also recalls how difficult it can be for some when it's "Time to Say Good-bye":

LaVerne was heavy on the perfume and make up, and your story of Tim is classic where a second look as he got closer made him backtrack on the kiss goodbye.

 

1117 Allston Road - 1970 (Tim invents the "moon- walk")

Sometime after Aunt Zita’s death on March 2, 1967, LaVerne established a dedicated friendship with John Caban.  I was in Texas at the time then and never met John.  However, John is mentioned in LaVerne’s obituary along with her surviving family members.  He must have been a dear friend and companion to LaVerne.  On April 10, 1983 at the age of 84, LaVerne passed to her eternal reward.  

 

 

Can you imagine the deafening cacophony in heaven on that joyous reunion of all those Mooney's?  Ooops, not yet -- they'll have to wait for the General Resurrection to get their voices back.  Their spouses get a (hopefully) brief deferral.  Here are the Mooney's and their spouses (RIP):

Descendants of John Mooney Age at Death Eileen Mooney 98 William E. Mooney 91 Thomas J Mooney 90 John Edward Mooney 85 Jean Coe 85 Laverne Mooney 84 Dorothy Jane Mooney 84 Margaret Agnes Mooney 83 Hester Mooney 82 Bridget Zita Mooney 77 William Thomas Mooney 77 Martin W Mooney 75 Zita Mooney 75 Farrell Edward Halligan 74 Mary Frances Mooney 71 Margaret Coe 70 James Leo Mooney 68 Thomas Anthony O'Malley 67 Edward Mooney 65 Robert Thomas Halligan 64 Kathleen Mooney 64 Arthur Joseph Hallinan Jr. 64 Karen Halligan 63 Thomas Leo Mooney 62 Thomas John Mooney 62 Charles M. Coe Jr. 58 Jenny Mooney 56 Eileen Halligan 56 Charles Walter Mooney 52 Francis ("Frank") John Mooney 52 James F Mooney 44 John A Mooney 42 James Joseph McCarthy III 34 Daniel Patrick Tomasik 27 Joseph Edward ("Eddie") Mooney 22 Timothy O'Malley 21 Margaret Mooney 18 Martin Leo ("Leo") Mooney 17 Margaret Estelle ("May")  1 Loretta Mooney 1 Spouses Age at Death Kathryn Kockers 92 Agnes Marie ("Aunt Mag") McLaughlin 91 Margaret Murray 90 James Joseph McCarthy Jr. 89 Dolores Pachasa 85 Robert T. O'Malley 83 Edward Cassidy 83 William Clyde Mathis 80 Arthur Joseph Aloysius Hallinan 79 Mary Louise Sheehan 77 John Howard "Hap" Halligan 71 Michael Bernard Miller 70 Edith Margaret Dunning 68 John Michael Tomasik 67 LuAnn Marie Specht 63 Margaret Ellen Sharon 62 Frances Burke 59 Bridget Agnes Sharon 43 Maude Riley 35 Evangeline Charity Moran 33 Margaret Morris 33 Cora Kelsey 24