And you thought preparing a turkey dinner for extended family was tough? Imagine preparing dinner for five generations of family.
You see, on or around Christmas Day this year, Nona Hayes will give birth to her first child, Nevaeh (“heaven” spelled backward).
From all eyewitness accounts, Nevaeh’s father does not appear to be of divine stock, though the staggering attention this Christmas appearance will generate should be a sight to behold.
Let’s begin with the matriarch of the family. Great-great-grandmother Verly Gallamore, 97, born during the Teddy Roosevelt administration, has been a Denver resident for more than half a century, emigrating from Kansas for the first time in 1950.
Verly’s husband, a bricklayer, died in a construction accident back in 1967, while working on Cinderella City, a southwest Denver mall that has come and gone.
She endured by converting her home into a day care, and while working she instilled a rock-ribbed, Midwestern work ethic into her children.
In recent years, Verly’s shrugged off cancer of the uterus and two mild heart attacks. She began using a walker only a couple of months ago – and, as her daughter relays it, only infrequently and quite begrudgingly.
Death is for suckers seems to be her basic philosophy.
Her daughter, and Nevaeh’s great- grandmother, Patricia Cooley, 64, has worked at Developmental Pathways, a company that provides support and services for individuals with developmental disabilities, for more than 20 years.
Pat’s daughter, and Nevaeh’s grandmother, Liza – a certified nursing assistant – now lives with Verly and Pat, only two and a half blocks from her daughter, Nona.
The modest north Denver home they inhabit, built in the early years of the 20th century, has been Verly’s residence for 44 years. She is proud to be only the second owner.
Though their story has extensive Denver roots, it does take me to states such as Nebraska, Idaho, California, Washington, Florida and Kansas.
“All of us have lived in certain areas of the country,” Pat explains. “But we always gravitated back to Denver.”
“I had to come back,” Nona says, “I love Denver. It’s home.”
Pat reminisces about the astonishing changes she’s witnessed in Denver since her childhood near Lowry Air Force Base just south of Colfax Avenue.
She plans on retirement next year, and recently purchased a motor home, her preferred vehicle.
Otherwise, you’ll find her zipping around on a Vespa motor scooter.
Pat tells me she tried to convince Verly to ride the Vespa. No such luck. Who knows? Keeping her feet on the ground may be one of Verly’s secrets to long life.
Their interplay is warm and loving. But let’s admit it. For some of us, family get- togethers can include the occasional emotional humiliation or eye gouging.
Do they ever fight?
“Well, we spend a lot of time together,” Pat says, with a shrug. “I think the secret is we respect our right to be different.”
“Yes, we agree to disagree,” Liza chimes in.
“We also all work in the public, in service industries, and it makes it easier for us to be accepting of other peoples’ viewpoints and quirks,” Pat continues. “We all like helping people, which I think is very important.”
There are many hobbies that bring them together: crafts, sewing and, last but certainly not least, Broncos games.
Picturing this rather dignified klatch of women getting rowdy watching their favorite team seems a stretch. “Oh no,” Pat says. “We like to holler a lot at the television during Broncos games.”
Nona hopes to get all of these women together for a picture after the birth of her daughter.
“I think it’s extra special for us and for her,” explains Pat, unofficial spokesperson for the family. “She’ll get to meet five generations of her family.”
Not many of us can say that.
David Harsanyi’s column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 303-820-1255 or dharsanyi@denverpost.com.
