Residents’
Review
May 2020
Volume 33,
Issue 5
Citizens Memorial Healthcare Facility is an affiliate of CMH, Bolivar, Mo., 417-326-6000
Facility Location: 1218 West Locust St., Bolivar, MO 65613, 417-326-7648
George Pendergrass
Resident of the Month
George Pendergrass was born Sept. 23, 1932, close to Fair Grove, Missouri to Willy and
Mary Beth Pendergrass. George’s father drove a milk truck for Swift and his mother worked
at a laundry in Springfield, Missouri. They also owned a farm where they milked 20 head of
cattle by hand, grew corn and filled a silo. He was the oldest of eight children to sisters, Wil-
ma, Sharon, Mary, Juanita, Jeanie, Zola and brother, Glen. Mary and Zola passed away sev-
eral years ago. George and his siblings helped a lot on the farm. He graduated from Fair
Grove high school. His sisters were good at teasing him and didn’t like him being older than
them because he told them what to do.
George began working with his good friend, Max, whose father built houses. Max’s father
began letting the two boys trim the inside of closets to see how good they were. He figured if
there were mistakes, they would not be seen as much if they were on the inside of the closet. It turned out they did a
great job and George’s career in carpentry began. At that time, Max was dating a girl named Helen who he later mar-
ried. He introduced George to Helen’s sister, Mary. George said it was love at first sight when he saw Mary. He said she
was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He recalls their first date was to church which was their favorite place to
be. The four of them spent a lot of time riding around in Max’s 1936 Plymouth Coupe. George has fond memories of
those rides in that small car because they had to set so close to each other.
George said the highlight of his life was marrying Mary on Sept. 22, 1951. The couple were married for 68 wonder-
ful years until her passing in February of this year. They loved attending church together and taking drives around the
countryside. George and Mary were blessed with one son, Rick.
After years as a carpenter, George was given an opportunity through his uncle to move to Port Canaveral, Florida to
work on a missile base for the largest construction company in the United States building forms and pouring concrete.
He recalled a funny yet frightening story with his son while living there. His son was around six years old and playing
in the shallow water about 100 feet from the ship channel. George saw a big shark swimming up the channel and he
yelled for Rick to get out of the water. He had a gig with him for mullet fish and threw it at the shark and hit it in the
head and ended up snagging him. Thankfully, Rick was safe. George pulled the shark in and sat it on his beach buggy to
show everyone what he had caught. He then attempted to clean it to eat, but said it smelled so rotten and was not edible.
Following ten years of living in Florida, they moved back to Pleasant Hope, Missouri and purchased a 120 acre farm.
George then worked for Paul Mueller in Springfield doing numerous construction jobs. He belonged to the Carpenters
Local #978 Union. Paul Mueller loved the work that he did for him so he gave him his saw mill that he had in Strafford,
Missouri. After retirement, George enjoyed making cedar chests and cabinets from his sawmill. George has always had
the great gift of singing. His friends, Max Bristow and George Vaughan sang with him as he provided the tenor part to
the group the Cedar Bluff Trio. They typically sang at the Cedar Bluff church where he was saved at an early age, but
were also able to sing on the radio a few times.
George joined our CMHCF family in January of 2020 and said his favorite things about living here are the friendly
and kind staff and the excellent food. He enjoys attending all music events, playing bingo and other games.
Congratulations, George on being chosen as CMHCF’s resident of the month!
Are you a caring individual who would like to assist in caring for the elderly?
Citizens Memorial Health Care Facility has opportunities in its volunteer and nursing program.
For more information call Jeff Miller, administrator, at 417-326-7648.