Harvey Slentz
I just came across this obituary for Pete Sciara. His wife Mary Catherine would come North from Memphis each summer when she was a teenager and stay with my family. My Mother, Mary Margaret Slentz, is her Aunt, and the namesake of “Mary” for Mary Catherine. Mary Catherine watched Mom’s role as a registered nurse and surgery supervisor at the small-town hospital, and they talked about nursing late into the night.
I remember very vividly the times when Pete and Catherine were dating, and he would drive the 80-100 miles up I-55 or US 61 to Hayti Missouri to see her and spend time with her. Although I was pretty young, I could see the two of them had strong, passionate feelings for each other. Some relationships are like a ‘crock-pot’ - things slowly simmer along. From my vantage point nine years younger, their relationship was more like a BBQ pit where the charcoal is always simmering, and lighter fluid is occasionally thrown on the coals to produce a big blaze for a while, then back to simmer.
The last conversations I had with Pete were about the farms that the grandparents of both Catherine and me had left to their kids - that would be my mom and Catherine’s mom. As our moms rose in age, the farm became more a joint effort with our generation, and Pete shouldered much of the decision making for him and Mary Catherine.
One thing that struck me as unusual was Pete’s telescopic focus on doing the right thing in all dealings with the farm property. As an attorney for 40 years, I’ve seen the extremes of ethical and unethical behavior. Pete not only wanted to do the right things, but he started many discussions with an aim to manage their farm inheritance wisely, and to compare his and Mary Catherine’s strategies with those of three other other groups of ‘grandchildren’.
Pete and Mary Catherine were quite a couple, and raised four great children. They left the world a better place, and in better hands through their kids.