Mrs. Emily M. Batman

Batman, Emily M., of 114 E. Cedar St., Tarpon Springs, passed away quietly in her sleep on August 31, 2012 at St. Mark Village. She was ninety years young when she was baptized and is a member of the Anclote River Baptist Church, Holiday, FL. A gentle lady with a Million Dollar Smile that was our Mom! Oh yes, sweet as she was, this delicate, petite, kind, God fearing lady knew just how to deal with trouble. She would grab us boys by our shirt collar and give us a spanking worth telling about. Yes, Mom was strong. Perhaps her strength came from growing up in the Great Depression. Perhaps it came from her marriage to our dad, Wes. Or, maybe it was from the daily routine of caring for her husband, her two sons, her beautiful daughter and still getting up every day and going to work. Mom and Dad built several businesses together here in Clearwater, all the while dragging our home with them. Yes, she did all this while living in a trailer, first behind Batman's Machine Shop, down at Five Points, next the Standard Oil Station out on Hwy 60, then later at Batman's Welding and Machine Shop out on Missouri Ave. This little lady was our company bookkeeper, receptionist, courier, (how did she pick up those heavy trailer hitches at the Greyhound Bus Station by herself), trailer hitch installer, and all the while, her children are playing under her desk. Amazingly at age ninety, just call out the year and make of any automobile and instantly she could tell you the trailer hitch number to order.Mom certainly knew the meaning of frugality and being conservative. And she instilled those attributes in all three of us kids. Soon, Grove St. became the house she called home. There she had room to squeeze in her sewing machine somewhere among all the auto racing parts. Mom reached out to her community in Clearwater by teaching Sunday school at the Calvary Baptist Church and as a member of the order of Eastern Star. She also served as secretary of the order of Job's Daughters in Bedford, Indiana as a teenager. This precious creature sacrificed her dreams and compromised her plans unselfishly for her husband and children. Her marriage lasted sixty nine years. As children we all took that love, that sacrifice and that strength for granted. As adults we see the reality of having a Super Mom and she will always be in not just our memories but everything we do. She will live through the children she so honorably raised.Emily is preceded in death by her husband John Wesley, Jr., Son David, Granddaughter Cynthia Ann, Grandson Michael, (Granddaughter) Brandi. Survived by Daughter Patricia Owens, Son Henry, Grandchildren Tim (Joanie) Owens, Jody (Larry) Kent, Carl Hobbs, Eleven Gr Grand, &Three GrGr Grand Children.The entire family wish to express our grateful appreciation to the staff of St. Mark Village for the care, kindness and dignity given to our mother in her last year. Emily's Life Memorial Service will be held at Sylvan Abbey on Sunset Point Rd, Clearwater Thursday Sept 6. Viewing 9 to 11am. Service 11am.