On This Day: Birth of Clifford Lee Harding and Aubrey Nichole Laney

Posted on by Susan Laney Spector

Clifford Harding was born October 17, 1942, in Iola, Kansas, and resides in Lawrence, Kansas.

Aubrey Laney was born October 17, 1991, in Plano, Texas, and resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Clifford is my uncle. Aubrey is my niece.

Siblings Clifford and Sandra Laney in Iola, Kansas – September 1943

My Uncle Clifford and my mother, his older sister, Sandra Joyce Harding (b. 1938), grew up in a very small town in southeast Kansas: Iola, in Allen County.

He and his family moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in the late 1950s.

He took up farming with his father, and he eventually took over the Harding family farm and manages it to this day.

He has been married and divorced three times and has an adult daughter, Kathy Lee “Katy” Harding (b. 1987), from his third marriage.

Clifford continues to work the land, spend time with his beloved dogs, and follow KU Basketball.

Aubrey and Kevin Hammett – October 2017

Aubrey Laney is proud of her birthplace, especially because her husband has ties to Texas as well. However, she and the rest of my brother’s family did not remain in that state for long. They returned to Oklahoma where my brother and his wife began their married life together. Aubrey graduated from Owasso High School and earned a Bachelors degree from Oklahoma State University.

Members of the Laney Family in Texas: Standing, L-R Sandra Joyce Harding Laney (my mother); Garry Bruce Spector (my husband) and Susan Diane Laney Spector (me) pregnant with Melanie Beryl Spector. Seated, L-R: Chelsea Dyane Laney (my niece), Scott David Laney (my brother), David Arthur Laney (my father); and, on Scott’s lap: Aubrey Nichole Laney. Photo taken by Pamela Means Laney (my sister-in-law) in Texas in the summer of 1997.

She was married in Waimanalo, Hawaii, on May 29, 2018, to Kevin Hammett. They are expecting their first child—a boy—in December.

A family heirloom was recently passed along to Aubrey and Kevin: an infant coat and hat crocheted by her great-grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Williamson Laney (1915-2005). The set had been made many years before to be given as a gift. It would appear to have been saved for the perfect recipients!

Published by Susan Laney Spector

For thirty years, I have been a member of the oboe section in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. I am a New York Mets full season-ticket holder. My site Perfect Pitch explores the intersection of Major League Baseball and playing for my own team at the MET. On my site Talking Leaves, I profile my progenitors and genealogical pursuits.

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