Like Daddy, she was born to a coal miner and his wife. She was born in Pennington Gap, Lee County, Virginia on February 21, 1933. Her father was a life-long coal miner and her mother was a housewife. Mother was the third of four children. She had an older sister that was already married and had a child before she was born. She had one older brother and one younger brother. When Mother was about two, she came down with Scarlet Fever and lost the ability to walk. When her younger brother started learning to walk, she began learning right along with him. By the time she was four, she was walking as if nothing had ever happened. During her entire life, if there was something she wanted to do or learn to do, she did it. She was very persistant and she never gave up. She loved life and everything that went with it. All the ups as well as the downs. If she made a mistake, she did not get mad, she learned from it and avoided making the same mistake twice.
She did have a very bed temper and it surfaced on more than one occasion. It was never directed at her children, just poor, unsuspecting daddy. She got mad at him once and threw a spiked heel, high heel shoe at him. Being a baseball fan as well as a player (pitcher), her aim was true and if if daddy had not threwn his right arm up to cover his face, the heel would have caught him right between the eyes, instead of his elbow (breaking it). Then on another occasion, he snuck up on her and tickled her foot, causing her to jump and kick upwards catching him on the bridge of his nose, breaking it. Then she laughed at him for it. She had asked him not to tickle her feet, so what else did he expect? Daddy was a born clown and loved to make people laugh. He was showing off on a patch of ice one time to show how easy it was to walk on and fell flat on his keester, breaking his elbow, again. Mom just laughed, as usual. Throughout the years of their marriage, she broke his elbow, his nose, two of his ribs, and his pride many times. If daddy was showing off and got hurt, it was cause for a good, hard laugh for momma. They were so different. A friend asked her one time if she ever thought about divorce. Momma replied,"Divorce? Never. Murder? Maybe." Daddy was six foot two and momma was five foot two. She didn't drink alcohol but she did not mind daddy drinking as long as it was not to the point of severe intoxication (sometimes even he disappointed her on that one). She stood by daddy all through his military career and went every where he was sent that allowed families to go. She always put her family before everything and everyone except God. Her family was her life. She and Daddy were true life partners. Their vow of "til death do you part" was fulfilled.
Momma died almost three years after daddy, on March 10, 1991. She is buried beside him in Spadra Cemetary in Arkansas, less that a mile from where they lived. The doctor said momma died of cancer, but I think it was a lot more than just cancer. I think she died of a broken heart.