Uncle Bud and Aunt
Becky
My grandmother, Lillian Metzdorf Ackley Lawson Johnson, was
a special woman. She was the oldest of six children and outlived four
husband/men throughout the course of her life. My grandmother’s second husband,
Harvey Lawson, was my mom’s father. When they married, they both had two
children from previous marriages and all four were in their early teens. They
were Louise and Bud Lawson, twins from my grandpa Harvey’s first marriage and
Paul and Earl Ackley, brothers from Grandma Lillian’s first walk down the
aisle.
As it turns out, Grandma Lillian’s stepson, Bud, was about
the same age as her little sister, Becky. As the two grew up together, they
grew close and eventually fell in love. As family lore has it, they were set to
be married until one of my mom’s sisters said, “Wait, so that will make my aunt
my sister and my brother my uncle.”
Unfortunately this was in earshot of my great-grandma who
did all she could to squelch the young romance. It was wartime and Bud went
overseas but continued to write Becky during his travels. The letters never got
to her though as my great-grandmother intervened.
Both went on with their lives, believing that the other had
given up on the relationship. Bud married and had a wonderful life with his
wife, Sharlene, and their four children. Becky didn't marry but yet traveled
extensively and cared for an uncle in the family.
As life moved forward, Sharlene was struck with diabetes
which slowly took her life. It was very sad for our family and one of the first
deaths I remember as a young teen. Sometime after Sharlene’s death, it was
learned that Bud and Becky were in communication again. This is back before the
age of Facebook and texts so this took a little bit of effort.
Mom and Dad
You could say that my mom (Ann) and dad (Melvin) met via the
1950’s version of Match.com as they were set up by a mutual friend. My mom’s sister-in-law,
Darlene, grew up just down the road from my dad and mentioned him to my mom.
The catch? Dad was in Greenland working construction so my mom had to
write him a letter.
Again, as family lore goes, my dad received the letter in
October of 1958 and heavily scrutinized the letter. Since there were no
spelling errors in the document, he chose to write back. They met face-to-face
in December, 1958, were engaged on Valentine’s Day, 1959 and were married by
that June.
Was it a whirlwind romance? Without a doubt! Were they true
companions throughout the almost five decades that they were together?
Absolutely. And you can bet that I've been very cautious about spelling since,
in a sense, my life depended on it.
Grandma Lillian and
Grandpa Oscar
As my mother and father wed, two families were blended.
Shortly after the marriage, however, tragedy struck and my dad’s mother, Marie,
died of cancer. My mother’s father had died when she was three and Grandma
Lillian had a relationship with a terrible man that I know only as “Jim.”
Eventually Jim disappeared from the picture and a romance blossomed between
Grandma Lillian and my paternal grandfather, Oscar. Yes, it’s true, my mom’s
mom, married my dad’s dad. How’s that for a strange family tree?
And while Grandpa Oscar died when I was just a year old and
the couple was together but for a few years, both sides of the family spoke
fondly of the relationship. It was obvious that they both turned to one another
in times of need to find someone that understood the hell they had suffered and
could support each other.
It makes me wonder, as I think about these love stories, how
my story will unfold. I met my husband via Match.com. A little different than
my ancestors.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting. Please use your name so I know who's talking! :)