I have asked my grandmother a series of questions about her and her family and about one significant tragedy that has played an important role in her long and prosperous life.






Personal Interview with my grandmother, Jean.

When were you born?
January 14, 1944. I am from Lee County, Virginia.

What was your childhood like?
My dad left when I was probably 4 and I don't remember ever missing him or being sad. I was always a happy child. I did not enjoy having my step-dad around, though.

How many brothers and sisters do you have?
3 brothers. Roy, Jim, and Jack. Only Jack is still alive. 1 sister, Melinda who is also alive and well.

What was your first marriage like?
We got married when I was 15 in 1959 and it lasted 14 years. His name was Burt Fraley. He drank a lot, but we had a few good years. He was in the military so we traveled a lot and I loved seeing all of America. We lived in Alaska for quite some time. He was cruel at times with his words, and that made me pretty miserable. I wanted a good man that didn't drink or curse and went to church. I also had my first daughter with him.

Where did you work in Alaska?
I worked for the United States Air Force as a telephone operator and a few other small jobs.

Where did you work when you returned home?
I became pregnant and didn't work for a while. After that you went to college for 4 years. Two years were for business management and the other two were to become a Physical Therapy Assistant. I've been a Physical Therapy assistant since 1985 and have recently retired.

How has your second marriage been?
It's been a short 36 years and I've loved every minute of it.

How did you meet my papaw?
I went to work in the store that he was working in 1973. He had recently came back from Vietnam and we got married a year later. After our wedding we came home and cleaned up our new house the rest of that day. We have had one daughter together named Laura, your mother.

What world crisis' have you lived through?
Nixon was impeached from office after the watergate trials and Ronald Reagan got shot a short time after that. I think the worst crisis was on 9/11 and i always remember my mom on that day because that was her birthday. A tornado came and tore half of the roof off of our house, even though that isn't a world crisis, it was pretty scary to us.

What has taken a toll on your marriage?
Nothing imparticular. I think trying to raise two children was pretty hard a lot of the times and most of the time, I was in the wrong and I know that now. We fought for a few good years, but I stayed by his side and we eventually got over all of our little fights. I totally believe in families and sticking together.