Blanton, Bonnie Elois b. 16 Apr 1933 Jackson, Breathitt, Kentucky, USA d. 24 Apr 2005 Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA: WETZEL Extended Family & More

Blanton, Bonnie Elois

1933 - 2005 (72 years)

Name	Blanton, Bonnie Elois [1, 2, 3]
Birth	16 Apr 1933	Jackson, Breathitt, Kentucky, USA [1, 2, 3, 4]
	p. 27 of 234, iBook: "at some point in 1946, Papaw cheated on Bonnie (South) with her best friend- Mamaw. Mamaw was 13 and Papaw 16, but the affair produced a pregnancy." Papaw was 16 in 1946, when Mamaw (13) got pregnant
Gender	Female
Name	Bonnie Blanton [4]
	p.24 of 234
Name	Bonnie Vance [5]
Name	Mamaw [4]
Residence	Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA [3, 5]
	Middletown (Pt), Butler, Ohio
Death	24 Apr 2005	Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA [1, 2, 3]
	Middletown Hospital
Burial	Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA [1, 2]
Person ID	I65067	WETZEL-SPRING

Father	Blanton, Blaine Sr.
Relationship	natural
Mother	Hounshell, Hattie Mae
Relationship	natural
Family ID	F45638	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Vance, James Lee sr, b. 22 Sep 1929, Jackson, Breathitt, Kentucky, USA d. 16 Oct 1997, Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA (Age 68 years)

Marriage 1947 Jackson, Breathitt, Kentucky, USA [4, 5]

p. 27 of 234, iBook:
"at some point in 1946, Papaw cheated on Bonnie (South) with her best friend- Mamaw. Mamaw was 13 and Papaw 16, but the affair produced a pregnancy."

20250310GHLn-
James L Vance in the Ohio, U.S., Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007
Ohio, U.S., Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007
text only
Name James L Vance
Decree 19 May 1981
Butler, Ohio, USA
Res Middletown, Butler
Grounds Gross Neglect/Extreme Cruelty
granted Wife
Marriage 33 years
Minor Children 0
Spouse Bonnie Vance
Cert 17635
Volume 4567
33 years. "Mamaw and Papaw were married as teenagers in Jackson, in 1947."

Issue, jt Between 1948 and 1958 Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA [4, 6]

"Mamaw suffered 8 miscarriages in the decade between Uncle Jimmy's birth and my mother's."

"Mamaw suffered 8 miscarriages in the decade between Uncle Jimmy's birth and my mother's."

p.37- Mamaw and Papaw had three kids- Jimmy, Bev (my mom) and Lori.
Jimmy was born in 1951, when Mamaw and Papaw were integrating into their lives. They wanted more children, so the tried and tried, through a heartbreaking period of terrible luck and numerous miscarriages. Mamaw carried the emotional scars of nine lost children for her entire life.
Mom was born on January 20, 1961-- the day of John F. Kennedy's inauguration-- and my aunt Lori came along less than two years later. For whatever reason, Mamaw and Papaw stopped there.
p.38- Whatever unity they possessed early in their marriage bagan to evaporate after their daughter, Lori-- whom I call Aunt Wee-- was born in 1962.
p.39- Before Mamaw was married, her brothers had been willing to murder boys who disrespected their sister. Now that she was married to a man whom many of them considered more a brother than an outsider, they tolerated behavior that would have gotten Papaw killed in the holler. "Mom's brothers would come up and want to go carousing with Dad," Uncle Jimmy explained... Uncle Pet was always the leader.
p. 41- It's not obvious to anyone why Mamaw and Papaw's marriage fell apart. Perhaps Papaw's alcoholism got the best of him. Uncle Jimmy suspects that he eventually "ran around" on Mamaw. Or maybe Mamaw just cracked-- with three living kids, one dead one, and a host of miscarriages in between, who could have blamed her?

p.42- All three children were profoundly affected by their tumultuous home life.
Lori struggled in school, mostly because she never attended class.

p.43 The next year, at sixteen, Lori dropped out of high school and married. She immediately found herself trapped in an abusive home just like the one she'd tried to escape. Her new husband would lock her in a bedroom to keep her from seeing her family. "It was almost like a prison," Aunt Wee later told me.
Unfortunately the statistics caught up with the Vance family, and BEV (my mom) didn't fare so well. Like her siblings, she left home early. She was a promising student, but when she got pregnant at eighteen, she decided college had to wait.
After high school, she married her boyfriend and tried to settle down. But settling down wasn't quite her thing: She had learned the lessons of her childhood all too well. When her new life developed the same fighting and drama so present in her old one, Mom filed for divorce and began life as a single mother. She was nineteen, with no degree, no husband, and a little girl- my sister, Lindsay.
"Mamaw suffered 8 miscarriages in the decade between Uncle Jimmy's birth and my mother's."

p.37- Mamaw and Papaw had three kids- Jimmy, Bev (my mom) and Lori.
Jimmy was born in 1951, when Mamaw and Papaw were integrating into their lives. They wanted more children, so they tried and tried, through a heartbreaking period of terrible luck and numerous miscarriages. Mamaw carried the emotional scars of nine lost children for her entire life.
Mom was born on January 20, 1961-- the day of John F. Kennedy's inauguration-- and my aunt Lori came along less than two years later. For whatever reason, Mamaw and Papaw stopped there.
p.38- Whatever unity they possessed early in their marriage bagan to evaporate after their daughter, Lori-- whom I call Aunt Wee-- was born in 1962.
p.39- Before Mamaw was married, her brothers had been willing to murder boys who disrespected their sister. Now that she was married to a man whom many of them considered more a brother than an outsider, they tolerated behavior that would have gotten Papaw killed in the holler. "Mom's brothers would come up and want to go carousing with Dad," Uncle Jimmy explained... Uncle Pet was always the leader.
p. 41- It's not obvious to anyone why Mamaw and Papaw's marriage fell apart. Perhaps Papaw's alcoholism got the best of him. Uncle Jimmy suspects that he eventually "ran around" on Mamaw. Or maybe Mamaw just cracked-- with three living kids, one dead one, and a host of miscarriages in between, who could have blamed her?

p.42- All three children were profoundly affected by their tumultuous home life.
Lori struggled in school, mostly because she never attended class.

p.43 The next year, at sixteen, Lori dropped out of high school and married. She immediately found herself trapped in an abusive home just like the one she'd tried to escape. Her new husband would lock her in a bedroom to keep her from seeing her family. "It was almost like a prison," Aunt Wee later told me.
Unfortunately the statistics caught up with the Vance family, and BEV (my mom) didn't fare so well. Like her siblings, she left home early. She was a promising student, but when she got pregnant at eighteen, she decided college had to wait.
After high school, she married her boyfriend and tried to settle down. But settling down wasn't quite her thing: She had learned the lessons of her childhood all too well. When her new life developed the same fighting and drama so present in her old one, Mom filed for divorce and began life as a single mother. She was nineteen, with no degree, no husband, and a little girl- my sister, Lindsay.
"Mamaw suffered 8 miscarriages in the decade between Uncle Jimmy's birth and my mother's."

p.37- Mamaw and Papaw had three kids- Jimmy, Bev (my mom) and Lori.
Jimmy was born in 1951, when Mamaw and Papaw were integrating into their lives. They wanted more children, so they tried and tried, through a heartbreaking period of terrible luck and numerous miscarriages. Mamaw carried the emotional scars of nine lost children for her entire life.
Mom was born on January 20, 1961-- the day of John F. Kennedy's inauguration-- and my aunt Lori came along less than two years later. For whatever reason, Mamaw and Papaw stopped there.
p.38- Whatever unity they possessed early in their marriage bagan to evaporate after their daughter, Lori-- whom I call Aunt Wee-- was born in 1962.
p.39- Before Mamaw was married, her brothers had been willing to murder boys who disrespected their sister. Now that she was married to a man whom many of them considered more a brother than an outsider, they tolerated behavior that would have gotten Papaw killed in the holler. "Mom's brothers would come up and want to go carousing with Dad," Uncle Jimmy explained... Uncle Pet was always the leader.
p. 41- It's not obvious to anyone why Mamaw and Papaw's marriage fell apart. Perhaps Papaw's alcoholism got the best of him. Uncle Jimmy suspects that he eventually "ran around" on Mamaw. Or maybe Mamaw just cracked-- with three living kids, one dead one, and a host of miscarriages in between, who could have blamed her?

p.42- All three children were profoundly affected by their tumultuous home life.
Lori struggled in school, mostly because she never attended class.

p.43 The next year, at sixteen, Lori dropped out of high school and married. She immediately found herself trapped in an abusive home just like the one she'd tried to escape. Her new husband would lock her in a bedroom to keep her from seeing her family. "It was almost like a prison," Aunt Wee later told me.
Unfortunately the statistics caught up with the Vance family, and BEV (my mom) didn't fare so well. Like her siblings, she left home early. She was a promising student, but when she got pregnant at eighteen, she decided college had to wait.
After high school, she married her boyfriend and tried to settle down. But settling down wasn't quite her thing: She had learned the lessons of her childhood all too well. When her new life developed the same fighting and drama so present in her old one, Mom filed for divorce and began life as a single mother. She was nineteen, with no degree, no husband, and a little girl- my sister, Lindsay.

Divorce 19 May 1981 Butler County, Ohio, USA [5]

20250310GHLn-
James L Vance in the Ohio, U.S., Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007
Ohio, U.S., Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007
text only
Name James L Vance
Decree 19 May 1981
Butler, Ohio, USA
Res Middletown, Butler
Grounds Gross Neglect/Extreme Cruelty
granted Wife
Marriage 33 years
Minor Children 0
Spouse Bonnie Vance
Cert 17635
Volume 4567
Minor Children: 0. To Wife: Grounds: Gross Neglect/Extreme Cruelty

Children

	1. Vance, Beverly Carol, b. 20 Jan 1961, Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA d. 20 Jan 2016 (Age 55 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	2. Vance, L.
	3. Vance, infant, b. 1947, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA d. 1947, Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, USA (Age 0 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	4. Vance, J.L. jr.

Family ID F45633 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Event Map

	Birth - 16 Apr 1933 - Jackson, Breathitt, Kentucky, USA
	Residence - Middletown (Pt), Butler, Ohio - - Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA
	Marriage - 1947 - Jackson, Breathitt, Kentucky, USA
	Issue, jt - "Mamaw suffered 8 miscarriages in the decade between Uncle Jimmy's birth and my mother's." - Between 1948 and 1958 - Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA
	Divorce - 19 May 1981 - Butler County, Ohio, USA
	Death - 24 Apr 2005 - Middletown, Butler, Ohio, USA
	Burial - - Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA

= Link to Google Earth

Photos		Vance, MawMaw MalaysiaNews 20241214GHLn- https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/j-d-vances-grandma-mamaw-182931287.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKusllvdvQHxxlzcdwoFEHZkLZcIG_f65ESSgngFi-_1FVLTLkHkyaSM8zr1qHjfY_R66VhSXfQM1BFEp3ogTxbIk6IWtiHDrAHQ7L9NvZDJZ1MdWovqNeE-yDvAx8MDKlU4PpVWOHnE0rymEN6sbZjbsdNUvbKPwav-PvCyTNE0 JD…
Photos		At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

20241214GHLn-
https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/j-d-vances-grandma-mamaw-182931287.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKusllvdvQHxxlzcdwoFEHZkLZcIG_f65ESSgngFi-_1FVLTLkHkyaSM8zr1qHjfY_R66VhSXfQM1BFEp3ogTxbIk6IWtiHDrAHQ7L9NvZDJZ1MdWovqNeE-yDvAx8MDKlU4PpVWOHnE0rymEN6sbZjbsdNUvbKPwav-PvCyTNE0

People
All About J.D. Vance's Grandma 'Mamaw', Bonnie Blanton Vance
Kelsie Gibson
16 July 2024·5-min read

The Ohio senator, who was just announced as Trump's vice president, was raised by his grandparents who he affectionally referred to as Mamaw and Papaw

JD Vance/Facebook, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty
Bonnie Blanton Vance and J.D. Vance
JD Vance/Facebook, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty

Bonnie Blanton Vance and J.D. Vance
J.D. Vance's Mamaw is a very special person to him.

Following a tumultuous childhood, including his father walking out on his family when he was a toddler and his mother dealing with drug addiction, J.D. was raised by his grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, whom he affectionately referred to as his Papaw and Mamaw.

Through the years, Vance, who was just named Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate in the 2024 election, has spoken highly of his late grandmother, who died in 2005.

During an interview with Megyn Kelly in 2017, he noted that she was the greatest influence on his life, saying she "just got me."

His 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which was later adapted into a film starring Glenn Close, was greatly influenced by his Mamaw and his family’s upbringing in Middletown, Ohio.

Ahead, here’s everything to know about J.D. Vance’s Mamaw and what he has said about her through the years.

Related: Who Is J. D. Vance's Wife? All About Usha Chilukuri Vance

She’s originally from Kentucky
His maternal grandparents originally hailed from Jackson, Ky., located in the “heart of southeastern Kentucky’s coal region,” per Politico. In the late 1940s, the couple moved to Middletown, Ohio. At the time, Jim was 16 and Bonnie was 13 - and pregnant with their first child.

She raised J.D.
Throughout his early childhood, Vance’s mother Beverly struggled with substance abuse and addiction, which he alleged would make her act aggressively.

During an interview with Megyn Kelly, he recalled one harrowing car ride with his mother, during which she reportedly threatened to kill them both. Following the incident, his mother was arrested and Vance went to live with his grandmother.

Related: J.D. Vance's 3 Kids: All About Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel

J.D. took her last name after she took him in

Andrew Harnik/Getty
J.D. Vance
Andrew Harnik/Getty

J.D. Vance
Vance’s birth name is James Donald Bowman, though he later changed it to James David Hamel after his mother remarried. After his grandparents took him in, he began using their last name, becoming J.D. Vance, per The New York Times.

She was a Democrat
While Vance has made a name for himself in the Republican party, his grandparents were union Democrats. In his memoir, he explained how his grandparents and others like them thought about political parties, per Politico: “All politicians might be crooks, but if there were any exceptions, they were undoubtedly members of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition."

In his memoir, he noted that his grandmother had an “affinity for Bill Clinton” while his grandfather only voted Republican once, for Ronald Reagan. In a previous interview, he noted that his grandparents were “classic blue-dog Democrats, union Democrats,” adding that “they loved their country” and “were socially conservative,” per The New York Times.

After he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, he gave a shoutout to his Mamaw in his victory speech, saying, “You’re not always going to agree with every vote that I take, and you’re not going to agree with every single amendment that I offer in the United States Senate, but I will never forget the woman who raised me.”

Related: Everything J.D. Vance Has Said Against Donald Trump, His 2024 Presidential Election Running Mate

She was a Christian but ‘mistrusted a lot of the parts of institutional Christianity’
During an interview with NPR, Vance discussed his own faith as well as his grandmother’s approach to Christianity.

“Mamaw taught a very personal faith,” he said, “She really loved the Christian faith. She loved God, and that was an important part of her life. But she was disconnected from a traditional religious institution” and therefore didn’t go to church.

“Mamaw just mistrusted a lot of the parts of institutional Christianity as she saw it,” he explained. “She saw that people were primarily asking for money and weren't actually that interested in the faith. And the other side of it - and I think that this is related - is that Mamaw saw church as increasingly an upper-crust institution. There were a lot of churches in Middletown, Ohio, but there weren't a lot of churches in the very poor, white communities.”

He concluded, “In some ways, I think Mamaw's approach to church was a leading indicator of what we're seeing a lot these days, which is that lower-income folks don't feel as comfortable in church and don't have as much exposure to church."

She was ‘very good with a gun’
Speaking with Kelly, Vance recalled one of the first things his grandmother told him when he went to live with her. “She said, ‘Look you’re gonna come and stay with me and if anybody has a problem with it, they can talk to my gun,’” he recalled.

He added that she was “very good with a gun” and when she died, they found 19 loaded handguns throughout her home.

She was played by Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy

Netflix
Glenn Close as Mamaw in Hillbilly Elegy
Netflix

Glenn Close as Mamaw in Hillbilly Elegy
Vance published a memoir of his upbringing in 2016, called Hillbilly Elegy, which was adapted into a Netflix film in 2020. Gabriel Basso starred as Vance and his Mamaw was played by Glenn Close, who earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Though Mamaw died before the film's release, Close met with Vance and his family, including his mother Beverly, while filming the movie. “Everyone in my family has had this ‘Oh, s---’ moment every time they see Glenn Close’s Mamaw because she looks so much like her, she acts so much like her,” Vance told Netflix.

J.D. says she was the greatest influence on his life
Vance has noted that his Mamaw had a huge impact on his life, especially his adolescent years. Speaking with Kelly in 2017, he talked about their close bond: “She really just got me. She understood when I needed someone to ride me. She knew when I needed love and comfort. She knew when she just needed to be sympathetic. She was really smart.”

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Read the original article on People.

Sources

[S854] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;), James Lee Vance.
Record for James Lee Vance (12) facts
20250310GHLn-

James Lee Vance
Birth: Sep. 22, 1929
Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA
Death: Oct. 16, 1997
Middletown, Butler County, Ohio, USA

Son of [Carl] Lee Vance (1906-1929) and Goldie Taulbee (later Blackmon).
Married Bonnie Blanton.

Family links:
Parents: Goldie M. Taulbee Blackmon (1912 - 1993)
Spouse: Bonnie Eloise Blanton Vance (1933 - 2005)

Note: Probably buried in Hounshell Family Cemetery with his wife Bonnie, but this must be verified.
His Ohio death record states "Burial out of state".

Burial: Unknown

Created by: HWA
Record added: Sep 14, 2016
Find A Grave Memorial# 169912893
[S854] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;), James Lee Vance.
Record for James Lee Vance James Lee Vance Birth: Sep. 22, 1929 Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA Death: Oct. 16, 1997 Middletown, Butler County, Ohio, USA Son of [Carl] Lee Vance (1906-1929) and Goldie Taulbee (later Blackmon). Married Bonnie Blanton. Family links: Parents: Goldie M. Taulbee Blackmon (1912 - 1993) Spouse: Bonnie Eloise Blanton Vance (1933 - 2005) Note: Probably buried in Hounshell Family Cemetery with his wife Bonnie, but this must be verified. His Ohio death record states "Burial out of state". Burial: Unknown Created by: HWA Record added: Sep 14, 2016 Find A Grave Memorial# 169912893
James Lee Vance
Birth: Sep. 22, 1929
Breathitt County, Kentucky, USA
Death: Oct. 16, 1997
Middletown, Butler County, Ohio, USA

Son of [Carl] Lee Vance (1906-1929) and Goldie Taulbee (later Blackmon).
Married Bonnie Blanton.

Family links:
Parents: Goldie M. Taulbee Blackmon (1912 - 1993)
Spouse: Bonnie Eloise Blanton Vance (1933 - 2005)

Note: Probably buried in Hounshell Family Cemetery with his wife Bonnie, but this must be verified.
His Ohio death record states "Burial out of state".

Burial: Unknown

Created by: HWA
Record added: Sep 14, 2016
Find A Grave Memorial# 169912893
[S958] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), database online. James Lee Vance consol 20210706GHLn- ... (30).
Record for James Lee Vance (16) facts
consol 20210706GHLn-
Record for James Lee Vance (4) facts .... (20)
Record for James Lee Vance (5) facts .... (25)
Record for James Lee Vance (5) facts .... (30)
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=pubmembertrees&h=1346573656&indiv=try
[S2109] J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, (Date: 28 June 2016;), *pp. 24/25/26 of 234, iBook:.
Bonnie Elis "Mamaw" Blanton (6) facts

Jams Lee "Papaw" Vance, Sr. (5) facts ....... (7)

Donald R. Bowman (15) facts .................... (17)

20201201HAv-
pasted from front Source Citation Text:

Jim Vance and Bonnie Blanton Vance and Papaw's distant cousin- also (Bad) Jim Vance Papaw- James Lee Vance, born 1929, middle name a tribute to his father, Lee Vance

Jams Lee "Papaw" Vance, Sr. (5) facts
Jim Vance and Bonnie Blanton Vance and Papaw's distant cousin- also (Bad) Jim Vance Papaw- James Lee Vance, born 1929, middle name a tribute to his father, Lee Vance

hmmmmm...
At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
[S2408] Ancestry.com, Ohio, Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc; Location: Provo, UT; Date: 2010;), Ohio Department of Health; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio Divorce Index, 1962-1963, 1967-1971 and 1973-2007.
Record for James L Vance (8) facts
20250310GHLn-
20250310GHLn-
James L Vance in the Ohio, U.S., Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007
Ohio, U.S., Divorce Abstracts, 1962-1963, 1967-1971, 1973-2007
text only
Name James L Vance
Decree 19 May 1981
Butler, Ohio, USA
Res Middletown, Butler
Grounds Gross Neglect/Extreme Cruelty
granted Wife
Marriage 33 years
Minor Children 0
Spouse Bonnie Vance
Cert 17635
Volume 4567
[S2109] J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, (Date: 28 June 2016;), chapter three pp 37,38, 39, 41, 42, 43.
p.37- Mamaw and Papaw had three kids (10) facts

20201201HAv- Pasted from front Source Citation Text:

p.37- Mamaw and Papaw had three kids- Jimmy, Bev (my mom) and Lori. Jimmy was born in 1951, when Mamaw and Papaw were integrating into their lives. They wanted more children, so the tried and tried, through a heartbreaking period of terrible luck and numerous miscarriages. Mamaw carried the emotional scars of nine lost children for her entire life. Mom was born on January 20, 1961-- the day of John F. Kennedy's inauguration-- and my aunt Lori came along less than two years later. For whatever reason, Mamaw and Papaw stopped there.
p.38- Whatever unity they possessed early in their marriage bagan to evaporate after their daughter, Lori-- whom I call Aunt Wee-- was born in 1962.
p.39- Before Mamaw was married, her brothers had been willing to murder boys who disrespected their sister. Now that she was married to a man whom many of them considered more a brother than an outsider, they tolerated behavior that would have gotten Papaw killed in the holler. "Mom's brothers would come up and want to go carousing with Dad," Uncle Jimmy explained... Uncle Pet was always the leader.
p. 41- It's not obvious to anyone why Mamaw and Papaw's marriage fell apart. Perhaps Papaw's alcoholism got the best of him. Uncle Jimmy suspects that he eventually "ran around" on Mamaw. Or maybe Mamaw just cracked-- with three living kids, one dead one, and a host of miscarriages in between, who could have blamed her?
p.42- All three children were profoundly affected by their tumultuous home life. Lori struggled in school, mostly because she never attended class.
p.43 The next year, at sixteen, Lori dropped out of high school and married. She immediately found herself trapped in an abusive home just like the one she'd tried to escape. Her new husband would lock her in a bedroom to keep her from seeing her family. "It was almost like a prison," Aunt Wee later told me. Unfortunately the statistics caught up with the Vance family, and BEV (my mom) didn't fare so well. Like her siblings, she left home early. She was a promising student, but when she got pregnant at eighteen, she decided college had to wait. After high school, she married her boyfriend and tried to settle down. But settling down wasn't quite her thing: She had learned the lessons of her childhood all too well. When her new life developed the same fighting and drama so present in her old one, Mom filed for divorce and began life as a single mother. She was nineteen, with no degree, no husband, and a little girl- my sister, Lindsay.

pp 37,38, 39, 41, 42, 43

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TNG ID: I65067

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Blanton, Bonnie Elois

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