On this day in 1940, Stella Baxter married John Connley in the parlor of the local preacher’s home with the preacher’s wife as the witness. A year later, the nation was embroiled in a World War, later to be popularly known as WWII, and in January 1942, they welcomed their first son, Ron, my dad.
John, my grandpa, was drafted into the Army in 1943 and my grandmother, Stella, and their two sons, went to live with her parents in Indiana. Grandpa was trained as a medic. His company went to fight on the front lines in Guam, however, just before they were scheduled to go, my grandfather contracted Scarlet Fever and was left behind. Sadly, no one in his company survived. Since he was separated from his company, he ended up being transferred all over the country to different assignments from guarding prisoners to working in military hospitals. At some point, he was stationed in north Georgia and my grandmother, with their two sons, visited him.
Once the war was over, my grandparents settled on Goodridge Drive in Florence, KY where they raised their family and ran two businesses, Connley Heating & Air Conditioning and the Florence Dry Cleaners.
They were married for over 50 years and died within 5 months of each other. They were laid to rest next to each other where their love story continues in the after life.
