This is day 22 of the A to Z April Challenge.
is for Vessie Bernice Jollett Steppe. Vessie is my maternal grandfather’s cousin, therefore my first cousin twice removed. She was the only child of Ulysses and Sadie Jollett, born August 21, 1904.
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| No, that's not Tommy Smothers! Ulysses and Sadie Jollett with Vessie Vessie remembers not wanting to hold her daddy's hand. |
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| Gilbert, Jollette, and Vessie Jollett Steppe |
Later Vessie and Gilbert moved to Dahlgren,
Virginia
where she lived until her death in 2001.
My sister and I spent a lovely day with Vessie, probably in 1999. Even at 95 years of age, Vessie lived alone
although her daughter-in-law lived next door and checked on her regularly. Vessie cooked lunch for us as she shared her
memories of the Jollett family.
Why don’t you Vege out and Venture over to the A to Z April Challenge to View a Veritable Vortex of Veracious Verbalizations before they Vanish.
©2014, Wendy
Mathias. All rights reserved.
She looks like a sweet lady! :)
ReplyDeleteI adore old-fashioned names like Vessie.
ReplyDeleteLucy
Thanks for an interesting post about your family :)
ReplyDeleteMy brother-in-law has helped me become interested in our family tree & it's fascinating.
Great post about Vessie! I love the picture where she doesn't want to hold her dad's hand and how she remembered that. Priceless!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful memory of a woman from a younger time
ReplyDeletethanks for the delightful V
my V
How neat that you met Vessie and she shared her family memories. Great photos! All of your Alphabet Monograms have been great, as well. I've so enjoyed meeting your family through the A to Z April Challenge.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sue! It took me forever to pick out the letters, like it was really important. I found that I cared more about some letters than others. Sheesh~
DeleteI've enjoyed meeting your family too and look forward to getting to know them better after the Challenge is over.
There aren't enough words to say how wonderful Vessie was. Sweet, smart, kind and most of all she carried the Jollett gene of getting weepy when we got ready to leave that day. She had such a sharp mind. Her daughter in law, June was more than lovely too.
ReplyDeleteI DO love your V for the day. Family history always interests me. And your V alliteration is very delightful!
ReplyDeleteWhat great photos and memories! Thanks so much for sharing. Vessie sounds like one amazing woman. :)
ReplyDeleteVessie, huh? I've never heard that name before. It's very nice...very nice indeed:)
ReplyDeleteWell Hello Jollette family! So amazing to see this site. I am Vessie Jollette Steppe's eldest grandchild. I am the daughter of June and Jolly Steppe born March 11, 1954 and Vessie was my beloved grandmother, to me and my sister, Janeiro, named after Vessie's mom ( she goes by Jana) and Gilbert, named after my grandfather, Vessie's husband, my adored grandfather. We called my grandmother BeeBee, and she was BeeBee to the whole neighborhood, too.
ReplyDeleteYou do have the memory about her not wanting to hold her father's hand correct. As I recall, she did either not want to wear the hat, or wanted to, and her Dad thought otherwise. So she was having a pout session, and being his only child, I am sure she got her way eventually!
BeeBee was our touchstone, our matriarch, our precious family memory-keeper and loving presence. She was always full of hugs and kisses and warmth and humor and we were so blessed to have her for 96 (almost 97!) years.
As for her name, Vessie, she never did like it and she said she never knew where it came from. She always said she wanted a pretty name, like her cousins, Pearl, or Reba.
Oh, and my Dad, Andrew Jollette Steppe, was born in 1923, July 28th.
Would love to hear from other Jollette kin!
Andrea Collins
acollins.cbdfw@gmail.com
Andrea, thanks for checking out my blog and leaving this comment. We must hold a Jollette reunion! Vessie would love it, I bet.
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