Fred Thomas -- U.S. Navy

 

Fred Thomas

Fred Thomas was born on May 19, 1927 in the Donaldson Creek community of Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the seventh of nine children born to John Cullen “Taylor” Thomas and Myrtle Green Chewning Thomas.  His siblings were Lonnie Douglas, born in 1913; Herschel Jefferson, born in 1915; Eunice, born in 1918; Ruth, born in 1920; Thelma Christine, born in  1922, Guy, born in 1924; Lottie Mae, born in 1930; and Olen Ray, born in 1933.

Fred grew up in rural Trigg County, but as soon as he reached the age of 17 in 1944, he traveled to Louisville, Kentucky where he joined the U. S. Navy.  He was sent to the Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, Illinois where he received his basic naval training.  After his basic training, he was sent to Norfolk, Virginia where he boarded the USS Card.  The ship was sent into the north Atlantic where it served as a destroyer escort on German submarine patrols.

Although it was the end of World War II, Fred continued his naval career by serving on the USS Boxer.  He was also aboard the USS Brisco, which was a target ship in the 1946 Bikini Atoll atom bomb tests in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific.  In the following years, Fred served on the USS Orion, USS President Jackson, the USS Searcher and the USS Belle Grove.  He served off the shore of Korea during the Korean War as air support as well as off the coast of Vietnam.  Following the end of those wars, he spent part of his career at the Commissary Store in Charleston, South Carolina and at the USN Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.

One of Fred’s most impressive assignments was to serve aboard the USS Saratoga. He helped put the ship into commission in April 1956 and served on her for four years and four months. When he was transferred, there were only nine original crew members left on the ship. Years later in 1996, Fred was invited to attend the decommissioning ceremony of the ship in Mayport, Florida. He and his former crewmen marched off the ship together as a part of the ceremony, which was a sad and emotional day for all the men.

Fred retired from the Navy on March 29, 1965 at a rank of Ship’s Serviceman First Class after serving 21 years and three wars with the USS Navy. Fred settled in Milton, Florida where he worked as the sales manager of the local Ford dealership.  He worked for many years in that field and with other dealerships.  He was known to be a charismatic and charming man in his business and personal life.

Fred was married to Lillie Mae Edwards and they were the parents of a daughter, Sharon, who was born in 1967.  Lillie Mae died of cancer in 1990.  Fred married again in 1993 to Eva Somerset Malone and he became a devoted father to his stepchildren.

Fred died on April 10, 2016 in Pensacola, Florida at the age of 88.  He was buried in the Memory Park Cemetery in Milton, Florida next to his wife, Lille Mae.

 

 

Tombstones of Fred Thomas

 

LINEAGE:  (Fred Thomas was the son of John Cullen “Taylor” and Myrtle Green Chewning Thomas, grandson of Carroll and Frances Wills Vinson Thomas, and great-grandson of James, Jr. and Margaret Ethridge Thomas.  James, Jr. was the sixth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas. )

Robert Elliott Malone -- Trigg County Farmer

 

Robert Elliott Malone

 Robert Elliott Malone was born on January 5, 1896 in Trigg County, Kentucky.  He was the youngest of seven children born to Edmund Pendleton, Jr., and Terece Elizabeth Lawrence Malone.  He grew up in the Warrenton Community of Trigg County and attended Warrenton Elementary School.

In July 1918, Elliott was drafted into the U. S. Army and was sent to Camp Taylor, Kentucky located near Louisville, where he received his basic training. He was then assigned to the Company D, 1st Pioneer Infantry and served in the occupation army in France at the end of World War I.  He was discharged from the military on July 7, 1919 and returned to Trigg County.

Elliott married Annie Lucille Williams on October 11, 1922.  Elliott and Annie drove a horse and buggy to the Cadiz home of the Reverend Henry Seymour Gillette, where Reverend Gillette married them as they sat in Elliott’s buggy.   They were accompanied by Annie’s sister, Sidney Alma, and her husband, Pink Harrell Guier, who also remained in the back of their buggy during the ceremony.

Annie was born on March 5, 1903 in Calloway County Kentucky, the daughter of Thomas Green and Johnnie Vara Thomas Williams. Annie was the second of eight children born to Tom, a farmer and Johnnie Vara.  Both of them were natives of Trigg county Kentucky, Johnnie Vara was a granddaughter of Stanley Thomas.

After their marriage, Elliott and Annie lived on the Malone family farm located about three miles west of Cadiz.  Elliott joined with his brother, Henry and they operated the farm which originally belonged to their father.  During the depression, when the farm income was very meager, Elliott and Henry supplemented their income by selling chickens as well as selling eggs, butter and cream.  The brothers even created a chicken hatchery where they raised baby chickens on the farm which were sold to a wholesale company.

To help the family finances, Elliott also worked for a few years as a door to door salesman for the J. R. Watkins Products Company selling liniment and baking materials such as pepper, vanilla, lemon and peppermint extract. In addition, he worked as a guard at Lock E. Dam on the Cumberland River.

Elliott and Annie were the parents of six children, four daughters, and two sons. They were Martha Nell Malone, born in 1925; Edmund Pendleton Malone, born in 1929 and died as an infant the following year; Celena Ann Malone, born in 1931; Betty Sue Malone, born in 1934; Vara Jo Malone, born in 1940 and Robert Elliott Malone, Jr., born in 1944.

After the death of his brother, Henry, in 1955, Elliott continued to operate the family farm.  In 1963, he and Annie moved into the family home on the farm which has been the house where Elliot was born.  He continued to operate the farm until his death.  After his death, Annie continued to manage the farm for almost 18 years until her death.

Elliott Malone died on August 15, 1964 in Cadiz, Kentucky at the age of 68.  Annie died on July 5, 1982 in Cadiz at the age of 79.  Both are buried in the Lawrence Cemetery in Trigg County.

Grave marker of Robert Elliott Malone

Grave marker of Annie Williams Malone

LINEAGE:  (Robert Elliott Malone was married to Annie Lucille Williams.  Annie was the daughter of Thomas Green and Johnnie Vara Thomas Williams, the granddaughter of William Henry and Sidney Dyer Thomas and the great-granddaughter of Stanley and Emily Ann Light Thomas.  Stanley was the second child of Starkie and Mary Bridges Thomas.  Starkie was the fourth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Mary Bridges was the seventh child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)

Robert Eric "Lars" Laine -- Jazz Musician

 

 Robert Eric "Lars" Laine

Robert Eric “Lars” Laine was born on February 2, 1910 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Franz Viktor and Gertrude Matilda Johansson Laine. During the early days of the depression Bob came to America and settled in New York City. Bob could not speak a word of English. His first job was as a dishwasher, but he was a talented jazz piano player.

After he learned to communicate better, he was invited to a party where he was asked to play the piano. A man at the party gave him his card and asked him to call him the next day. The following morning Bob went to meet the man and was ushered into a swank office. This is where he met Billy Fiske.  Billy said he liked his piano playing and wanted to help him form his own band and asked how much money he would need to start the band. Bob said, “$3,000” and Billy gave him a check for that amount.  A few years later, Billy Fiske, who had won gold on the U.S. Olympic Bobsledding team in 1928 and 1932, was the first American pilot killed in the Royal Air Force in 1940 at the beginning of World War II. Billy was a great benefactor for Bob Laine.

With Billy’s check, Bob was able to start his career as a jazz pianist and he became the first Swedish musician to make it on the America jazz scene.  He performed a solo act in the 1930’s at various New York City piano bars, among them the famous Stork Club and Nick’s. He later joined with other jazz groups and worked on a combination of swing and New Orleans jazz.  Several of his early works were documented on recordings.

Studio opportunities continued to follow him as he moved to the west coast in 1936. He spent three years working under bandleader Ben Pollack.  Ben’s band over time had included Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. Bob’s recordings released under r Pollack’s name on the Decca label, included "Cuddle Up a Little Closer," "Nobody's Gonna Take You from Me" and a song called "Morocco,"

On September 3, 1943, Bob married Iris Faye Riley in Los Angeles, California. Iris was born on November 6, 1919 in Texas, the daughter of Thomas Henry and Grace Underwood Riley. Thomas Henry was the great-grandson of Orren Dates Bridges. Bob and Iris had one child, Iris G. Laine who was born in 1957.

Laine served in the U. S. Army beginning in 1942 for four years.  He served primarily stateside during the war.  His activity in the 1950s involved more vocal music than jazz. The family moved around between Los Angeles, Hawaii and Las Vegas, finding crooners and warblers looking for accompaniment.

For the last 30 years of his life, Bob and Iris settled in Palm Springs, California where they became the owners and operators of the Lars Laine Art Gallery.

Bob died on December 30, 1997, at Monterey Palms Convalescent Hospital in Palm Desert, California.  He was buried in the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

 Robert Laine at the far right

 

Robert Laine tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Robert Eric "Lars" Laine was the husband of Iris Faye Riley. Iris was the daughter of Thomas Henry and Grace Mabel Underwood Riley, granddaughter of William Sylvester and Mary Anne Hixon Riley and great-granddaughter of Thomas W. and Peachie Elizabeth Bridges Hixon.  Peachie was the first child of Orren Dates and Mary Elizabeth Hixon Bridges.  Orren Dates was the first child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

John Robert Vinson III --Funeral Director and Coroner

 

John Robert Vinson, III

John Robert Vinson, III was born on April 16, 1942 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.  He was the oldest of three children born to John Robert “Jack” Vinson and Doris Davis Peal Vinson.  His father worked for the U.S. Post Office and was also engaged in farming most of his life.  His siblings were two younger sisters, Anna Louise, born in 1944 and Carolyn Sue born in 1947.

John grew up on the family farm on Muddy Fork Creek north of Cadiz.  In 1953, he moved with his family to Cadiz where they lived with his grandfather after his grandmother died.  He graduated from Trigg County High School in 1960.  John attended Bowling Green College of Business for one year. He then moved to Louisville where he enrolled in the Kentucky School of Mortuary Science.

On August 27, 1961, John married Margie Ellen Rogers, the daughter of Kenneth L. Rogers, Sr. and Alberta Lyons Rogers who were Trigg County farmers.  John and Margie became the parents of three children. Their first child, Kelli Michelle was born in 1962.  A second daughter, Susan Rochelle was born in 1963 and their son, John Mark was born in 1971.

In September 1962, John graduated from the mortuary school and returned to Cadiz where he began his career at Goodwin Funeral Home as a licensed funeral director and embalmer. Goodwin’s was the first full-service funeral home established in Cadiz, having been founded in 1946 by the late A. K. Goodwin. Chat and Martha Maxfield became the owner of the business after Mr. Goodwin.  After working for Goodwin Funeral Home for nearly 30 years, John became sole owner in 1992 and was joined in the daily operations by his son.

Margie went to work for the civil service and her first assignment was to work for the draft board in Cadiz.  Later she was transferred to the Department of Agriculture where she worked as a regional reviewer and instructor.

In 1964, John ran a successful campaign and was elected as Trigg County Coroner with 77 percent of the vote, taking office in January 1965. He worked simultaneously as both coroner and an employee of the funeral home, He then ran in the next nine county elections where he was unopposed in most of the racesfor the job of coroner. He was elected to his final term with 79 percent of the vote. Upon retirement from the office of coroner in 2006 he was one of Kentucky's longest serving coroners. His son, John Mark, was then elected corner and John, III continued to serve as a deputy coroner in the years following his retirement

John was also instrumental in serving as a first responder by adapting the funeral home's hearses to operate as the county's only ambulance service until January 1979.  

On April 13, 2021, John died at the age of 78, at the Shady Lawn Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Cadiz.  He was buried in the East End Cemetery in Cadiz, Kentucky.

 

LINEAGE:  (John Robert Vinson, III was the son of John Robert “Jack” and Doris Davis Peal Vinson, grandson of  John Robert and Gertrude Wilson Vinson and great-grandson of  Henry Cullen and Mary Catherine Sumner Vinson. Henry was the first child of Thomas Allison and Emeline Thomas Vinson.  Emeline was the fifth child of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas. Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)