My
grandparents are the ones who raised me. They were Raymond and Allene Bigelow.
This is an interesting story of how they met at the end of WWII.
Allene was working at PX at what's now
McDill Air Force base. She was a short order cook at the time. Raymond was
beginning out process from what was to become the Air Force. His unit had
served in North Africa and Italy and their mission was completed.
One day he was in the PX and was getting
something to eat. While he standing in line he noticed the girl at the grill. Her
pants had fallen down and she'd kicked them out of the way and was continuing
to work. Just like most men it drew his interest.
For a few days he went to the PX and waited
until she got off of work. He'd follow her on the bus to see where she went. Finally
he got up the gumption to actually talk to her. Soon after the she was living
with him in what we would think of as a shanty. The cupboards and furniture
were fruit crates.
One day he took her for a walk. He didn't
tell her where they were going but it was to a church. They went inside and he
asked the preacher to marry them. Note that he hadn't asked her yet. She
decided to go ahead with it and two church deacons witnessed.
The marriage lasted from 1945 to 1999. I
think it was July 4th when he passed away. It was almost 55 years. Love can
last a lifetime.
