William Marshall Lineberry was born on 8 March 1918 in Providence, Randolph County, North Carolina. He was the fourth of eight children born to William Gaston Fletcher Lineberry and Maude Elsie Foust.
At the age of 18, on 26 December 1936, he married Lois Mozelle Saunders.
Together, they had three children.
- Elsie Louise Lineberry
- James Marshall Lineberry
- Angela Frances Lineberry
They also raised a nephew, Dennis Saunders, as one of their own.
For my first post on this blog, I wanted to highlight someone who was important from my husband's childhood. My mind immediately went to his Paw-paw Lineberry. I asked Andrew what he remembered about the relationship between his grandparents. He couldn't tell me much as he was very young when they were still alive, but he did tell me something interesting.
When Marshall's youngest grandsons knew him, he and Lois were sleeping in separate bedrooms. This got me curious to know more about their relationship together. I called their youngest daughter, Angie, my mother-in-law, for more information about them. She did not disappoint! Here's what I found out.
Marshall and Lois first met while Lois was babysitting near Grays Chapel School. Marshall was driving a school bus at the time, and when she saw him, she decided right then that he was the man she was going to marry.
Lois had attended Franklinville School, while Marshall had attended Grays Chapel School, so they didn't know each other growing up. But Lois didn't let that stop her. She wasn't allowed to go on "double-dates," but she was allowed to meet him with a group of people (even if it was a group of guys and she was the only girl) in order to see each other. That's how their relationship began.
When I first asked Angie about her parents and their relationship, the first thing she said was, "At the time my mom died, they had been married for 61 years. They never fought or fussed, at least not in front of us kids." She said they were very family-oriented and wanted to keep all of their kids close to them. This only got stronger as their kids started having kids of their own.
When Angie talked about how her parents spoiled their grandkids, she told me they each had their own way of going about it.
Granny Lineberry would spoil them by playing Uno games with them (a game that is still very prevalent in my husband's family). Her grandson, Andrew, recalls she was "ruthless" when it came to playing Uno. She did not just let them win. She also spoiled them by cooking them whatever foods and desserts they wanted to eat. She "loved on" the kids, Angie said.
Paw-paw, on the other hand, gave the kids things, money or gifts, to spoil them. He also hated green beans, so he never made the grandkids eat them. Instead, he would give them chocolate pudding and bananas... foods he enjoyed. Andrew shared his dislike of green beans. In fact, he still hates green beans to this day. I find it funny, though, that green beans were one of his Granny Lineberry's favorite foods.
Lois passed away in 1999. When I asked Angie how Marshall was affected by her death, she said she thinks he "about mourned himself" to death. Marshall died just two years later on 12 October 2001 in Asheboro, Randolph, North Carolina. He was 83. He is buried next to his wife at Grays Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery. which is located at Franklinville, Randolph County, North Carolina.
So, despite their decisions to sleep in separate rooms, I think it is clear their relationship was a loving one. It was family-oriented and, while Marshall wasn't known as a "romantic," he let everyone around him feel the effects of his love for his wife.
"She was a good woman."
-Marshall Lineberry
Sources:
- Andrew Jenkins, grandchild
- Angie Jenkins, child
- Photos provided by Angie Jenkins
