THE CIVIL WAR

THE CIVIL WAR

and our ancestors…

First… The Confederate Soldiers:
James V Willman
William Cheek Willman
John M Willman

Did you know that we had ancestors fighting on both sides of the Civil War?? Our ancestors joined the service of their country for things they believed important at that time... Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers…

The Confederates in our family… Yes, more than one… three in fact. James V Willman and his two sons, John M Willman and William Cheek Willman.

William Cheek Willman was the father of Susan Lenore Willman who married Charles F Sipple. They were the parents of Joy F Sipple.

I wonder if the fact that they were in the Confederacy was a family secret or were they embarrassed by the fact and just didn’t mention it. The reason I wonder is that in 1975 Joy’s sister, Ethel Sipple Chandler, wrote a little family history for her nieces and nephews. Ethel was 90 at the time she wrote the history which is 12 double spaced, type written pages long. While this history is mostly names and dates, there are a few stories also… yet there are only two mentions of any connection to the Civil War… as follows:

“Your Great-Grandfather, William Cheek Willman, was a carpenter and contractor by trade. When first married, he had a store at Rockport, Missouri. They told that during the Civil War they lived over the store and one night the “Bush Wackers” or “Carpet Baggers” set the store on fire. That was during Civil War time and those gangs went around doing damage. My Aunt Laura and my Mother Susan were tiny children. They were asleep on a feather bed. Their father grabbed them up in the feather bed and threw them out the window and saved their lives. “

“”I have often heard it told that during the Civil War, James V Willman, for safety sake, deeded all his propertyto the youngest son, John M Willman. When the war ended he refused to deed it back and so caused very hard feelings and although John M Willman resided on a farm west of Nebraska City and Eliza J Willman and William Cheek Willman also resided at Nebraska City theyhad nothing to do with John M Willman, who was very wealthy, nor no members of his family.” (Eliza and William were siblings of John)

When I was doing a lot of searching for family records in the 1980’s, before the internet, I found a simple, type written history, “Otoe County Pioneers – A Biographical Dictionary” by Raymond E. Dale – Lincoln, Nebraska 1965. It seemed to be put together from newspaper articles, census records, obituaries and cemetery records. This is where I discovered that these Great-Grandfathers of ours fought for the Confederacy.

I quote, in part…
“James V Willman - ….. Apparently they removed to Missouri in the 1850’s and there is a tradition that J.V. Willman owned considerable property there including slaves. He was living in Atchison County when the war broke out and he and his son William joined the Conferderate Army….”
“John M Willman - ….. He served in the Confederate Army under General Price…”
“William C Willman - ….. By 1856 and perhaps earlier he removed to Missouri where he was living during the Civil War. He served in the Confederate Army. ..”

I have their obituaries and another newspaper article written by William Cheek’s sister Eliza in 1906… all mention the Confederate service and yet I can find no official records anywhere myself.

I have not been able to find out as much as I would like to find…
This is what I know about our Confederate ancestors during the war.
Next I will tell you about our Union ancestor… and also some background information I’ve found about the Civil War.

Leticia and James V Willman
(father of William Cheek Willman)

James V Willman
(son of William Cheek Willman)

sadly, I have no photo of William C Willman

* * *

Rex Burnell Sipple

Rex Burnell Sipple was born June 5, 1921 in Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska the fifth and last child of Adda Francis Rockwell & Joy Franklin Sipple.

Being closest in age to my Mother, Juleen, and younger than her, Rex was always her favorite.

This is one of the few pictures I have of him as a child... He is shown here with my Mother, Juleen. Doesn't he have cute, chubby little cheeks?


Mother has several neat stories about how ornery her brothers were. I will relate a few that involve Rex here:

In those days if you misbehaved in grade school you were sent to the principal's office and whipped with a rubber hose. For whatever reason this would happen quite often to Rex... and then to Mother's embarrassment the principle would come down to her classroom and announce in front of the whole class, "Juleen, I had to whip Rex with the hose again!"

This picture is of Mother (Juleen) & Rex in grade school.

There are two fun Sipple Christmas stories...

The Sipple family was far from rich and grew up during the Depression, so although Grandpa Joy worked as an engineer for the UPRR 7 days a week, 365 days a year, they just got by.

At Christmas time, Grandpa would give each child $1.00 to do their Christmas shopping. One year Rex headed for the candy store first and bought himself some candy, which he ate, and then started buying presents. By the time he got to the last present he needed which was for my Mother, Juleen, he only had a few pennies left and could only afford to get her some little sachets that she could put in her drawer with her hankies (only she didn't have any hankies!) He felt so bad about it that the next Christmas when he got his dollar he bought Mother's present first. He got her some white angora mittens which surely must have taken most of that dollar. I've always wondered what he got for the rest of the family that Christmas.

The second Christmas story involves the gifts the kids got for Christmas. Not the 10 or 20 gifts we get our kids today, each child might get something to wear that Grandma Adda had made for them and one toy. They always got their socks filled with some nuts, a little candy, an apple and an orange which seems funny to us now, but in those days they might only have an apple and an orange at Christmas. These weren't available all through the year to eat.

One Christmas Opal wanted some roller skates like all of her little friends had and Rex wanted a wagon. Their parents evidently didn't know about roller skates or maybe they thought Opal should start out with the safe ones first. She got starter skates, no ball bearings!! The wheels wouldn't roll or spin, they barely turned... safe that way... except all her friends went tearing down the sidewalks really going fast and she could barely make her feet scoot, scoot, scoot. Rex got his wagon but they could only afford a little tiny wagon and of course it was too small for him and the plans he had had for it so he promptly took it down the basement and took all the wheels off.

This is Rex as a teenager with the family dog Pat.

At some point, probably when a teen, Rex got a B B gun and Mother had real roller skates. Mother says that they would roller skate in the basement, so maybe this story took place in the winter. The basement had two large rooms that had two doors so they could roller skate round and round in a circle. Mother was skating round and round and Rex was sitting on the stairs pointing the gun at her. As she came through the door way, he fired and hit her just above her eyebrow. For years she still had a little dent there where he'd hit her but now it has disappeared in the wrinkles of an 90 year old.

When Rex was in high school there are several mentions in Grandpa's journals about "Rex not coming home last night" and one time Grandpa even had to go to Hastings to bail him out of jail. It doesn't say "why" he was in jail... but he did have to go to court later. The journal only says, "Rex had his hearing before County Judge Kirk... was paroled to __________ one year." There is an underline mark, blank, and no name was ever written in it as to who Rex was paroled to. This is one of the many times I wish Grampa Sipple had not been so brief in his journal entries.


When we were growing up, Rex lived in California and we only saw him a couple of times... but we heard all of Mother's stories about her favorite brother.

We had this picture of Rex when he was in the Navy and because he was so handsome and had so many mysteries about him, Rex became someone we sort of idolized... like a movie star, a teen idol... he was handsome, far away, mysterious and had lived a life like no one else we knew. (The mysteries were rumors we'd heard that Rex had been married several times, no one knew for sure as no one here had met any of his wives except for the first one and his last one... and that there were two daughters, one who we knew as our cousin Penny. More on this below *)



Rex Sipple - US Navy

Age in photos about 23




This is another photo taken about 1944 of Rex when he was home on leave from the Navy. Behind him is the Sipple home which was at 823 West 17th Street in Grand Island, NE.








According to Grampa Joy Sipple's 1945 journal, he received a telegram from Rex on June 21st saying "got married yesterday"... This would be Rex's first marriage to Harriett Dowling.

Mother says that while Rex was on leave he met Harriett on one of the California beaches. She had been born in Kearney, NE the daughter of Harry and Jose Dowling. Both being from central Nebraska gave them an instant connection, besides the obvious fact that he was so handsome and she was so beautiful, and they hung out together the rest of his time on leave. After Rex had shipped back out to sea he received a letter from Harriett telling him that she was pregnant. So the next time he came back to port, he married her.

The confusing part of this story... one of the mysteries you might say... is that this child, a girl named Michael Lee Sipple, was born on October 9, 1944 in Long Beach, CA. According to the 1943 journal, Grampa Sipple received a letter from Rex on October 4th in which he says he is "at sea and looks like he won't be back for 4-6 months"... Below are a few notes from the 1943 and 1944 journals mentioning Rex:

1943 Journal

Oct 4
Got letter from Rex
At sea says looks like he won’t get back
To states for 4 or 6 months
(at sea)

Oct 29
Got letter from Rex
Written Oct 1 mailed Oct 4
(at sea)

Nov 3
Got Rex’s allotment ck

Nov 12
Got letter from Rex
Mailed Nov 3 Air Mail

Nov 29
Got V letter from Rex
Written Nov 8
(what was called a V letter was a letter from someone at or over seas)

Dec 3
Rex’s allotment check came

Dec 4
Mother & I went to town
Had supper got Xmas gifts
For Barney tie, socks & kerchiefs $3.25
Clair & Harry tie $1.00
Got Rex’s ring

Jodi's NOTE: I don’t’ know what this “ring” refers to… When Rex joined the Navy he had a girlfriend back in Grand Island named Mary. All through the journal Grampa refer's to Mary, Rex's girl, coming for a visit, coming over for dinner, etc. Mother says that Mary didn’t wait for Rex, she got married, and he was devastated… he never got over it. So had he given her a ring and when she got married his parents went and got it back from her?? Or was this a ring they bought for him for Christmas or for him to give to someone? It is never mentioned again.

Dec 6
Got Xmas card from Rex

1944 Journal:

Jan 1
Rex is in Navy somewhere at sea – last letter rec Nov 29 V

Jan 4
Got Rex allotment check for Dec

Jan 7
Got 3 letters from Rex written or dated Dec 12, mailed Dec 24
Put Rex’s allotment check in bank, now has $120.00

Jan 11
mailed letter to Juleen, Valentine to Rex

Jan 14
Got letter from Sue, said she had letters from Rex, Chas & Opal this week

Jan 18
Got telegram from Rex – Birthday Greetings

Jan 26
Got letters from Rex – at sea – dated 1/14

Jan 27
Got 3 letters from Rex dated 12/19, 12/27, & 1/12

Jan 28
Got letter from Rex – told some country’s he’s been to: North Africa, South Africa, Australia, and Middle East – couldn’t name the ports

Feb 3
Rex’s allotment check came today will take it to bank tomorrow

Feb 9
Got letter from Rex dated 1/21 at sea
I typed 3 page letter to Rex

Feb 23
Rex called at 7 AM from Long Beach Calif said he just arrived there and would be home after he goes on to New York

Feb 24
Got wire from Rex saying orders changed send $100.00 was coming to GI now so we wired it to him

Feb 26
Going to meet #22 think Rex might come then
Stayed at depot till 10 PM but no Rex

Feb 27
Met #22 But no Rex – met eve trains no Rex

Feb 28
Mother & I met #88 But no Rex – sent telegram to Jr. asking about Rex

Mar 1
Got telegram from Rex at Long Beach said will be home about Sunday, Don’t worry
Got Rex’s allotment check

Mar 5
(Sunday) met #8 But no Rex

Mar 6
Mom sent telegram to Jr asking him to call home
Rex hasn’t come yet

Mar 7
Got telegram from Jr saying Rex would be home Wed

Mar 8
(Wed) Mom met #22 Yes Rex came today

Mar 9
Rex down town this eve

Mar 13
Rex left for New Orleans- rode in car to Kansas City with Elmer Mettenbrink – train from K.C. to N.O. Kansas City Southern RR - He came Mar 8 so was home 5 days

Mar 20
Got letter from Rex at New Orleans sent $150 – also package – things he picked up on his trip, money stamps, pitchers and whatnot's

Okay... so this is how I see it... Rex was out to sea from before October 1943 until Feb 23, 1944 when he arrived in Long Beach, CA. He was in Long Beach until March 8... This may be when he met Harriett. BUT... Michael was born the 9th of October which is just over 7 months later... Was she premature? What did she weigh at birth? Or was Harriett already pregnant when she met Rex? Rex is not in California again until June of 1945 when they get married... in between these times he has a girlfriend in New Jersey.

According to the 1944 journal:
Rex left for New Orleans March 13th...
was still there on March 27th..
was in Mobile, AL from March 29th to at least April 4th...
April 20th was at sea...
May 18th was in New York, shipped out to sea May 20th...
June 18th in Chicago...
home June 20th, leaving again June 21st for New York...

Sept 18th Grampa mailed Rex's picture to Pauleen Metras in Newark, NJ, cost $6.

Grampa is receiving letters from and writing letters to Pauline during October, November and December of 1944.

A note on January 1, 1945 says "Rex in the Navy, at sea now."
January 19th says, "Pauline, Rex's girl, called long distance from Newark."

They continue to exchange letters with Pauline during January, February and March. March 18th Rex is home, docked in Portland.
April 9th he leaves for New Orleans.

During the war the soldiers and sailors were not allowed to tell where they were or where they were going... A note in the journal on May 28 says, "Got letter from Rex... on his way somewhere."

Then in June 1945, we find these notes:

Jun 2
Telegram from Rex at Treasure Island says send $200 at once
We wired it

Jun 4
Got Rex’s allotment ck… first one for $35.00
Got letter from Rex

Jun 8
Got letter from Rex

June 10
Wrote letter to Rex

June 14
Got letter from Rex
Sent Rex cashiers for $41.66 that’s all he had left in the bank

Jun 16
Wrote letter to Rex

June 17
Got father’s day card from Rex

Jun 21
Got telegram from Rex saying he got married yesterday


Harriett (Dowling) and Rex Sipple

Jun 22
Got letter from Rex

Jun 24
Wrote letter to Rex

June 29
Got 2 letters from Rex and one from his wife

July 1
Writing letters to Rex & Harriett

Letters flow back and forth between Grampa and Rex and Harriett all summer...
Pauline isn't mentioned again until August:

Aug 13
Got pkg from Pauline
Rex’s picture
Wrote letter to Rex

Aug 14
War is over
Japan accepted unconditional surrender terms

Aug 16
Wrote note to Pauline
Telling her I got the picture



So that is the mystery of Rex's first wife and her daughter named Michael. The other daughter, named Suzanne Adele, is my cousin Penny who Rex's sister, my Aunt Opal, had adopted when he and Harriett divorced around the time of Penny's birth in 1946.

When Opal heard that Rex and Harriett were getting a divorce, she wrote to Harriett and said she knew how hard it would be raising two little girls all alone and that she would like to adopt the baby if Harriett would let her. Harriett wrote back saying, "No... never." But by December Harriett must have found how hard it was raising two little girls all alone and Opal got a telegram saying, "Merry Christmas... come get the baby."

For as long as I can remember I always knew that Penny was adopted and that she was really Rex's daughter. Penny always knew she was adopted too. Opal would tell the story about how she adopted her... "she was my little Penny From Heaven" and so she got her nickname which she has gone by from almost day one. (There was a popular song in the 40s called "Pennies From Heaven")

I don't think Penny knew Rex was her father until she was in high school. Penny never met her real father, Rex, until a couple of years before he passed away in December of 2000. There are a couple reasons for this, I suppose... he lived in California when she was growing up and she lived in Minnesota and then Illinois. They were never back in Nebraska very often or at the same time. But mostly, I think, is the fact that Rex never told his wife Alvina about Michael or Penny... about having daughters... Later he told Mother that he didn't know how to bring it up early on and as time passed it got harder... it had just gone too long now. How do you tell someone something like, "oh, by the way, I have 2 daughters... one of them is Penny who you know as Opal's daughter" 25 or 30 years after you married?? I don't think Alvina even knew Penny was adopted and like I said, Penny never met either of them until just a few years before Rex died.

My Mother, Juleen, always said that Rex never really believed that Michael or Penny were his children. Rex had had the mumps when he was about 15 years old and they had gone down on him, as they say. The doctor had told him that he would probably not be able to have children... so he didn't really think they were his for this reason. This is probably why he never pursued a relationship with them, especially Penny who would have been easier.



On October 12, 1963 Rex married Alvina Enriquez in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sometime in the 1970's, I think it was, Rex and Alvina moved to Colorado and would come to Grand Island to visit once or twice a year. This is when I finally really got to know him and grew to love him even more because of his wonderful personality and infectious laugh... He was still a tease; he was still that ornery little boy inside, the one we'd always heard about.

Then in 1976, Alvina got pregnant and they had a baby boy who they named Wesley Earl. Sadly the baby only lived a couple of days. I always wondered if Rex then finally realized that Michael & Penny really were probably his. But after 30 years of doubts & secrets it was not the time to tell Alvina and so he never did.

About 1997, after Rex & Alvina had met Penny for the first and only time, Mother did get a letter from a niece, Susan in which she asked about Rex's daughter Penny. Rex & Alvina were back for a visit a few days later and not thinking about the question about Penny, Mother gave Rex the letter from Susan to read. He read it and didn't say anything. Then my father gave the letter to Alvina asking her if she wanted to read it. She read it and didn't say a thing either. It wasn't until after Rex & Alvina left that Mother was rereading Susan's letter and noticed the mention of "Rex's daughter Penny" and thought "oh dear... we've spilled the beans... now what?" But no one ever asked and no one ever mentioned anything... so we don't know if Rex and Alvina ever talked about that after they left or not... but Alvina has never said anything to Opal or Mother about knowing Penny was Rex's daughter.



The 5 Sipple children sometime in the ?? 70's ??...



Charles and Rex in the late 1990's...

Joy Franklin Sipple Jr

Written with much help from his oldest daughter, Susan Sipple Fishburn.

Joy Jr (called Junior) was born August 26, 1915 in Ord, Nebraska the middle child of five children born to Joy F and Adda Rockwell Sipple.

The following are the only photos we have of Junior as a child:

Junior with his Mother, Adda

Junior with Opal, Charles and a cousin... above and below...

Opal, Juleen, Rex and Jr...

Oldest brother Charles with Junior in front of the family home on 17th in Grand Island... above.
Below Junior is on the right with younger sister Juleen and youngest brother Rex.



The following photos were taken on visits to "Uncle Joe's" (Joe Kilbinger) farm on the Rosebud Indian Reservation near Valentine, Nebraska.

Junior... Adda... Charles

My Mother, Juleen Sipple Reher, Junior's younger sister said that he always liked dogs and would come dragging some stray home all the time. He was the one who found their favorite dog, Pat, and brought him home. She can still see him sitting out in the rain holding Pat so he wouldn't get wet.

Susan said her Dad always liked to tease dogs. In later years when he came to visit them he would take a rubber band and snap it, making a noise that would scare their dog.


Juleen said that Junior was always in trouble, being the middle child she supposed. One summer their parents sent him out to Uncle Joe's alone for the summer. He had to work picking up buffalo or cow chips for the stove and do other things, like riding this horse. I wonder if the sack behind him was for the cow chips. When summer was over and he came home Junior really thought he was hot stuff, according to Juleen. He would walk around with his thumbs hooked in his belt and a swagger to the walk just like a real cowboy, which he thought he was.

Susan thinks her Dad always wanted to live on a farm. He even once put a down payment on a farm but her Mother said that she could not take care of it when he was overseas working. So he did not get his farm. A few years before he passed away, Junior told Susan, "I am very proud of you, Susan." She thinks it was because she and her husband had moved to Oregon and had a farm.

Grandpa Sipple, Junior's Father, kept journals during the late 1930's and 40's. In the journals he talked about Joy Jr. borrowing 50 cents and then paying it back a few days later. 50 cents back then could buy a lot. He also told how Junior had taken his fishing rod and sold it, but later it was returned. Junior also bought a motorcycle and took his Father for a ride.

Joy as a teenager...

Joy's graduation photo...

Juleen wrote to Susan several years ago and told her a bit about her brother Junior. She said, "He was a very handsome young man & popular with the girls. He was the biggest tease then and all his life! One of his favorite sayings, when he
wanted you to do something for him was "press my pants (or something like that) and I'll use my influence when you get old & get you a room next to the bathroom in the poor house."

Joy as a young man posing on some park bench...

Juleen said that "Junior had a lot of gypsy in him and often would hop a freight train & he be gone for a couple of weeks or more."

After graduation, Joy Jr went west and helped to build the Boulder Dam (later called Hoover Dam)... No one knows much about his job, what exactly he did... In fact Susan had never heard this story before. Above and below are some old postcards depicting the workers and the dam at that time. It was completed in 1937.

Joy Sipple Jr married Margaret Marie Schellmann in 1940 on Valentine's Day in Aurora, NE

Juleen told Susan that "He married your Mother and they lived in an apartment in the basement that our folks fixed up for them. Your Mom was pregnant with you. After you were born they moved to California. You dad worked in the ship yards." He was a welder.

Margaret Marie Schellmann's graduation photo...

For more information on Margaret and her family see Susan's Schellmann Blog.
Margaret was born January 29, 1916 in St Joseph, Missouri. Junior and Margaret had three children: Susan Ann, Joyce Dorcas, and Charles Theodore.

Susan Ann Sipple was born September 24, 1940 in Grand Island, NE

These photos were taken in Grand Island after Susan's birth... Above Susan is shown being held by her Mother and then her Father.
In the two photos below Susan is being held by her Grandmother Adda...

Two years after Susan was born Joyce was born, Susan went to stay with Junior's sister Juleen and her husband Barney in their apartment in Santa Monica while Margaret was in the hospital the required 10 days at that time. The following photos were taken while Susan was there...

Joyce Dorcas Sipple was born March 15, 1942 in Huntington Park, CA


Juleen with Susan and Margaret with Joyce...

Adda passed away in September of 1944 and Juleen told Susan that "He was very devoted to our parents & by far the best to write
letters to them. When our Mom was dying from cancer he came home & stayed a month or so just so he could be with her."

Charles Theodore Sipple was born July 26, 1946 in Long Beach, CA

There are not many photos of Joy Jr and Margaret or the kids, family photos.

Susan says that her Dad was not around much. When she was little they lived in a court with lots of other kids and her Mother and Dad both worked. In the early 1950's they moved to Wilmington, CA which is now called Carson, CA. Her Mom and Dad bought a house across from a park.

According to Grandpa Joy Sipple Sr's journals in the 40's this was Joy & Margaret's address:
1941 4932 Locust Ave, Long Beach, CA (% D. Roach)
1942 353 Magnolia, Long Beach, CA
1942 519 E Seaside #A, Long Beach, CA
1943-1945 620 New York St, Long Beach, CA

Joyce and Susan

Susan at Christmas... note the crooked tree...

Susan said, "My Dad always liked radish sandwiches, which I also like to eat."
Joyce said, "My Dad always read the newspaper and then threw it on the floor all around him..." Susan does this also still to this day.
They remember having to pick up rocks in the yard and their Dad would give them a quarter.
Why they had to pick up rocks is still a mystery to them. Perhaps to keep them out of his hair.

One day Joy Jr wanted to get a new pair of pants. He held up a pair to half of his neck and said "these will fit" and to Susan's surprise they did. Another time he was coming to dinner at her house after she was married. Her husband said, "you'd better put bread on the table" and Susan said, "no, my Dad never eats bread and butter" and the first thing he did was ask for bread.

Susan remembers her Dad liked to go to the beach. He would take the kids and they all enjoyed it a lot. She doesn't know if her Dad liked to look at the girls more or at the ocean.

Susan, Joyce & Charles...

Joy Jr is on the right in the photo below...

The following photos were taken on a fishing trip to Big Bear Lake...

Susan and Charles with the fish they caught... above
Joyce and Susan below...

Susan and Charles riding horses...

Joy Jr with Susan, Joyce & Charles...


Joyce and Susan with their Grandpa Joy Sipple Sr...


The family at Christmas... about 1953...

Susan says that her Dad worked for the Borax Company in Wilmington, CA when they were really small. Then he decided to go off on an overseas job in Saudi Arabia. He was there for two years. It was very hard having growing up with him gone with no car or anything. Her Mother would take them places on the bus or streetcar. When they would go to the grocery store for food they would take the wagon to the store. At Christmas they would take the wagon to get a Christmas tree.

The following photos were taken in Saudi Arabia.




Joy Jr's immigration papers...
(click on them to see them bigger)

When Junior came back from Saudi Arabia he decided to go to Puerto Rico where he later had a very successful business welding on the big ships that came into port.

In the late 1950's Margaret and the children moved to Puerto Rico to be with him. They got to see the beautiful island with beautiful beaches, the rain forest and a fort... but the children didn't like it there and so they moved back to California and lived in the same house they had left.

Eventually Junior and Margaret divorced and in 1962 he married Iris Mercado in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They had two children and named them Joy and Adda after his parents.


Joy Jr on one of the trips back to California holding the first grandchild, Ricky, son of Susan and her husband Gary Fishburn, shown also.


Joy Jr with his Puerto Rico children (Joy on far left and Adda far right) and his grandchildren, Ricky, Penny, Steven, David and Rhonda.

Susan and Joyce with their Father, Joy Jr...

The 5 Sipple siblings about 1975... Jr, Charles and Rex behind Opal and Juleen...

Junior loved to come home and visit his last years, Juleen says. "We'd get a call one morning and it would be Junior saying, 'I'm in Omaha and I'm coming to stay with you.'"

Opal told a story when Susan and Joyce were back to Nebraska to visit in 2006... It seems on one of these visits Junior was staying with Opal and she noticed that his comb which was laying on the bedside table was missing quite a lot of it's teeth. So, she threw it away and bought him a new one that day. Junior was so mad at her for throwing it away. It seems that it had been given to him by Margaret, his first wife, about 25 years earlier and he treasured it.

The siblings in 1980... Rex, Charles and Jr behind Opal and Juleen


Standing in their birth order... Charles, Opal, Jr, Juleen and Rex... 1980...

Juleen said, "The last time Junior was back here for a visit, I took him out to the interstate to catch a commuter bus to Omaha. I'll always picture him looking at me with that devilish (again) smile and saying 'you're pretty good looking for an old lady!' Bless his heart, after all these years he finally said something nice (or almost) (ha)"

Joy Franklin Sipple (first Junior... later Senior or II) died in Ponce, Puerto Rico on December 28, 1997 at the age of 82. Juleen thinks that his son Joy III took care of his Father his last years. He was very sick. He wanted to come home (to Grand Island) to visit one more time and Joy III wanted to bring him but it never happened.

When Joy died, he was survived by his wife Iris, sons Charles and Joy III, daughters Susan, Joyce and Adda, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was also survived by his four siblings, Charles, Opal, Juleen and Rex.

**