Lora Ellen was always known as Ellen, she was the daughter of Mary Alice and Gus Womble. She had an older brother named Gus Jr. A second child was stillborn.
When Ellen was five years old her father died from what now days is called a stroke. This left her mother with two children aged 13 and 5 years old. My grandmother became a very astute businesswoman. She ran two hotels, one in Sanford, NC and one in Sumter, SC. For many years my mother traveled back and forth with her mother to the different hotels.
Because of her father's death she developed a close relationship with her grandfather Alston Wicker and remained close to him until his death in 1957 at the age of 97.
My mother graduated from Elon college -now Elon University went on to study at George Washington University in Washington DC until the start of WWII. While at Elon she took pilot training and earned her small airplane pilot wings. At the start of the war she was part of the ferry crews that flew planes to the Carribean ,where the armed forces would pick them up. She then joined the OSS ,which was the predecessor of the CIA. She worked on many different projects overseas.
While in Germany she met Edward Knipple, who would become her husband in 1952. They would be married from 1952 until her death in 1982. My mother supported my dad during his Air Force career. She kept the home front going, looked after four kids, took care of the house, made a lot of the clothes for me and my sisters.
My mother and father were opposites. My mother was only one of two children, went to college , was educated , spoke French, loved culture ( dragged us to all kinds of museums and cultural events-I didn't appreciate it then, but so now!) and now days would probably be considered upper middle class. My dad was dirt poor, one of 11 kids, high school education, did learn German, loved to travel. But together, my dad worshiped my mother and they were great partners in life.
Mom liked to read, sew and visit different historical places in the world when Dad was still in the service. Afterward she enjoyed visiting different parts of North Carolina. She was always up for a drive in the car, didn't matter where we were going. There is a saying in my family-" We are never lost, just misplaced "
When Ellen was five years old her father died from what now days is called a stroke. This left her mother with two children aged 13 and 5 years old. My grandmother became a very astute businesswoman. She ran two hotels, one in Sanford, NC and one in Sumter, SC. For many years my mother traveled back and forth with her mother to the different hotels.
Because of her father's death she developed a close relationship with her grandfather Alston Wicker and remained close to him until his death in 1957 at the age of 97.
My mother graduated from Elon college -now Elon University went on to study at George Washington University in Washington DC until the start of WWII. While at Elon she took pilot training and earned her small airplane pilot wings. At the start of the war she was part of the ferry crews that flew planes to the Carribean ,where the armed forces would pick them up. She then joined the OSS ,which was the predecessor of the CIA. She worked on many different projects overseas.
While in Germany she met Edward Knipple, who would become her husband in 1952. They would be married from 1952 until her death in 1982. My mother supported my dad during his Air Force career. She kept the home front going, looked after four kids, took care of the house, made a lot of the clothes for me and my sisters.
My mother and father were opposites. My mother was only one of two children, went to college , was educated , spoke French, loved culture ( dragged us to all kinds of museums and cultural events-I didn't appreciate it then, but so now!) and now days would probably be considered upper middle class. My dad was dirt poor, one of 11 kids, high school education, did learn German, loved to travel. But together, my dad worshiped my mother and they were great partners in life.
Mom liked to read, sew and visit different historical places in the world when Dad was still in the service. Afterward she enjoyed visiting different parts of North Carolina. She was always up for a drive in the car, didn't matter where we were going. There is a saying in my family-" We are never lost, just misplaced "
Lora Ellen was always known as Ellen, she was the daughter of Mary Alice and Gus Womble. She had an older brother named Gus Jr. A second child was stillborn.
When Ellen was five years old her father died from what now days is called a stroke. This left her mother with two children aged 13 and 5 years old. My grandmother became a very astute businesswoman. She ran two hotels, one in Sanford, NC and one in Sumter, SC. For many years my mother traveled back and forth with her mother to the different hotels.
Because of her father's death she developed a close relationship with her grandfather Alston Wicker and remained close to him until his death in 1957 at the age of 97.
My mother graduated from Elon college -now Elon University went on to study at George Washington University in Washington DC until the start of WWII. While at Elon she took pilot training and earned her small airplane pilot wings. At the start of the war she was part of the ferry crews that flew planes to the Carribean ,where the armed forces would pick them up. She then joined the OSS ,which was the predecessor of the CIA. She worked on many different projects overseas.
While in Germany she met Edward Knipple, who would become her husband in 1952. They would be married from 1952 until her death in 1982. My mother supported my dad during his Air Force career. She kept the home front going, looked after four kids, took care of the house, made a lot of the clothes for me and my sisters.
My mother and father were opposites. My mother was only one of two children, went to college , was educated , spoke French, loved culture ( dragged us to all kinds of museums and cultural events-I didn't appreciate it then, but so now!) and now days would probably be considered upper middle class. My dad was dirt poor, one of 11 kids, high school education, did learn German, loved to travel. But together, my dad worshiped my mother and they were great partners in life.
Mom liked to read, sew and visit different historical places in the world when Dad was still in the service. Afterward she enjoyed visiting different parts of North Carolina. She was always up for a drive in the car, didn't matter where we were going. There is a saying in my family-" We are never lost, just misplaced "
When Ellen was five years old her father died from what now days is called a stroke. This left her mother with two children aged 13 and 5 years old. My grandmother became a very astute businesswoman. She ran two hotels, one in Sanford, NC and one in Sumter, SC. For many years my mother traveled back and forth with her mother to the different hotels.
Because of her father's death she developed a close relationship with her grandfather Alston Wicker and remained close to him until his death in 1957 at the age of 97.
My mother graduated from Elon college -now Elon University went on to study at George Washington University in Washington DC until the start of WWII. While at Elon she took pilot training and earned her small airplane pilot wings. At the start of the war she was part of the ferry crews that flew planes to the Carribean ,where the armed forces would pick them up. She then joined the OSS ,which was the predecessor of the CIA. She worked on many different projects overseas.
While in Germany she met Edward Knipple, who would become her husband in 1952. They would be married from 1952 until her death in 1982. My mother supported my dad during his Air Force career. She kept the home front going, looked after four kids, took care of the house, made a lot of the clothes for me and my sisters.
My mother and father were opposites. My mother was only one of two children, went to college , was educated , spoke French, loved culture ( dragged us to all kinds of museums and cultural events-I didn't appreciate it then, but so now!) and now days would probably be considered upper middle class. My dad was dirt poor, one of 11 kids, high school education, did learn German, loved to travel. But together, my dad worshiped my mother and they were great partners in life.
Mom liked to read, sew and visit different historical places in the world when Dad was still in the service. Afterward she enjoyed visiting different parts of North Carolina. She was always up for a drive in the car, didn't matter where we were going. There is a saying in my family-" We are never lost, just misplaced "
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