Daddy was a carpenter. He could build or remodel anything. He had no formal training, just a God given gift. He even built a 24 ft cabin cruiser, which I got to christen.
He was also a Lapidarist. He would travel all over the US searching for rocks. What you would think of as ordinary, he made into beautiful jewelry. Some of the most fantastic rock & stone formations you ever saw. He belonged to a club of "rock hounds", and we would drive all over California & Arizona going to rock shows where they bought, sold, or traded rocks.
Once, while on a rock hunting expedition, he was lost in Superstitious Mountain in Arizona. The legend of the mountain was, if you went in you never came out. We almost gave up hope when a week later, here came daddy walking across the desert.
After many years, he put all his knowledge to good use by opening up a jewelry store in Hermosa Beach, CA. Then he turned toward antiques. He owned & operated an antique furniture & jewelry store in Norwood, OH.
Daddy only had a third grade education. What he knew, he was taught by God.
I spent a week with daddy at the hospital before he passed away. He had had open heart surgery the week before, and my sister had spent the week with him. He was doing very well, but then he had to have dialysis. His heart stopped on the third dialysis treatment.
Daddy was married 3 times.
1st wife: Mary Delphia Stephens, (6 children) divorced in 1954
2nd wife: Zanatona Lawson, (2 children) divorced Nov 1972 in Los Angeles, CA
3rd Wife: Helen Clark, divorced
Daddy lived the life that he enjoyed, but he was always a very troubled man.
He was also a Lapidarist. He would travel all over the US searching for rocks. What you would think of as ordinary, he made into beautiful jewelry. Some of the most fantastic rock & stone formations you ever saw. He belonged to a club of "rock hounds", and we would drive all over California & Arizona going to rock shows where they bought, sold, or traded rocks.
Once, while on a rock hunting expedition, he was lost in Superstitious Mountain in Arizona. The legend of the mountain was, if you went in you never came out. We almost gave up hope when a week later, here came daddy walking across the desert.
After many years, he put all his knowledge to good use by opening up a jewelry store in Hermosa Beach, CA. Then he turned toward antiques. He owned & operated an antique furniture & jewelry store in Norwood, OH.
Daddy only had a third grade education. What he knew, he was taught by God.
I spent a week with daddy at the hospital before he passed away. He had had open heart surgery the week before, and my sister had spent the week with him. He was doing very well, but then he had to have dialysis. His heart stopped on the third dialysis treatment.
Daddy was married 3 times.
1st wife: Mary Delphia Stephens, (6 children) divorced in 1954
2nd wife: Zanatona Lawson, (2 children) divorced Nov 1972 in Los Angeles, CA
3rd Wife: Helen Clark, divorced
Daddy lived the life that he enjoyed, but he was always a very troubled man.
Daddy was a carpenter. He could build or remodel anything. He had no formal training, just a God given gift. He even built a 24 ft cabin cruiser, which I got to christen.
He was also a Lapidarist. He would travel all over the US searching for rocks. What you would think of as ordinary, he made into beautiful jewelry. Some of the most fantastic rock & stone formations you ever saw. He belonged to a club of "rock hounds", and we would drive all over California & Arizona going to rock shows where they bought, sold, or traded rocks.
Once, while on a rock hunting expedition, he was lost in Superstitious Mountain in Arizona. The legend of the mountain was, if you went in you never came out. We almost gave up hope when a week later, here came daddy walking across the desert.
After many years, he put all his knowledge to good use by opening up a jewelry store in Hermosa Beach, CA. Then he turned toward antiques. He owned & operated an antique furniture & jewelry store in Norwood, OH.
Daddy only had a third grade education. What he knew, he was taught by God.
I spent a week with daddy at the hospital before he passed away. He had had open heart surgery the week before, and my sister had spent the week with him. He was doing very well, but then he had to have dialysis. His heart stopped on the third dialysis treatment.
Daddy was married 3 times.
1st wife: Mary Delphia Stephens, (6 children) divorced in 1954
2nd wife: Zanatona Lawson, (2 children) divorced Nov 1972 in Los Angeles, CA
3rd Wife: Helen Clark, divorced
Daddy lived the life that he enjoyed, but he was always a very troubled man.
He was also a Lapidarist. He would travel all over the US searching for rocks. What you would think of as ordinary, he made into beautiful jewelry. Some of the most fantastic rock & stone formations you ever saw. He belonged to a club of "rock hounds", and we would drive all over California & Arizona going to rock shows where they bought, sold, or traded rocks.
Once, while on a rock hunting expedition, he was lost in Superstitious Mountain in Arizona. The legend of the mountain was, if you went in you never came out. We almost gave up hope when a week later, here came daddy walking across the desert.
After many years, he put all his knowledge to good use by opening up a jewelry store in Hermosa Beach, CA. Then he turned toward antiques. He owned & operated an antique furniture & jewelry store in Norwood, OH.
Daddy only had a third grade education. What he knew, he was taught by God.
I spent a week with daddy at the hospital before he passed away. He had had open heart surgery the week before, and my sister had spent the week with him. He was doing very well, but then he had to have dialysis. His heart stopped on the third dialysis treatment.
Daddy was married 3 times.
1st wife: Mary Delphia Stephens, (6 children) divorced in 1954
2nd wife: Zanatona Lawson, (2 children) divorced Nov 1972 in Los Angeles, CA
3rd Wife: Helen Clark, divorced
Daddy lived the life that he enjoyed, but he was always a very troubled man.
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