Pappy
Living the Dream
5) Hank Williams was born with spina bifida acculta: A disorder of the spinal column, the condition caused Hank’s constant and lifelong pain. It is believed that this constant pain was the biggest factor in his later abuse of drugs and alcohol.
4) His name was misspelled on his birth certificate: Hiram King “Hank” Williams was named for Hiram I of Tyre, one of the three founders of the Masons. When he was born his name was spelled Hiriam on his birth certificate. He changed his first name to Hank to make it more acceptable in country music.
3) Neither of his two marriages may have been legal: Hank and Audrey Sheppard were married at a gas station by a Justice of the Peace just 10 days after her divorce. The legal requirements for Sheppard to remarry were that she must wait 60 days. His second marriage in 1952 to Billie Jean Jones Eshlimar followed the same pattern. Her divorce did not become final until 11 days after she married Hank Williams. The marriage was declared invalid and eventually Audrey was declared Hank Williams’s legal widow.
2) Between his marriages to Audrey and Billie Jean he had a short relationship with a woman named Bobbie Jett: His daughter, Antha Belle Jett, was born five days after he died. She was adopted by Hank’s mother Lillie who renamed her Catherine Yvonne Stone. After her grandmother’s death in 1955 she was made a ward of the state and was adopted by a couple with the last name Deupree. They renamed her Cathy Louise.
1) Hank’s father Elonzo spent eight years in a VA Medical Center: A veteran of World War I, Elonzo Williams was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm in 1930. The brain aneurysm caused facial paralysis and Elonzo spent eight years in the VA Medical Center in Pensacola, Florida. Hank’s mother Lillie became the head of the family, often working several side jobs in addition to running a boarding house to make ends meet.
4) His name was misspelled on his birth certificate: Hiram King “Hank” Williams was named for Hiram I of Tyre, one of the three founders of the Masons. When he was born his name was spelled Hiriam on his birth certificate. He changed his first name to Hank to make it more acceptable in country music.
3) Neither of his two marriages may have been legal: Hank and Audrey Sheppard were married at a gas station by a Justice of the Peace just 10 days after her divorce. The legal requirements for Sheppard to remarry were that she must wait 60 days. His second marriage in 1952 to Billie Jean Jones Eshlimar followed the same pattern. Her divorce did not become final until 11 days after she married Hank Williams. The marriage was declared invalid and eventually Audrey was declared Hank Williams’s legal widow.
2) Between his marriages to Audrey and Billie Jean he had a short relationship with a woman named Bobbie Jett: His daughter, Antha Belle Jett, was born five days after he died. She was adopted by Hank’s mother Lillie who renamed her Catherine Yvonne Stone. After her grandmother’s death in 1955 she was made a ward of the state and was adopted by a couple with the last name Deupree. They renamed her Cathy Louise.
1) Hank’s father Elonzo spent eight years in a VA Medical Center: A veteran of World War I, Elonzo Williams was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm in 1930. The brain aneurysm caused facial paralysis and Elonzo spent eight years in the VA Medical Center in Pensacola, Florida. Hank’s mother Lillie became the head of the family, often working several side jobs in addition to running a boarding house to make ends meet.
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