Our Families Home

Jennie Boyd Boone

Nickname:
Birth:	Feb 23, 1913 in Roanoke, VA
Death:	Oct 29, 1994 in Akron, OH
Burial:
Gender:	F

Father:	View Family Sheet Arthur William Boone born Jul 2, 1880 in Simpsons, Floyd Co, VA
Mother:	Mabel Boyd born Jun 9, 1882 in Sparta, IL
Relationship:

Family #1:	View Family Sheet Howard Ward Kunkle
Marriage:	Jan 22, 1947 in Chapel at Arlington Cemetery, Washington, DC

Notes:	Information from Mary Louise Kunkle, now Sister Hope Mary. My mother's brother, Daniel, taught her how to drive a car on the condition that she help him fix the flat tires that were an inevitable part of driving in those days. She was a little bit of a tomboy so she didn't mind. In high school, she played basketball. She went to Huntington, West Virginia for her nurse's training and became a Registered Nurse. When World War II came along, she wanted to see the world, so she went into the Navy. For most of the war all she saw was the plains of Nebraska, as she served in a Veterans Hospital there. Later on, she did go to Bethesda Hospital and took care of young wounded men. She did not speak much of this as some of their stories of war, I think, moved her very much. She went back to Columbus, Ohio where her older sister, Mary Frances, lived with her husband, a doctor named Joe Morton. Mary Frances was also a Registered Nurse and had gone to nursing school with her friend Louise, who married Larry Kunkle. Larry taught agriculture at Ohio State University. Larry's younger brother, Howard, came to visit one Christmas. Mary Frances and her husband were having a party to decorate their Christmas tree and invited her sister Jennie along with Louise and Larry. Louise and Larry brought along Howard and that is how Howard and Jennie met. (Years later when I was born, they named me Mary Louise in honor of the two that introduced them.) Howard was still in the Army, stationed in Washington, D.C. I'm not sure how long they courted, but after a visit to Ohio, Jennie was going to drive Howard to get the train back to Washington. Instead, they decided she would go ahead and drive him to Washington, and once they got there, they decided to get married. They were married in the Arlington National Cemetery Chapel on January 22, 1947. Then, there was no way they could get an apartment, as Washington was very crowded. Hotels would only let people stay one week. So each week, Jennie would drive Howard to work, then she would pack all their belongings in the car and spend the day looking for another hotel room. After Howard got out of the Army, they moved to Springfield and he got a job at Ohio Edison (electric utility company). They transferred him to their main office in Akron. At first they lived on the outskirts of Akron, in Copley, which was sort of in the country. They kept chickens to help with their budget. Jennie worked in Public Health Nursing. Then they moved to a suburb of Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, and lived in a white two-bedroom house with a picket fence around the back yard and big climbing trees. When they wanted to start a family, there were some miscarriages, which my mother could not understand, as she had always been strong and in good health. She would not tell me much about this. Then the twins Elizabeth and Edward were born and died. Elizabeth lived only one day and Edward lived about six months but was never able to leave the hospital. There was difficulty about Edward when he died as they still owed for his hospitalization and the hospital said they would not release the body for burial until the bill was paid. My dad's friends at Ohio Edison Company, who were already lawyers, helped him convince the hospital he would pay the bill. My parents drove the little coffin back to Springfield and the cemetery let Edward share the same plot with Elizabeth because their coffins were so small. Then another heartbreaking time as my mom went back to work full time to pay off this hospital bill, so they had to postpone trying to have another child. Eventually my brother and then I were born. When my brother and I were little, Jennie took some time away from nursing and did a lot of stuff with us along with being a home-room mother. She went back to work when we were in high school in order to save for our college. She loved flowers - especially lilacs, knitting sweaters, and in later years the television programs, her particular favorites being ice-skating and gymnastics.

Notes:

Information from Mary Louise Kunkle, now Sister Hope Mary.

My mother's brother, Daniel, taught her how to drive a car on the condition that she help him
fix the flat tires that were an inevitable part of driving in those days. She was a little bit of a
tomboy so she didn't mind. In high school, she played basketball.

She went to Huntington, West Virginia for her nurse's training and became a Registered
Nurse. When World War II came along, she wanted to see the world, so she went into the
Navy. For most of the war all she saw was the plains of Nebraska, as she served in a Veterans
Hospital there. Later on, she did go to Bethesda Hospital and took care of young wounded
men. She did not speak much of this as some of their stories of war, I think, moved her very
much.

She went back to Columbus, Ohio where her older sister, Mary Frances, lived with her
husband, a doctor named Joe Morton. Mary Frances was also a Registered Nurse and had
gone to nursing school with her friend Louise, who married Larry Kunkle. Larry taught
agriculture at Ohio State University. Larry's younger brother, Howard, came to visit one
Christmas. Mary Frances and her husband were having a party to decorate their Christmas tree
and invited her sister Jennie along with Louise and Larry. Louise and Larry brought along
Howard and that is how Howard and Jennie met. (Years later when I was born, they named
me Mary Louise in honor of the two that introduced them.)

Howard was still in the Army, stationed in Washington, D.C. I'm not sure how long they
courted, but after a visit to Ohio, Jennie was going to drive Howard to get the train back to
Washington. Instead, they decided she would go ahead and drive him to Washington, and once
they got there, they decided to get married. They were married in the Arlington National
Cemetery Chapel on January 22, 1947.

Then, there was no way they could get an apartment, as Washington was very crowded.
Hotels would only let people stay one week. So each week, Jennie would drive Howard to
work, then she would pack all their belongings in the car and spend the day looking for another
hotel room.

After Howard got out of the Army, they moved to Springfield and he got a job at Ohio Edison
(electric utility company). They transferred him to their main office in Akron. At first they
lived on the outskirts of Akron, in Copley, which was sort of in the country. They kept
chickens to help with their budget. Jennie worked in Public Health Nursing. Then they moved
to a suburb of Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, and lived in a white two-bedroom house with a picket
fence around the back yard and big climbing trees.

When they wanted to start a family, there were some miscarriages, which my mother could not
understand, as she had always been strong and in good health. She would not tell me much
about this. Then the twins Elizabeth and Edward were born and died. Elizabeth lived only one
day and Edward lived about six months but was never able to leave the hospital. There was
difficulty about Edward when he died as they still owed for his hospitalization and the hospital
said they would not release the body for burial until the bill was paid. My dad's friends at Ohio
Edison Company, who were already lawyers, helped him convince the hospital he would pay
the bill. My parents drove the little coffin back to Springfield and the cemetery let Edward
share the same plot with Elizabeth because their coffins were so small. Then another
heartbreaking time as my mom went back to work full time to pay off this hospital bill, so they
had to postpone trying to have another child. Eventually my brother and then I were born.
When my brother and I were little, Jennie took some time away from nursing and did a lot of
stuff with us along with being a home-room mother. She went back to work when we were in
high school in order to save for our college.

She loved flowers - especially lilacs, knitting sweaters, and in later years the television
programs, her particular favorites being ice-skating and gymnastics.