John Francis Cupp Jr (1917 - 1986)

John Francis Cupp, Jr. was my father. Everyone called him Johnny Jay and he was 5 ft. 11-1/2 inches tall, with very dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was the oldest child in his family and had a third grade education. He quit school to help his father farm. My father was married twice, 1st to Oliva Barker and 2nd to my mother, Ruby Johnson. Olivia had two children who carried the Cupp name was not fathered by my dad. Oliva died in April 1941 before he married my mom in July 1941.

John enlisted into the US Army on October 20, 1942 in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was discharged on October 31, 1945 in Florence Italy as a Private 1st Class, Company C, 101st Military Police Battalion. He reenlisted in Florence and served until February 3, 1947. He was discharged at Fort Myer Virginia as Tech. 4th Grade, 7011th Area Service Unit.

After World War II, my father tried farming for awhile and then became an auto body repairman and painter. After several years the paint fumes made him ill and he began working as a auto mechanic. He mainly worked as a new car mechanic in Houston Texas. John and Ruby purchased a Texaco Service Station in 1968 located on Queens Road in Pasadena Texas and later one on Spencer Hwy. He worked the stations with the help of his wife, Ruby, until he had a stroke which left him disabled. He and my mother where married after the second time they saw each other. They had meet just nine months before they marriage and where married almost 45 years when he died.