Valorie (Quinn) Lynn (1922 - 2004)

Born 27 Mar 1922 in Grove Oak, Alabama

Ancestors

Wife of Robert Jackson Lynn — married 27 Jul 1944 in York, South Carolina

Died 12 Jul 2004 at age 82 in Greenville, South Carolina

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jackie Fletcher [send private message]

Biography

Valorie was born on Sand Mountain, Alabama to George Henry and Daisy Anne (Patterson) Quinn. Valorie had two older brothers and five older half brothers and sisters. Sand Mountain was rural with rich soil and poor people. They grew crops to sell or barter and they ate from their gardens. Valorie's father, Mr. Quinn, was a sharecropper and an itinerant preacher.

When Valorie was 15, 1937, her mother died. Valorie and Mr. Quinn could not keep up the work alone. Her brothers were attending school at The Berry Schools near Rome, Georgia so Valorie went there to join them. At Berry she finished high school and began her college courses. In the meantime Mr. Quinn moved to North Carolina to be close to his family. Valorie would visit him there on breaks. That is where she met Jack. He was a handsome soldier in uniform and she was a beautiful college student. Jack sent all of his money home to his mother so he wrote to her to go pick out a ring for Valorie. She did and the next time Jack was home on furlough he asked her to marry him. Back at Berry she showed her ring to her friends and it was the biggest on campus.

When Mr. Quinn became ill, Valorie left Berry to care for him. She never returned as a student but continued to return to campus the rest of her life. Once again Jack was able to come home on furlough and he took Valorie across the state line to York, South Carolina where they were married. Valorie told me that when Jack was sent to Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia she went down to see him. He took her across the river into North Augusta, South Carolina so that they could see the "Carolina Moon".

By the time Jack was discharged from the army their first daughter, Jackie, was born. Thirteen months later the second daughter, Betty, was born. Betty was premature and not expected to live. These two girls were as different as night and day. By the way, Mr. Quinn was still living with the family. He wasn't a free loader by any means. He always had a substantial vegetable garden and Valorie and Jack worked together to can vegetables for the family. Mr. Quinn lived as part of this family until his death in 1956.

Valorie almost always had a job outside the home except for brief periods when she needed to stay home with her girls. During the war, after she left Berry, she worked at a munitions factory. She and Mr. Quinn found an apartment in Shelby, North Carolina and she got a job at The Lilly Mills where they make thread. Later she worked for a laundry and dry cleaners. There she worked the front counter, did alterations and probably bookkeeping. After Jack had worked for J. P. Stevens for a while, she was able to work for them at different times and different jobs. She also worked in the office at a blouse factory. When Valorie retired she was working for J. P. Stevens.

Even though Valorie worked outside of the home, she was an excellent homemaker. When the family was young and struggling she made beautiful dresses for Jackie and Betty out of chicken feed sacks and added white cuffs and collars. She made much of their clothes until they left home and made their wedding dresses. She crocheted doles did counted cross stitch. After she retired she was on a bowling league and loved to bowl. Valorie loved quilting and was a gifted quilter. She won many ribbons at quilt shows. She made small craft items to sell at craft shows to pay for her quilting supplies. She didn't sell her quilts. They were for family and very special friends. Valorie was a member of Covenant United Methodist Church.

Valorie and Jack had a beautiful love story. Valorie passed away at age 82 in 2004, only 15 days before their 60th anniversary. She was laid to rest in a spot reserved for her near Jack's parents at Mountain Rest Cemetery in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. Only 9 months later Jack was laid by her side.

Sources

• U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, Provo, UT, USA, http://www.Ancestry.com.

• The Lynn Family, by Valorie Quinn Lynn, Compiled and distributed to the family in the 1990's., jackie@mahonri.org.

• From personal memory of daughter, Jackie Fletcher.