When I think of my brother, Jack Heiskell, and his loving wife, Bonnie Caughron Heiskell, I am often reminded of the story of their courtship and elopement.
“In June of 2009, we celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of Jack and Bonnie. At this celebration she wrote their story, and we will let her tell it in her own words.
“Jack and I met when I was in high school. Jack’s sister Ginny introduced us and we started dating regularly. Not long after we started dating, my foster mother, “Mam,” thought we were getting too serious, so she told Jack not to come back to see me.
“Jack and I didn't agree with her, so we would slip around to see each other. Jack would borrow different boy's cars and come to see me. I would meet him at the road and Mam thought it was the other boys.
“We fell in love and decided to get married. I wasn't 21 years old yet, so we had to have someone to sign for us to get married. I couldn't ask Mam, so Jack found my birth mother who lived in Knox County. He brought her to Union County to sign the paperwork.
“Next, we had to have blood work done. I rode downtown with Pat Turner's parents. They didn't know what I was doing. I met Jack at the bus station, and we went to have blood work done. Since they did not know where I went, I was afraid they would see my band-aid on my arm, but they didn't.
“It came time to get our marriage license. We could not get them through the week, so Jack asked the county court clerk, Vaughn Moore, to let us get them on Sunday, and he agreed.
“Jack couldn't come and get me, so he asked his neighbor, Lois Johnson, to come and get me and take me back. Lois told Jack she had a date but that she would do it. She picked me up, and I met Jack. We got our marriage license and went back to Lois’ house. Lois was not there because she had decided to go on her date.
“We didn't know what to do, so Lois' mother decided to drive me home. Her husband didn't want her to go by herself, so he got in the back floorboard and hid so Mam wouldn't see who brought me home. Whew, we made it!
“A few weeks later, I packed a few clothes in a small suitcase and hid it in the garage up at the road. Jack and Larry Helton came by and picked up the suitcase. It was raining “cats and dogs” that night. Larry got out of the car in a hurry and lost his shoe. He grabbed his shoe and the suitcase and ran back to the car. He was wet all over and was scared to death.
“The day came to get married: June 26. I was working at the Standard Knitting Mill in Knoxville and I had to ride with someone. Georgia Foust was riding with us. I told her that morning after we got to work that I wouldn't be going back home that evening. I was meeting Jack and getting married.
“She said OK that she would cover for me. I met Jack that evening after work. We went to his Aunt Mildred’s house in town to change clothes and to pick her up to go with us. Then we stopped and picked up David Sharp for a witness.
“We went to a house that Preacher Ralph Cox was building and asked him to marry us. He looked at the license and told us we had to be in Union County to get married since we had gotten the license in Union County.
“So we drove back into Union County and stopped at the corner of Ailor Gap Road and Tazewell Pike to get married. We all got out of the car and he married us by the side of the road. I was a nervous wreck and Aunt Mid said she could hardly keep her knees from knocking. But finally, we were married on June 26, 1959, and so far it has lasted 50 years.”
After their marriage, they made their home in Maynardville on the family farm. There, they raised their daughter, Karen, until she moved to Anderson, South Carolina, for college. While there, Karen met and married the man of her dreams, Ken Kohlmayer, and they are making South Carolina their home.
After Jack retired from Sanford-Day Iron Works and Bonnie retired from DeRoyal Industries, and having the desire to be close to Karen, Ken and grandson Christopher, they packed up and moved to Anderson, South Carolina.
Their marriage lasted more than 50 years. In fact, they had 55 years together before her death in November 2014. Jack lived two years longer, almost to the day, and passed away on November 1, 2016. They were both buried in the church cemetery, Neal’s Creek, where they attended.
I think of them often and miss them greatly. They were both quiet and gentle and a loving couple. I always looked forward to them coming back home and staying with me.
Bonnie had another story she would tell of her growing up in an orphanage and foster home. I only wish she had written a book of her experiences.