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| John Raymond (Ray Cunnington) |
I was fortunate to have both of my grandmother's in my life and my material grandfather. I also knew my maternal grandmother's father and my maternal grandfather's mother. I already wrote about my maternal grandmother, Virginia Idella Ball Cunnington. Grandpa John Raymond Cunnington was quite a character. My grandmother called him Ray and as far as I could tell, so did his friends. What I remember most about him was that he liked to draw scantily clad women. Her could draw them really fast and had his own technique which he taught to my sister, Peggy who was the artists among my siblings. He also liked girly magazines and flirting. In spite of that he was devoted to my grandmother. I remember him doing things for her like coloring her hair and giving her permanents. In my mind, that told me that he really loved her because I feel that no man would willing do that kind of thing unless he was really in love with a woman. My paternal grandmother, Julia Emmaline Tucker Sanderson was someone that we visited occasionally when we went to Utah during the summers to stay with Grandma Cunnington. I know that my Dad loved her, but he had a difficult childhood because his Dad died when he was a year old. Grandma Sanderson married again when he was eight years old and he didn't have a good relationship with his new step-father, Elgin Johnson. This is the man that was the only father figure that he knew. What I remember most about my visits to Grandma Sanderson's house was seeing my Aunt's Beverly and JoAnn, my Uncle Frankie who was only 3 years older than me. If I ever met Grandma Sanderson's husband Elgin, I don't remember him. My Grandma Sanderson was a big genealogy buff and liked to share stories about our ancestors.
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| Gram, Ruby & Nell with LaRue & Billie Cunnington |
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| John Henry Ball (Little Grandpa) with Virginia & Theda Ball |
My Great-Grandfather, John Henry Ball, lived with Grandma and
Grandpa Cunnington for a long time. Most of the visits that I remember with
Grandma and Grandpa Cunnington included "Little Grandpa". My
Great-Grandmother, Caroline Louisa Brazier Cunnington lived across from Grandma
and Grandpa Cunnington. Her backyard faced their house and we visited them
often when we were there. Great-Grandma Cunnington lived with my Great-Aunts
Nellie Cunnington and Ruby Thomas. Nellie never married and Ruby's husband died
after there had been married just a few years. We loved to go to their house
and visit. Some things that I remember doing was chatting with them about the
old days and playing their little organ which was a play by the numbers one.
Playing that organ was the only time that I ever tried to play an instrument,
but we sure thought it was fun. Great-Grandma Cunnington (Gram) told us that
she came to America from England on a boat when she was a little girl and was
with one of the handcart companies that migrated to Utah. Her family settled in
Salt Lake and had a large plot of land. The street that they lived on (Brazier
Court) was part of that original land. Aunt Nellie was a sweet, shy little lady
who loved her family and took care of them and did a lot of the housework. When
we went to their house we often got treats that she had baked and she would
always give us something to eat even if it was only toast and Miracle Whip.
Aunt Ruby also had a love for family and was the genealogist for the Cunnington
line. She shared some of this with me. Aunt Ruby was very talented, she painted wonderful oil paintings and wrote poetry. She had one son, Art, who lived at the
end of Brazier Court facing the main street which was in front of it. We often
played with his children, Art Jr. and Judy. Another cousin who lived on Gram's
street were the Harvey's. We spent time with Clark and Clifford, especially
when we were teenagers. I had a crush on Clark and Peggy had a crush on
Clifford.
Other cousins who were a big part of my childhood were my
mother's sister's (Aunt Billie) children, John, Ginny, Geri and Laurie. They
lived in Lancaster when we were growing up and we spent many a happy time at
their house. John and I were especially close. I even called him my
"kissing cousin" when we were teenagers, although I don't remember us
ever kissing. Some other cousins that we grew up with were Dad's brother Dennis'
children, Becky, Scott, Bill, Guy and Danny. They lived in Canoga Park much of
our children and we were even in the same ward. Becky and Scott, Peggy and I
were around the same age and were often in the same class. I remember when my
Aunt Hermoine was my seminary teacher.
I don't remember many friends that I had as a child and
teenager, but I do remember my extended family.
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