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Descendants of Alexander Jackson Vinson

Generation No. 5

6. GENEVA G.⁵ VINSON (ANDREW JACKSON⁴, CHARLES W.³, JAMES M.², ALEXANDER JACKSON¹) was born March 29, 1910 in Marion, Illinois, Williamson County, and died October 23, 1993 in Chester, Illinois. She married JOHN L. DUNGEY. He was born June 24, 1911 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and died December 13, 1967 in Bellville, Illinois.

More About GENEVA G. VINSON:
Burial: October 26, 1993, Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Illinois

More About JOHN L. DUNGEY:
Burial: Unknown, Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Illinois

Children of GENEVA VINSON and JOHN DUNGEY are:

ROXIE D.⁶ DUNGEY, b. August 04, 1931, Marion, Illinois/Marion, Williamson Co., IL; d. October 20, 1981, Largo, Florida; m. LEE MEYER, Private; b. Private.

Notes for ROXIE D. DUNGEY:
Roxie was cremated and her ashes buried in the family plot at Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Illinois.

More About ROXIE D. DUNGEY:
Burial: October 24, 1981, Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Illinois

ii.

JOHN L. DUNGEY, b. November 28, 1936, Saint Louis, Missouri; d. July 24, 1994, Evansville, Illinois; m. SHIRLEY ANN WILSON, Private; b. Private.

Notes for JOHN L. DUNGEY:
Johnny was cremated and his ashes were buried in the family plat at Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Illinois.

More About JOHN L. DUNGEY:
Burial: July 30, 1994, Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Illinois

iii.

SANDRA JO DUNGEY, b. February 22, 1941, Saint Louis, Missouri; d. November 13, 1944, Evansville, Illinois.

More About SANDRA JO DUNGEY:
Burial: November 16, 1944, Evergreen Cemetery, Chester, Illinois
Cause of Death: Struck by car while crossing street in Evansville, Ill
Medical Information: Skull Fracture, Basal

7. HELEN MARIE⁵ VINSON (ANDREW JACKSON⁴, CHARLES W.³, JAMES M.², ALEXANDER JACKSON¹) was born April 02, 1912 in Marion, Illinois, Williamson County, and died February 21, 1985 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She married JOE HOWELL September 29, 1928 in Little Rock , Arkansas, Pulaski, County, son of JOHN HOWELL and ADA DESETT. He was born March 12, 1907 in Herrin, Illinois, and died March 01, 1997 in Herrin, Illinois.

Notes for HELEN MARIE VINSON:
Helen Marie Vinson was the second child born to Andrew Jackson Vinson and Jessie Rice. As a child she was bright and witty and a quick learner. She and her Sister Geneva and her younger brother Jack were born and raised in Marion, Illinois. They attended Marion elementary schools and several class pictures survive. On February 18, 1919 Andrew was divorced from his wife Jessie and won custody of the children. Geneva was 7, Helen 5, and Jack was 3 at the time of the divorce. The children lived with their father and his parents until he remarried, 25 June 1921. They were then raised by Jessie's parents, Ezra Norton Rice and his wife Mary. Ezra was a business man in Marion and also Coroner for Williamson County for two terms. Helen received the attention and love from her grandparents that was lacking from her own parents. She and her sister learned to play the piano and organ and they took singing lessons. The Rice's also had them attend church regularly and they adopted many of their religious beliefs and moral values. Helen entered Marion High School and completed her Freshman year but at age 16 she met Joe Howell from Herrin, fell in love and they were married September 29, 1928. Helen's Mother Jessie had remarried by now and drove with the young couple to Little Rock Arkansas where the ceremony was performed. Their marriage coincided almost exactly with the beginning of the great depression. Jobs in Southern Illinois became scarce and their were long periods of time when the young couple did not have even a penny in their pockets. Helen managed on what little Joe brought in and always kept a neat and tidy home. She was an excellent cook and could conjure up a tasty meal from the most meager of ingredients. Hard times did not deter her religious beliefs and she steadfastly maintained a optimistic view of things through the toughest of times. Her relationship with her mother and father were strained but after many years she reconciled mainly for the benefit of her three son's. She loved her family and waited on them hand and foot. She took pride in their accomplishments and guided them through their failures. She was loyal to her friends as she was to her family. She loved to shop and acquired a large wardrobe of clothing and shoes. She wore only a size 5 shoe and in her younger days weighed only 98 pounds. As she grew older she suffered from many malaise and was treated by several doctors for various illnesses. After her children were all married and her husband Joe had retired she began to enjoy the comforts of life that she had denied herself for so long. They spent the winter months in Florida, returning in the spring, and owned new cars, a fishing boat and a camping trailer. It was on a return trip from Florida on February 21, 1985 that she suffered a massive heart attack in their automobile just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee. By the time Joe could get the car stopped off of the road and medical attention called Helen had died. Her body was returned to Herrin and she was buried in Blairsville Cemetery. She was the glue that held the family together for all those many years and her passing left a void that has never been filled.

More About HELEN MARIE VINSON:
Burial: February 24, 1985, Blairsville Cemetery, Blairsville, Illinois
Cause of Death: Cardiac Arrest/Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease
Medical Information: Treated for many years for Sinus problems and High Blood pressure
Stature: Blue Eyes, Brown Hair, Five Feet Two Inche

Notes for JOE HOWELL:
Joe Howell's childhood was quite different that his wife's, Helen Vinson. Due to the wealth his grandfather Stephen C. Howell had acquired as a farmer, then selling off the land and finally a partnership in a Herrin Furniture Store his son John William Howell never lacked for funds. Joe's father, John William Howell bought and sold real estate with money borrowed from Stephen C and when Stephen died in 1924 John came into quite a bit of money and land from his estate. As a result Joe Howell lived in some of the finest homes in Herrin. Sometime if John found a buyer for the home the family was forced to move but it was always into a better home as John of course made a profit from the sale.
In 1908 John moved the family from Herrin to Blairsville where Joe contracted Typhoid Fever. He remembers his fever was so high that his tongue pealed and after the worst had passed he had to learn how to walk. John did not work on the farm of his father, instead he had started working in the coal mines that were springing up throughout Williamson County. In 1913 he moved the family to Harrisburg, Illinois for a better paying job with O'Haro Coal Company. Joe spent his first school years there and remembered the great floods of 1914 when water rose almost to the city square. In 1915 John moved his family back to Herrin and John worked in the local mines and sold real estate on the side. Joe attended South Side School through eight grade. When the great influenza epidemic struck the United States in 1918, 1919 every member of the family except John came down with the illness but they all survived.
In 1921 Joe entered Herrin High School where he excelled at Football and basketball. Although he was only five feet five inches tall he was a fast ball handler and fancy dribbler. In football his "bull-dog" tenacity allowed him to score the most touch down's in almost every game. He did have his collar bone broken in one game which kept him from reaching his full potential his Senior year.
Between 1923 and 1924 he attended Western Military Academy at Alton, Illinois where he made the Basket ball team his Freshman year. He returned to Herrin and graduated with his class in 1925.
After High School he worked in the Jeffrey Coal Mine near Herrin. In 1927 he went to Chicago with friends and worked in Mandrels Department Store until 1928 when he returned to Herrin and married Helen Marie Vinson. From 1929 until 1932 he was partner in a dry cleaning business in Pinckneyville, Illinois. In October of 1929 Joe's mother took sick, and Joe returned to Herrin by train. He rode in the ambulance to the Herrin Hospital with his mother where she died 30 October, Halloween night.
Joe decided to stay in Herrin and returned to work in the coal mines. He sold his interest in the dry cleaning business to his partner. Starting in 1933 until 1942 he worked in many mines throughout Souther Illinois. During the war he worked at the Ordnance plant south of Herrin and bought his first Ironworkers Union Card the Fall of 1942. He worked as an Ironworker until his retirement at age 67.
Retirement did not come easy for Joe as he always had a project going around the house.
He became active in the Democratic Party and he and Helen were invited to the inauguration of Jimmy Carter in Washington D. C for their political work. Joe and Helen began spending the winter months in Florida and it was while returning from one such trip that Helen suffered a massive heart attack outside of Chattanooga and died before medical help could arrive. Her body was brought to Herrin for the funeral and she was buried at Blairsville Cemetery.
Joe's three son's did what they could to help him restart his life but Helen had spoiled him so by waiting on him hand and foot that he eventually remarried for companionship.
Three days before his death he was involved in a serious car accident in Marion while returning home from a failed attempt to renew his drivers license. He refused to go to the hospital check up as was his way, but several days later his son Robert drove him to Herrin Hospital where X-Rays indicated he had three fractured ribs on his left side. He was given an elastic binding and some pain pills and sent home. On the morning of his death Robert and his wife Constance visited with him at 9:30 to check on his condition. He said he had spent a restless night and his side was hurting. After they left and around 11:30 A.M he probably became dizzy and fell in his bathroom where he suffered a heart attack. Robert and Connie arrived at almost the same time as the second ambulance did and followed it to the Hospital. Joe Howell died the next morning in intensive care at about 9:30 A.M. He was buried at Blairsville Cemetery, next to his wife Helen and behind the graves of his father John Howell and his Mother Myrtle.

More About JOE HOWELL:
Burial: March 04, 1997, Blairsville Cemetery, Blairsville, Illinois
Cause of Death: Cardio Pulmonary Arrest, Myocardial infraction
Medical Information: Joe Howell was in good health at the time of his death, however, he fell in his bathroom striking his head on the tub and he suffered a heart attack from the shock.
Stature: Five Feet Five Inches, blue eyes, dark hair

Children of HELEN VINSON and JOE HOWELL are:

9.	i.	JOEL WILLIAM⁶ HOWELL, b. Private.
10.	ii.	ROBERT LEIGH HOWELL, b. Private.
11.	iii.	JERALD GENE HOWELL, b. Private.

8. JACKSON⁵ VINSON (ANDREW JACKSON⁴, CHARLES W.³, JAMES M.², ALEXANDER JACKSON¹) was born April 22, 1914 in Marion, Illinois, Williamson County, and died April 09, 1974 in Sparta, Illinois. He married ELSIE IRENE BURNS June 16, 1940 in Saint Louis, Missouri. She died February 16, 1989.

More About JACKSON VINSON:
Burial: April 12, 1974, Caledonia Cemetery, Randolph County, Illinois

More About ELSIE IRENE BURNS:
Burial: February 20, 1989, Caledonia Cemetery, Randolph County, Illinois

Children of JACKSON VINSON and ELSIE BURNS are:

12.	i.		SONDRA K.⁶ VINSON, b. Private.
13.	ii.		JACKSON VINSON, b. Private.

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