HUSBAND SOLVES MYSTERY FROM WIFE'S 1ST MARRIAGE.Byline: BETTIE RENCORET LANCASTER - It wasn't until after Jean and Ray Hanawalt had been married a few years that a decades-old mystery involving her first husband was solved. When she was very young, the former Jean Palmer was married to First Lt. David Sutton. Circa World War II and the Korean conflict, she followed him around the world. When he was stationed in 1949 on Okinawa, arrangements were made for her to join him there. She flew to San Francisco, then boarded a ship and sailed to the island, where her husband would be on leave waiting for her. "When I got on that plane I was loaded down not only with our 4-month-old daughter but all her necessities. On shipboard ship·board n. 1. The condition of being aboard a ship: on shipboard. 2. Archaic The side of a ship. adj. , despite the fact I was seasick most of the trip, I still had to take care of my baby. I threw up so much she got scared of me. That was bad." All the wives and children on that cruise were assigned quarters, apparently according to their husbands' ranks. When she got her assignment it was as the wife of "Sutton, David, Lt. Col." "I was stunned. When did David get to be a lieutenant colonel? As far as I knew he was still a first lieutenant. I thought he'd surely let me know if he got a promotion like that. But, hey, I'm not crazy! I didn't turn down the better accommodations." She puzzled over that for years. David had no idea how the mix-up came about. He died in 1962. The young widow Sutton and Ray Hanawalt were married in 1964 in Lancaster. One day, after they had been married awhile, she happened to tell Ray how her preferential treatment on that ship had remained an enigma for her. Ray came up with the logical explanation. "I knew what had happened," he said. "It was a simple error in interpretation. When I was in the service, one of my jobs was to cut that kind of paperwork. It had to list the name of the serviceman, his rank and status, which was in this case: Sutton, David. Lieutenant. Currently on Leave. To the uninitiated, abbreviated, his rank and status would read: LT. COL." Here in the United States, David Sutton worked as a civil engineer with the National Parks Service, and the couple lived in various places, including Death Valley. Their housing was provided, so when her husband died, Jean and her two children had to move out so the new engineer could move in. They moved to Lancaster, where Jean opened a restaurant, the Aloha, on Sierra Highway. "I did everything in that place, including waiting tables," she said. One day she was waiting tables when an obnoxious customer came in. He wasn't satisfied with anything so he gave her a bad time. She did her best to placate him, but he still wasn't happy and asked to see the manager. "I was irked but, as the waitress, I went and got my manager," said Jean. The manager couldn't please him either, and he demanded to see the owner. The manager was glad to call Jean back. "That did it," said Jean. "As the waitress I had to try to give him what he wanted. As the owner? I threw him out." Ray Hanawalt came to the Palmdale-Littlerock area in 1958 after serving in the U.S. Army in World War II and being recalled during the Korean War Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. . He was briefly a plant layout engineer for North American Aviation North American Aviation was a major US aircraft manufacturer. The company was responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, and the X-15 rocket plane, as well as Apollo , and an engineering drawing instructor for Northrop Aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau Institute, later called Northrop University.
For five years he was a Los Angeles County social worker, and for 15 years a vocational workshop instructor for the Mira Loma Recalcitrant Tuberculosis Hospital. After selling her restaurant, Jean joined the Antelope Valley office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office in 1964 as a legal secretary. She retired in 1977. She recalled that during those years she worked with Ian Grant, then a deputy district attorney and now a retired judge. Judges Bill Seelicke and Howard Swart swart adj. Archaic Swarthy. [Middle English swarte, from Old English sweart.] Adj. 1. were both deputy district attorneys DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. The Act of Congress of March 3, 1815, 2 Story L. U. S. 1530, authorizes and directs the district attorneys of the United States to appoint by warrant, an attorney as their substitute or deputy in all cases when necessary to sue or prosecute for the United , as was Hans Berg, now in private practice. "The office was well run," she said. "We had a lot of work to do, but the men were easy to work with and we all accomplished a lot. I really enjoyed it." With one published book to her credit, she has been researching, with Ray's help, the background of her great-grandmother back in Iowa, for a historical novel she is working on. "It's coming along," Jean said. They both do a lot of reading, and Mary Higgins Clark Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins Clark Conheeney, best known as Mary Higgins Clark, (b December 24, 1927 in the Bronx, New York) is an American author of suspense novels. is Jean's favorite author. LANCASTER - Menus for the week at the senior nutrition sites in Lancaster, Palmdale and Pearblossom have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk. Monday: Crispy chicken, oven browned potatoes, broccoli, Oriental salad, Jell-O. Tuesday: Hamburger on bun, macaroni macaroni: see pasta. salad, green beans, cake. Wednesday: Beef Stroganoff, noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. , sweet peas, carrot/raisin salad, bran muffin, pineapple tidbits TidBITS is an award-winning electronic newsletter and web site dealing primarily with Apple Computer and Macintosh-related topics. Internet publication TidBITS has been published weekly since April 16, 1990, which makes it one of the longest running Internet publications. . Thursday: Turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, tossed salad, mocha Mocha (mō`kə), town (1990 est. pop. 2,000), S Yemen, a port on the Red Sea. It was noted for the export of the coffee to which it gave its name but declined as a trading port in the late 19th cent. with the rise of Hodeida and Aden. pudding. Friday: Sweet and sour pork Sweet and sour pork ( or , pinyin: gūluròu or gǔlǎoròu; Cantonese: gu1 lou1 yuk6) is a Chinese dish that is particularly popular in Cantonese cuisine and American Chinese cuisine. , rice, spinach, coleslaw cole·slaw also cole slaw n. A salad of finely shredded raw cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots, dressed with mayonnaise or a vinaigrette. , banana. CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo Jean and Ray Hanawalt of Lancaster peruse pe·ruse tr.v. pe·rused, pe·rus·ing, pe·rus·es To read or examine, typically with great care. [Middle English perusen, to use up : Latin per-, per- some editing tips. Jean is writing a novel based on the life of her Iowa great-grandmother. Bettie Rencoret/Special to the Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion