Virginia Lee (Gardner) Strough

She once saw a young man riding a dapple-gray stallion down her road and turned to tell her Mother that someday she would marry him. At the age of 16 after he returned from World War 2 they were wed. The marriage was to be kept secret from his parents, because his mother was very ill after losing her first son in the war. For over a year they would live apart until they were expecting their first child and the secret had to be told. At this point they moved into the basement of her Mother and Father’s house along with his younger sister, Sallie, as his Mother was too ill to care for her. After getting their own home and having a second child, she took a factory job making telephones at Western Electric that she would keep for 27 years. The first year her check was saved so they would have the money to start building their dream home on Indian Lake. After work and on the week-ends she spent at her husband’s side building their home with their children with the help of her Mother and Father, whom they would later build a house for next door. Jenny and Jack would play as hard they worked. A day of working on the house would end on the water. With Jenny driving the boat to pull all the skiers or putting on her skates to join everyone ice-skating after making sure the hot chocolate was on the stove to warm everyone up with after a fun time on the ice. After retiring from Western Electric she would move, along with her husband of 55 years, Jack, and her mother, Ciel, to Cataract Lake. They would enjoy traveling in their large motor home and spending time in Florida shopping and visiting family. Only to return home and start building again, this time a barn, a shed, and a lot of fence. A place where her 5 children, 18 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren would enjoy with great memories for generations to come. Jenny never gave up, suffering with rheumatoid arthritis for many years, she is an inspiration to us all.

Family Tree:
Spouse:	Jack D. Strough Married: February 22, 1947
Children:	Linda Louise (Strough)Brown Karen Kay (Strough) Burkett Rex Harry Strough Lisa Louciel (Strough) (Willetts) Ingram Jay Dee Strough
Grandchildren:	Virginia, Robert, Julie, Lynn,Amber, Amanda, Jack, Mitchell, Christine, Samantha, Casey Step Grandchildren Jason, Cheryl, Christina, Jeremiah, Scott, Zachary, Grace Great Grandchildren Payton, Paxton, Hope, David, Brant
Parents:	Emma Louciel (Dunnavant) Gardner Henry Wilbur Gardner
Siblings:	None listed
Grandparents:	Henry Gardner Anna O. (Hayes) Gardner Frank Dunnavant Alla V. (Evitts) Dunnavant