The Life and Times of Janet Leigh

By Janet Leigh Stanley

This is a story about a beautiful girl from a small Mississippi town and her adventures through life. She was a caring, fun loving, and charismatic person who enjoyed life to its fullest. This book chronicles her many pursuits and adventures. She was a true joy and I had the pleasure of being with her for 20 years. She was my companion and friend. I hope by reading this book you can enjoy her as much as I did. This book was written in her final years of her life as she fought a courageous battle with cancer.
This book is a tribute to her life.

With all my love
Kirk A. Stanley.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477256947

Book preview

© 2012 Janet Leigh Stanley. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/01/2012

ISBN:   978-1-4772-3212-5 (sc)

            978-1-4772-5694-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012911608

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Contents

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JANET LEIGH

MY DAD--MAJOR STERLING L. HARRELL

MY DAD’S NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE

MY MOM-DORIS MAY HARRELL

DAVE AND BEA STANLEY

GRANNY JANNY AND GRANDPA KIRK’S GRANDCHILDREN

TO CALYSTA

TO MARISSA

TO CAMERON

TO MADISON

GRANNY JANNY DAY

MY PETS

Now for the Dobies!

I LOVE LUCY!

CAPPIE

CHILDHOOD YEARS : MA-MAW AND PA-PAW MAY (MOM’S PARENTS)

SPEAKING OF CORN

GRANDMOMMY HARRELL - (DAD’S MOM)

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLDAYS

COUSIN LINDA’S STORIES

INTRODUCTION FOR COUSIN LINDA’S ALBUM OF MEMORIES

JUNIOR HIGH AND HIGH SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL

COLLEGE YEARS

MY TEACHING EXPERIENCES

VICTOR AND SUSAN

THELMA AND LOUISE (KAREN AND JAN)

BIMINI, BAHAMAS AND OTHER ISLAND STORIES

THE NUNS

OTHER FISHING AND BOATING STORIES

CLOSE CALL?!

VIC’S BLUE MARLIN

JANET LEIGH MEETS KIRK

BOATING AND FISHING WITH KIRK

LIFE THREATENING ACCIDENTS AND ILLNESS

MY JOURNEY THROUGH THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JANET LEIGH

EPILOGUE

FUNERAL OF JANET LEIGH

APPENDIX

TO OUR GRANDCHILDREN

MESSAGES TO GRANNY JANNY READ AT HER FUNERAL

Message From Calysta

Message From Ryan

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JANET LEIGH

(The Good, Bad and the Ugly)

My first memory of my reality experience in this world was walking down the beach in Guam, topless, escorted by two handsome young men. Am I being escorted by two eligible bachelors? Well, no, they were ONLY my older brother, Sterling, and his buddy, Billy Sealy! ...BUT I was just three years old! (THE UGLY!)

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(Jan and others on the beach)

MY DAD--MAJOR STERLING L. HARRELL

My Dad was born on September 2, 1921. After graduation from high school, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in November, 1940, where he attended Officer’s Training School and Pilot Training.

During World War II, he flew 178 missions, or more, over the so-called Hump in the China, Burma, and India Campaign which supported combat troops with necessary supplies. Attached to the India-China Wing of the Air Transport Command, he accumulated over 300 hours of flight time on the air routes over the Himalayan Mountains, where pilots found the foulest flying weather in the world!

His airplane was exposed to an abundance of Japanese fighter planes, icing and flying at unusually high altitudes, often flying by instruments alone. During this period he was awarded the Air Medal and in May, 1944, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the nation’s second highest military decoration, for his extraordinary achievements in the face of the enemy. In March, 1951, he was awarded the Korean Service Medal for 30 or more consecutive days.

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(Jan’s father in uniform)

My father went down in his plane October 26, 1952 as a result of an aircraft accident, off the southern tip of Leyte, Philippine Islands, while serving as a Senior Pilot of the 54th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron. Neither the plane nor crew members were ever found. I think I got good genes from my Mother and Father- perseverance, persistence, courage, tenacity and stubbornness!

MY DAD’S NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE

A Bible was given to my father, Sterling L. Harrell, November 24, 1940 by Mrs. E. G. Harris. I found out from Mother that Mrs. Harris was my father’s Sunday School teacher and was very fond of him. She was the grandmother of Marie Harris, a classmate and good friend of mine. Mrs. Harris’ scripture to my father was: II Timothy 2:1 (I included Verses 2 & 3 for I felt they were relevant to her thoughts, but maybe my thoughts?)

Timothy exhorted to constancy and perseverance.

1. Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

3. Thou, therefore, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus.

In this bible was a note. I do not know if it was written by Mrs. E.G Harris.

Truly 0’God of Israel, Savior. You work in strange, mysterious ways. God specializes in using the obscure to accomplish the awesome. Where do you see God’s purposes linked with personal events in your life?

I wanted to include this revelation in my book, for somehow I feel there was a message for me somewhere in this scripture or in the personal note. What is the obscure? What is the awesome and how do these affect personal events in my life? Or your life?

MY MOM-DORIS MAY HARRELL

She was born July 13, 1923. She is one of the most courageous women I know. After meeting some of her dearest friends (some since grade school) over the years and talking with them, I realized Mom was quite a character in school and outside of school. I can tell from her poses in some old pictures, she was a show-off? A ham? An instigator? A sports and athletic show off? Her dear friends told me some stories of her shenanigans in front of her, and of course, she couldn’t deny any of it! We laughed like little school girls. Her dear friend and math teacher, Mrs. Christine White, was also my teacher in high school and we had so much fun talking with Mom about those good ole days.

Mom and her best friend, Hazel Parker, (later mentioned numerous times) worked for the Draft Board Office in West Point after graduation for two or three years. We were at war and a lot of housewives and single girls had to sacrifice their routine way of life to work and fill the vacancies in business, industry, agriculture, education and health care.

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(Jan’s mother)

Then the time came when one of them had to go to Jackson, MS to work at the Military Ordinance Plant (MOP). They actually flipped a coin and Hazel lost. She had to move to Jackson; Mom got to stay in West Point, which became boring and she wanted a much livelier environment. She joined up with Hazel in Jackson sharing a room in a boarding house. Mom got a job at the MOP. They pretty much went their separate ways, socially. Hazel met her future husband, Charles Baggs, at the hospital. Mom’s Day came later on when she married my Dad.

After my dad’s death she flew back from Guam to her hometown, West Point, MS with my brother and me (ages 3 and 2). She was Mommy and Daddy as we grew up and taught us to become responsible adults. I know she had trials and tribulations during our teen years but she persevered and I think we are O.K.! She made certain that our Grandparents, Ma-Maw and Pa-Paw Mays and Grandmommy Harrell, gave us life-long experiences and old stories we could tell the next generations of Harrells and Mays.

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