Lives Intertwined

By Wanda Nunley

This book is the life and love story of Wanda Lee Kirby Nunley, Darrell Louis Nunley and Jesus Christ. Darrell and Wanda met at age 10 and 15 in Logan, Texas which is in East Texas on the Texas Border with Logansport, Louisiana and both already knew Jesus. The author is from Houston, Texas where she lives with her husband of 58 years. Darrell is from Logansport, LA. They were married at ages 14 and 19, have been through a lot and endured much. Their lifes journey has been full of exciting events all along the way from birth to old age with Jesus Christ holding everything in his hands. Jesus is and has been a very important partner with both of them from early in their individual lives as well as together. The know Jesus has and always will be the third strand of a platted cord keeping them closely knitted together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469157092

Wanda Nunley

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Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

In the Beginning

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their

work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has

no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend

themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

In 1917 during WWI, James Edgar (Ed) Kirby, my Dad, was drafted to the US Army. Ed was born in 1895 in a small community called Galloway, Texas known to the locals as Flat Woods. It is near Carthage, Texas. After basic training he was sent to a camp in New Jersey and told to wait there until he was sent to Europe (France) to the WWI battle ground. While waiting to be sent by ship, he, and several of his platoon took the deadly Spanish flu. (The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Also known as the Spanish Flu or La Grippe the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster.) He was too ill and unconscious to leave shore at that time so the ship left without him. While he was still unconscious the war ended. Many died from the flu epidemic but Dad lived and was spared from going abroad. He was sent home although still ill.

Ed returned home to learn his father, Mr. James Ambrose Kirby, (Mr. Kirby), needing money for the families’ survival had sold Ed’s land for his gain. Not believing that Ed would return from war or return healthy he forged Ed’s name on the deed of Ed’s land which totaled 200 acres. Ed’s induction money helped him to finish paying for the land. He had great plans for those 200 acres. WWI brought great hardship to all America especially farmers. Once home, Ed never exposed his father’s illegal misdeeds but simply forgave him. Times were tough and he figured his family had needs. Ed never got over the loss of this property but he worked even harder to acquire more land.

Ed’s father opened a county store in Flat Woods after he came home from the Army and the family continued to farm.

When Mr. Kirby was a young man he rode into an Indian reservation, traded for a young girl as a help mate to him and soon married her. Ed’s mom was 100% native American Indian named Florence Archer. Archer was their chosen surname because Florence’s father was known for his bow and arrow expertise. Ed was the fifth child born to Mr. Kirby and the young Indian girl’s union. Their children were Buna, who married and died, Ambrose, Stella, Inez, and Ed and then one died with Florence at birth. Little Ed was devastated at his Mom’s death. Inez was sent to live with relatives in Robison County during her young years. This also threw Ed for a loop. Mr. Kirby did not marry again for a few years. He did eventually marry again and they had two children, Ivos and Eva but this wife too died with their third child in childbirth. He never married again.

♥

Hallie Mae Whiddon, my Mother was second born to William Dave Whiddon, who was a prominent businessman and a well-known gentleman in the community. He was married to Ida Mae Pinkston. Dave owned a large mercantile store in Joaquin, TX across the Sabine River from Logansport, LA. People came from miles to his store to purchase ready-made clothes, supplies and just about every thing else the other, smaller stores around did not carry. Many supplies had to be ordered from faraway places like Houston (200 miles away) but Mr. Dave’s store had a little bit of everything.

The Whiddons’ oldest child, a son named Rex, died at 6 years old and the family couldn’t get over this devastion, so Dave had an idea to go west with his family to seek his fortune raising chickens. They didn’t make it out of Texas but got to and settled in South Texas in Chrystal City, where they stayed for about a year. Within a year of wrestling large, deadly snakes, their dream of owning a chicken farm was now eaten up by those snakes. They moved back to Joaquin and re-opened the store. Their family suffered hardship and once home they realized just how irreparable the family damage was. Back in Joaquin, it seemed Hallies’ father and mother just couldn’t overcome some of the damage to their relationship so their marriage ended in quiet divorce. Never before was divorce a part of this family and this divorce was never mentioned again.

♥

Hallie had grown up with lovely clothes from her daddy’s store and was fortunate enough to also take piano lessons. She was the oldest of 5, later to be 6. They were Hallie, Geneva, Howard, Clifford, Milam and eventually Raymond.

♥

In early 1919, once Ed fully recovered from his illness, he met Hallie at a play party in Joaquin, TX Hallie’s hometown. (These play parties were community get togethers where young people would congregate, meet, talk and dance. They were held at one of the parent’s house.) Hallie was the prettiest girl Ed had ever seen at a play party. Unfortunately she was just 14 years old. After five months of courting and getting to know her and her parents, Ed finally got Hallie’s parents to allow them to wed. On July 26, 1919 they were married by an old minister of that area named Uncle Honey Piles. He performed almost everyone’s marriage during the post war days in those parts of Texas. They were married in Flat Woods, TX. He was 23. She was 14.

♥

Once Ed and Hallie married, they moved right away into Mr. Kirby’s country home. Hallie became many things to Mr. Kirby’s family. She was wife to Ed, house keeper to Mr. Kirby and mother to his six year old little girl (Eva) and whatever else to whoever turned up or for whichever child who had not left home needed something. All this and she was only 14. She never had to care for others before. At her parent’s home, they had maids to do all this. She quickly learned to wring the necks of chickens, she then cooked it for their supper, along with lots of delicious things she learned to make, like homemade biscuits and fresh vegetables from the garden. Gone were those good ole days of having help to do this and now in its place was a country life both new and frightening to her. She married into a family with a six year old little girl she had to raise and she had to learn to sew clothes for her, cook family meals, farm and care for Eva. She was forced to put her and her new husbands’ education on hold.

♥

Early in Ed and Hallie’s marriage, Ed began to drink with neighbors and sometimes would not get home until late at night, if at all. One day, tired of his drinking, Hallie devised a plan. She put it into action once he was out and had been gone for several days. When he came home, she was lying on the couch and smelled of whiskey (she poured whiskey all over her mouth so she’d smell of it). She faked a drunk and it was not pretty! Her apparent condition took him by surprise, he chastised her. He told her how stupid and awful she looked and acted and when he did, the light bulb went on. Bing! Her point was proven, so she came clean and told the truth of her premeditated actions and behavior. As a result he felt stupid himself and quit drinking in total, soon afterwards.

CHAPTER TWO

Divorce/Move to Houston

Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests,

but also to the interests of others.

With much strength and resolve, Mrs. Ida Mae Whiddon, Hallie’s mom, now divorced, left Joaquin and moved to Galloway, TX (Flat Woods) so she could be nearer Ed and Hallie after they married. She and the children were fortunate enough to live in Mr. Kirby’s old house on his property which was not being used, so the Kirby farm was also home to Mrs. Whiddon and her children, all of them younger than Hallie.

♥

Once settled, Mrs. Whiddon and children made a crop on the Kirby farm that year and laid it by, meaning they gathered everything and cleaned up the fields. They were allowed to keep all the yields and with this, they canned a lot of food for the winter. This was survival! Grandpa Pinkston (Ida Mae’s father), came from his farm to help his daughter to help make the crops. Remember the Whiddon’s had lived a very different life from the Kirby’s. They had never lived on a farm nor farmed themselves.

Mr. Whiddon, the now ex, took on a cavorting new lifestyle and his family was broken for a long time.

♥

Once things slowed down, Ida had time to think about her future with her children and began to pray for direction from the Lord. She didn’t know much about God or praying. What she knew she learned from the Methodist church in Joaquin. She began to read the Bible and would hold her old Bible close to her chest.

After moving to the country, she learned something new that had begun in a community near their home. It was called a Brush Arbor religious meeting. (Brush Arbor meetings sometimes called protracted meetings, or camp meetings, began in the late 1700’s and continued into the mid 1900’s. Itinerant ministers or circuit riding preachers would travel from place to place and would often send word ahead of their approximate time of arrival in a community. If there was no building, the people there would quickly erect a brush arbor for a meeting place. It was usually located in a well-traveled area along the side of a road and everyone was welcome.) The Whiddon’s and Hallie and Ed Kirby had heard about people getting saved and born again and soon they too wanted to go experience this. Ed had a car but the roads were so bad they had to leave very early to get there in time for the service sometimes using axes and 2 x 4s to get the car out of mud holes. As they continued to attend these meetings they learned about the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the Fathers love, grace, forgiveness, hope and how He died to wash away our sins and how if we called upon Him, He would help.

Ida and the rest continued to go and really connected with what they learned. They loved what they heard and were taught and learned to love the Lord, lean on Him for direction and to trust Him and pray fervently in these meetings.

♥

Ida had heard of boom times in Houston, TX. Stories were, there was good ways to make a better living there so she gathered up her children and rode the train with their belongings and moved to Houston. Prayer was her only constant.

When Grandma Whiddon had been in Houston a while and realized she couldn’t handle Milam, the baby and run the house too, she sent him by train to go live with Hallie and Ed in the country. She sent a letter to them saying when he would arrive in Joaquin, not knowing there was a flood of catastrophic magnitude in East Texas. Ed rode his horse (Ole Morgan), for several days to get Milam at the depot. Milam was five years old. When they started home, the flood was even worse. So Ole Morgan had to swim with them on his back, day and night to get them home. They thought they’d die before arriving home because sink holes, debris and fast moving currents were everywhere. Praise the Lord they made it and Milam lived with them until they moved to Houston.

About a year after Ida moved, business was booming. Hallie and Ed with Milam moved to Houston to help Ida maintain the large rooming house she opened on Travis Street in downtown Houston. Back then most people moving into a new town, especially large cities, lived in rooming houses until they could find work and homes. In these rooming houses, you were furnished meals along with the furniture for your one room and had to share a bath room and the rest of the house. All of Hallie’s brothers sold newspapers on street corners to add to the family income. Ed kept everything in working order in the rooming house. Soon both Kirby’s obtained jobs of their own and around 1923 bought their own home.

♥

About this time, Geneva, Hallie’s younger sister was walking down the sidewalk in downtown Houston going to her new found job. A young man in a grand sailor suit stopped her. They dated and soon they were married. Eva, Ed’s baby sister who moved to Houston and lived with them too became acquainted with a handsome young chef who worked at the renowned downtown Houston Rice Hotel. They too married shortly thereafter. This left both homes a little bit emptier.

CHAPTER THREE

Murder in the Family, Remarriage and a Church Home

Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

Deuteronomy 5:17 Thou shalt not kill.

At about this time, Mr. Kirby, Ed’s father, was murdered inside his home which was connected to his country store. He employed, as his delivery boy for many years, a mentally challenged young man. One very cold morning, the young man came into Mr. Kirby’s home to start the fire to warm the store and begin the morning, as he often did. After the fire was aflame he walked to the gun cabinet, chose a gun, loaded it and shot and killed the old man. He then proceeded to load as much food as possible onto the old delivery truck. He took some of everything stacking it up far too large. It is believed his family was in dire need. The groceries fell off along the dirt roads as he drove out of the country on that cold icy morning. Many people saw him drive past their homes in the old delivery truck which everyone recognized and knew belonged to Mr. Kirby. Seen by many, it did not take long to find the young man.

♥

The Ku-Klux Klan was active back then in these rural areas. They were waged by many to hang this young man. Some family members were also in agreement, having no objections to this hanging. One night, the jailer agreed to leave the keys available in order for those folks to facilitate this heinous crime. A family member notified Ed in Houston, of the plan to avenge Mr. Kirby’s death. Ed and Hallie and the Whiddon family had just returned to Houston from Mr. Kirby’s funeral but having learned this, they turned around, headed back on the terrible roads to Flat Woods, to try to prevent the young mans’ hanging by the KKK. Ed stood aggressively against this hanging until it was peacefully and legally resolved. The boy was sentenced to jail and spent the rest of his life in prison where he eventually died.

♥

At this time, in downtown Houston, there was a very large church called Evangelistic Temple (ET), pastored by a man (who was small in stature) named Raymond T. Richey (Brother Richey). This church and Brother Richey were known far and wide for its healing ministry. This man traveled to other cities but was mostly known for the big church in Houston where healing miracles occurred nightly.

The Whiddon’s and the Kirby’s (Ed and Hallie) began to attend church there. There were Sunday morning and Sunday evening services and evening services every night. They made them all. The lessons they learned and the miracles they saw were undeniable so they began to bring relatives and friends from East Texas who needed healing. Inez, Ed’s sister, was healed of cancer of the neck. The cancer was protruding from her neck. The doctors said it was incurable. After she was prayed for at ET, it literally fell off the next morning. Herman, Ed’s nephew, was burned as a baby, he rolled into a fire. His burned leg was drawn double and was connected with scar tissue from his knee to his ankle. He was prayed for and his leg split apart and dropped down like normal in a few minutes, while the family watched. He walked normal the rest of his 70+ years. He never had a problem of any kind with that leg again.

There have been many books written about the Richey family and all of the healings that took place at ET and the Pastor’s healing gift from the Lord. There was a large room at the church for years that was stacked to the ceiling with walkers, crutches, wheelchairs and prosthesis which had been left at the church after healings. I always looked into it to remind myself of how mighty God is. This era of Evangelistic Temple lasted well throughout several generations although the building itself burned once. It was rebuilt and then it flooded and was rebuilt again. It stood as a testament to God’s miracles. ET finally moved locations but remained a very popular, affiliated church of the Assembly of God denomination until the early 2000’s.

Ida Grandma Whiddon relied on the Lord during her years in Houston. Grandpa Whiddon sold the store and up and moved to Houston to be with his family. They soon reunited in marriage. Grandpa Whiddon finally joined the family at attending ET and it wasn’t long before he gave his heart to the Lord and served God all the rest of his days.

When he came to Houston, he was employed by Henke-Pilot, an extremely large grocer in downtown Houston. The Whiddon’s had another son after remarrying and gave him the name of their very close friend and a dear man of God that they never wanted to forget, Raymond T. Richey. Their last child was named Raymond T. Whiddon.

CHAPTER FOUR

Hallie and Ed’s Children

Miracle-A miracle is an unexpected event attributed to divine intervention.

A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature.

Ed and Hallie now had a home and jobs of their own, in Houston, with constant visitors. They truly loved their life, except they missed the blessing that children would have brought. In 1932, after 13 years of marriage, Hallie and Ed miraculously had a baby girl and named her Norma Jean Kirby. She was born at their home (as were most babies in those years), attended by our family doctor, Dr. A. N. Boyd. After waiting so many years for this bundle. It was a very special day. God answered their prayers for a healthy child! They quickly taught Norma about God and prayer. At that time they still attended ET but changed their membership to Brook Smith Church in about 1936. Here, Norma grew to know and love Jesus even more.

♥

When Norma was three, she asked for a baby sister for Christmas. Hallie told her it wasn’t possible. They had tried and tried to no avail. The doctor told them it would not happen.

When Norma was four, she desperately asked for a baby sister for Christmas and again did not get one. They finally told her there would be no more babies for their family. Not wanting to believe this, Norma continued to ask them often for a baby sister. She was five when Hallie finally told her, "You’d better pray and pray about that, because only God can help". Ed had always said he did not want children but really he said this because he knew he was incapable. Men never discussed these types of issues with one anyone so Mama told us years later what was actually wrong. It was Ed who had a problem fathering children and it was him that needed a miracle touch from our great Healer.

Norma, having child’s faith and strong prayers, knew prayer was the only way she would ever get a sister so she began to pray morning, noon and night for a baby sister for Christmas. Hallie asked her, "Why do you always ask for a baby sister and not a brother? Her answer was Cause a brother would have to go to the Army and to war and might not come back home"!

♥

Hallie had been very ill for several months in the summer of 1938. Many relatives were visiting the Kirby’s and were around the breakfast table, having all pitched in to cook and were now ready for breakfast. Norma emerged from her bed and announced loudly to them all that she had a dream last night. Aunt Eva, Ed’s sister, said "Tell us your dream, Norma and Norma began: I dreamed Mama was sitting in the big rocking chair in their bedroom and was covered with a big pink blanket around her. One day after a very long time she threw off the blanket. It was Christmas day (by chance) and there was my baby sister in Mama’s lap. Jesus sent her to us!" Everyone at the table grew very quiet. They all knew Hallie was ill. She was being tested to find out why and actually had to quit her job as a seamstress, at a uniform company. She was so sick she had become weak and had lost weight. No doctor yet was able to diagnose her problem.

After the relatives left, Ed told Hallie, "You’d better go to Dr. Boyd and tell him about Norma’s dream. Hallie and Ed discussed the dream and thought this could be the miracle he needed. Hallie did go see Dr. Boyd and sure enough Hallie was in the family way but they were not able to determine or agree when the new baby was due because long ago there was no such thing as ultrasound nor any way to determine exact due dates or the sex of a child. The Kirby’s just went along thanking and praising the Lord for the miracle and prayed for a healthy baby. The doctor said, as a precaution, to make all the arrangements to ensure this baby was delivered in a hospital. On a December Sunday morning in 1938, the same year as Norma’s dream, very early, around 1:00 AM Hallie felt sure it was time" so they rushed to the hospital almost forgetting what day it was! It was Christmas morning and an answer to Norma’s prayers. As Norma’s dream predicted a baby sister was born, me, six pounds and healthy as could be.

Now, what to name her? Many names were suggested from everyone. Daddy and his family wanted Wonder because of this wonder-full situation; Mama’s family wanted Merry Christmas Kirby. Mama and her youngest brother, Raymond, who was living with them, finally got everyone to agree on Wanda Lee Kirby.

CHAPTER FIVE

Young Life

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask

anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us—

whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.

When I was two months old, the enemy started trying to destroy my life. My Grandpa Whiddon died in February the next year, 1939. He was taken back to Joaquin, TX for burial. After the funeral, people always gathered at a friend or relatives home for a post funeral gathering and meal. The meal was at a house with a dog run. (A Texas house also called a breezeway or dog-run house or dogtrot house or possum trot house or saddlebag house. It is when two structures are built with a covered passage between them, where a breeze can flow through -cooling both sides of the house. Dogs often ran through this space, causing the dog-run and dogtrot names to be popular.)

All of the beds had thin mosquito nets on them. One room was nice and quiet so they laid me there all bundled up under the net. There were so many people gathered in the rest of the house that late comers entered the quiet room and without noticing, put their coats on me as I lay in the bed. It was a very cold, windy day and coats were mounting everywhere. Mama and Daddy checked on me often but at some point, coats began to stack over me. Their last check of me, so many coats were found stacked on me I could not get any air. I had already turned blue from lack of oxygen. Everyone was alerted to pray. My parents did CPR, as well as anyone back then knew how and left with me to find a doctor. As Grandma Whiddon, Uncle Raymond, Mama, Daddy and Norma prayed fervently, we left to go to a doctor some miles away in Logansport, Louisiana. Family members knew a doctor who they thought would be available. As we left, I began to lose the blue color and breathe a little. They continued on to the doctors’ home. As they approached the house it appeared nothing was wrong with me and nothing had happened. I started to cry and whimper faintly. The doctor looked at me and said I seemed fine. We started back to Houston and I was fine, praise the Lord for miracles.

Some of the people at the post funeral meal were non-believers all the folks there were saddened thinking I did not live. Many left believing I was dead but news traveled fast. Even the non-believers witnessed a miracle with me living and now I’m alive and able to tell of this miracle!

♥

Norma and I played dolls every day, I was the doll. Norma’s nickname was Scissor Bill and mine was Doodle-Pill. We were very close. When I was about three we were sitting on the porch playing and eating a very special treat, grapes. Mama bought them for company we were going to have. She gave us some and Norma went back for more because there was so many of them and they were so good and a rare treat for us. We figured Mama wouldn’t care. At supper time I got sick. I bent double and screamed in pain for hours. I was taken to the bed in the back bedroom. Doctors still made house calls and Dr. Boyd was once again called and was shocked when he examined me. My innards were protruding out of my body through my rectum. They were pushed back in but shortly things began to fall out again. Dr. Boyd stood staring at me perplexed, as my intestines lay on the bed beside me. He was very scared for my life and he made it known to the family. Of course, Hallie, Ed and Norma began to pray and Dr. Boyd chimed in. As I lay screaming, the doctor proceeded to push all of the innards back into my body, inch by inch and then he sewed up my rectum, he said that’s