Fifth Generation

14. Vilous Wayne Johnson was born on September 30, 1912 in Trimble, Dyer, Tennessee and died December 18, 1974 in Trenton, Dyer, Tennessee. He married Nannie Mildred Warren on December 20, 1932, in Trenton, Gibson, Tennessee. His parents were John Fred Johnson and Annie Blanche Isbell.

I also do not know much about his young life, but he was known as “Pill”. All of his brothers had nicknames. He grew up on a farm and there is a picture of him as a child. My grandmother describes his family as being rough, though her father was always kind. He had tanned skin with high cheekbones, black hair, and blue eyes. He was tall I think. He had it rough during the depression and even had to spend time as a sharecropper to make ends meet. During WWII, he worked for the Milan Arsenal. It was not long after this time that he bought a house in Dyer, TN near his wife’s relatives. The house had no bathroom or electricity, but he updated the house over the years. This was this house I would go to for Thanksgiving as a child. I last went there in 2004. The only other story I remember about him is the one told by my grandmother. She told me that she wasn’t allowed to see Gone with the Wind because there was a curse word in the end (”Frankly my dear. . . “) but she retorted back that she heard her Daddy say that word all of the time! I am sure she got her humor from her dad but I need to make sure.

15. Nannie Mildred Warren is the great grandparent I know the best. She passed away only a year ago and wrote down her autobiography. She was born July 26, 1914 in Dyer, Gibson, TN. She died on April 22, 2007 in Trenton, Gibson, Tennessee. She is buried next to her husband in the Oakwood Cemetery in Dyer, Tennessee. Most locals know this cemetery well. For some weird reason the local teens hang out in the cemetery. There are many pictures including one of my great grandmother as a young woman hanging out in the cemetery. She is the daughter of William Clint Warren and Willie Inez McDonald.

She was known as Mildred because she hated her first name Nannie. She also grew up on a farm and was very poor, but was not the poorest. She lived nearby family most of her life, She played the mandolin and sang with her family. She even wrote her own songs. She got to perform on the radio when she was young. I got to meet most of her brothers and sisters though one brother died before she was even born. She attended school in Dyer and survived a tornado that destroyed everything they had. No one was killed but several people were hurt. She wrote about how she met her husband “Pill” in her autobiography but I forgot. She went into detail about all the trials they suffered during the Depression. She was a great cook and always loved to cook for people. For Christmas they would give their children oranges and put nuts in the trees to feed the birds. She worked most of her life. After her husband died in 1974, she would take care of elderly people and did this until she herself got too old sometime in her 80’s. She was always in excellent health. Everyone loved the way she talked for she had a very strong country accent and would call everyone “hun”. She died at the age of 92 and lived a full beautiful life.

Children of Vilous Wayne Johnson and Nannie Mildred Warren:

1. Peggy Juanita Johnson 1934- Married Bobby Gene Paschall

2. Nancy Jane Johnson 1936- Married James William Etheridge

3. Billy Wayne Johnson 1938- Married Joy Dickey