Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Subscribe now to get this column delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged
PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. — Just three days after she turned 17, the bride wore a simple white gown that her mother made. She was so nervous that she gashed her leg while shaving that morning.
The groom, barely 19, borrowed a white sport coat from his younger brother. His black tie matched his perfect flattop.
On July 2, 1964, Bob Ross and Judy Nanney exchanged wedding vows in their southeastern Missouri Bootheel hometown.
Long before the simple living-room ceremony 60 years ago, seeds of hard work, Christian faith and commitment to the institution of marriage were planted in both my parents’ hearts.
My father, the third of four children, grew up in a farming family.
My grandfather Lloyd Ross served in World War II and was shot in the face. After the war, Papa worked as a cotton sharecropper and later as a carpenter and commercial fisherman. My grandmother Margaret Ross helped support the family by sewing in a garment factory.
My mother, the middle child of three siblings, grew up in a less stable — but equally loving — family.
My grandfather Earl Nanney, a sweet man who battled mental illness all his adult life, found it difficult to retain a job. My grandmother Edith Nanney dealt with Grandpa’s frequent stints in jail and mental hospitals and her own chronic physical ailments. Through it all, Grandma fought to keep her family together.
From early ages, both my parents picked cotton in Missouri fields.
This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 