Rosie and Johnny-Lordy How They Could Love

The Beautiful Rosie Mae Smith Johnson

The Tall, Dark, and Handsome Lawrence Gerald Johnson, aka John or Johnny

My Dad's Aunt Ola and Uncle Wesley Meek lived across the street from my Grandmother and Grandfather Smith, and my Mom. My Dad used to visit his Aunt and Uncle.  That is how Rosie and Johnny met.  After they met, he was a more frequent visitor.

My Dad used to tell the story of how he saw this beautiful girl with golden hair across the street.  When he saw her up close, he also saw that she had the most beautiful green eyes.  He said that he decided right then and there, that he was going to marry her someday.  They were 17 years old when they met.

They had a very fiery, passionate love with all of the ups and downs.  There would be times that they would fight like cats and dogs, and at other times they were all lovey, and couldn't get enough of each other.

Rosie and Johnny married at the age of 19. I was born 9 months later.  My Dad had been drafted to join the Army and had to leave shortly after they were married for boot camp.  My Mom was upset because she didn't get the big wedding she had always dreamed of.  The wedding was rushed because of my Dad being drafted. 

They were very much like Frankie and Johnny in the Elvis Presley movie by the same name.  They couldn't live with each other and they couldn't live without one another.  

Rosie And Johnny"

  Rosie and me we were lovers
Oh lordy how we could love
Swore we'd be true to each other
Just as true as stars above
I was her man, she caught me doing her wrong

They were soooo beautiful....

Rosie and Johnny

My Mother was a Smith, and my Father was a Johnson.  The beautiful, blond, green eyed, petite, Rosie Mae Smith and the, tall, dark, and handsome Lawrence Gerald Johnson, aka John.

Rosie was the last child of a family of six siblings.  I guess, because she was the last child, several relatives decided to name her.  She was named, Clara Rosie Edith Mae Dean Smith.  She had an Aunt Rosie who called her Rosa Dean.  There may have been a couple of other relatives to call her that too.  She never used the Clara or Edith.  She was born at home on February 5, 1935 in Muldrow, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.  She didn't obtain a birth certificate until she was an adult.  On all of her legal records, she used the name, Rosie Mae Smith.

My Father was the last of six children also.  The oldest of the children passed away shortly after birth.  I don't know if she was even named.  Very few people called him by his given name.  Some family members in Oklahoma called him little Lawrence or Larry.  His father's name was also Lawrence.  He was called John or Johnny by almost everyone.  When he was little, he lived on his Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's farm in Caddo County, Oklahoma.  They had a Shetland pony.  He would get on the pony, fall off, and his Mother would say, "Johnny Jump up and try it again."  That is how he got the nickname.  He was born in Anadarco, Caddo County, Oklahoma, July 9, 1935.

My Mom was at times, a Holy Roller and tucked her Hell Raiser deep inside somewhere.  At other times, especially later in life, she let the Hell Raiser loose....big time!!  There were other times, she vacillated between the two....Poor Mama, she had her demons....at the same time, she always had her faith.

My Dad was always a Hell Raiser.  He didn't come from a religious background at all with the exception of the short time he attended parochial school for a few short months when he was young.  He put my Mom on a pedestal because she was so Holy and pure when they met, and always had such a strong faith.  He also had a belief in God, but didn't have the background.

When I first started doing genealogy, I thought I wouldn't make much progress on my family because my Mother was a Smith and my Father was a Johnson....that has not been the case.

Lawrence Gerald Johnson aka John or Johnny

Rosie Mae Smith Johnson