His name is William Jack May

We call him Jack. His real name is William Jack May. He is named William J May after my father. Dad never got to meet Jack, but they share the same blue eyes and bad attitude. Dad was a tough guy and Jack thinks he is too. Dad is Buried at Jefferson Barracks Memorial Cemetary in St. Louis County. I took Jack to visit so I could introduce Jack to Dad.

The name Jack is for my Mother's only brother, Jack King. He was named for his father, my grandfather, Jack King from Ireland. I met my uncle Jack briefly in 1960. My Mom loved him, even with his faults. Jack was not a tough guy. He was drafted into the Army during WW II and was discharged dishonorably. Jack was too scared to fight. The Army called him a coward. Ashamed, he ran away to Chicago and lived the life of a street person. Both my Mom and my Aunt used to mail Jack money, to a Post Office Box in Chicago. Jack drank to face each day and his life was hopeless. My mother cried every time she talked about Jack. She said he was sweet and wonderful but not tough enough to deal with the life he was dealt.

So, this is the beginning of the story. Jack May comes from a background of immigrant poor people who settled in Belleville Illinois. They came there for the work, in the foundries and stove factories at the end of the 19th century. Jack King and his wife Anna Flutie, from Ireland. Thomas May and his wife Nora Leiner from Ireland and Germany. These are Jacks paternal Great grandparents.

Pam is Jack's mother. His maternal Great Grandmother, Billie Boone is still alive. She can trace her family back to Daniel Boone and the frontier settling of Illinois and Kentucky. Jack's other maternal Great grandparents were the Olroyds. Old English.