Elizabeth Wilson
My name is Elizabeth Wilson, and I'm the daughter of Janet Meadows. There was a big story of our family and how we got here. Let's rewind back to your parents, Mimi and JJ. JJ was a blue collar background. I know that he lost his father.
Janet Meadows
His daddy was 39.
Elizabeth Wilson
When he passed?
Janet Meadows
Yes, and his mother was completely blind, and it was during the Depression, and they lived in a tent. My dad promised on my grandfather's deathbed at 13 that he would raise those children, because the mother had no one.
Elizabeth Wilson
Here JJ is and then he meets Mimi at this dance.
Janet Meadows
They did dance, dance, and dance.
Elizabeth Wilson
So I know that Mimi had rheumatoid arthritis.
Janet Meadows
Mother could only do so much with her hands, because they were closed completely.
Elizabeth Wilson
Right. I had heard the story that the the dry weather of Arizona was supposed to be good for that.
Janet Meadows
She said it made it 100% better for her.
Elizabeth Wilson
And I know that Mimi and JJ struggled pretty early in your life with JJ having severe alcoholism. I hear all the stories about JJ and how tough and gruff he was, but I only really knew him as this really soft, kind man.
Janet Meadows
Cause he thought you were so cute.
Elizabeth Wilson
We could rewind a little bit back to Dad. From what I understand, there was a bit of a falling out. He's basically cast out by his family as a teenager. So then he meets beautiful young Janet.
Janet Meadows
I just said to my sister, 'I have a feeling I'm gonna marry him.'
Elizabeth Wilson
But there was a bit of an unexpected surprise.
Janet Meadows
Yeah, I was pregnant at 16.
Elizabeth Wilson
I know you weren't able to graduate with your class because they made you go to a special school for pregnant girls, and Mimi and JJ wouldn't give you guys the money for a wedding, and then you had to make your own wedding dress and line it.
Janet Meadows
I babysat and got $5 for fabric. I got that sheer voile. It was really pretty, had flowers all over it. But I didn't have enough for the lining, so I took my bed sheet and lined the dress by myself.
Elizabeth Wilson
That's a really hard story to hear. I don't know that at 16 years old, I would have had the wherewithal or talent, to sew my own wedding dress and then line it with my bed sheet.
Janet Meadows
I had no choice. I wanted to be pretty.
Elizabeth Wilson
I know. You kind of fight through that and find a way to facilitate getting married.
Janet Meadows
Everyone told us, you'll never make it.
Elizabeth Wilson
You and Dad had some challenges. There was a close scare there where Dad served you divorce papers on your birthday, and you found out shortly after that you were pregnant with me, and so you reconcile and decided to leave Phoenix and come to St. George, Utah.
Janet Meadows
We both just wanted a new start. And I love it here.
Elizabeth Wilson
And I know we had our troubled times here, I have a memory that came over me that was, we had lost our house, and we were taken in by a family that was trying to be helpful. It was winter, and we were in their basement. There wasn't any heat, there wasn't a lot of light, and I remember we were just surviving.
Janet Meadows
I'm so sorry.
Elizabeth Wilson
And it was such a such a horrible feeling back then. What I realized as I became an adult is that you and Dad were just doing the best you could with what you had. Now, the memories that have replaced that are all the picnics that we would take and all the creative ways that we would find a way to be a family. And I think it's a switch from survival to thriving. If there was any animosity or bitterness, it's been replaced with gratitude.
Elizabeth Wilson
We are overcomers, but it was hard.
