William “Willie” Mack Peebles & Thelma Josephine Mounts
Who are they to us?
Mack and Minnie’s daughter Cora Adair married Will
Peebles. Willie Mack Peebles is their oldest
son, he is Lester's cousin. I don’t know if you remember the
escapades of Mack and his friend John Mounts in the Jungles or not, but Thelma
Mounts is John’s daughter. Mack’s grandson
married his best buddy’s daughter.
Willie was born in Oklahoma City in 1904, at some point the family moved to Muskogee Oklahoma, his mother, Cora’s, home town. Willie married Thelma Mounts in July of
1923. It seems they settled in Muskogee
and raised three children.
Harold Wayne born in 1924, Rosa Lee born in 1927, and Billy Gene born in 1929. (Photo of Harold and Rosa). The youngest son Billy passed away at the age of three years old after a short illness.
I found several news articles in 1941 with titles such
as: Killing and Suicide Reported at
Porter (Oklahoma), Separate Services
Today for Willie Peebles and Wife, and Porter Man Kills Ex-Wife and Self. Boy, there is some heartache there.
It appears that on a Saturday night in April 1941 Willie ran into Thelma on the main street of Porter, Oklahoma and was very angry about their divorce and the outcome of the divorce hearing. The articles do not give further detail as to why he was angry, but he shot and killed her. He then shot himself in the head and was taken to a hospital in Muskogee in "grave" condition. He died the next day. From what I have read it seems the Mounts family took in the two children Harold age 17 and Rosa age 14.
I’ve been in contact with a cousin – who is the daughter of their oldest son Harold. She didn’t know the Adair side of the family as it seems after Willie killed Thelma then himself there wasn’t much communication with the Peebles side of the family (Cora Adair’s married name is Peebles). Harold's daughter says her father never spoke of what happened.
Willie's mother, Cora passed away in 1925, she didn't have to see her son take the life of his ex-wife then his own. As a mother that would be heartbreaking. I can't imagine how their children felt, how they moved forward and had marriages and families of their own.
I’ve been in contact with a cousin – who is the daughter of their oldest son Harold. She didn’t know the Adair side of the family as it seems after Willie killed Thelma then himself there wasn’t much communication with the Peebles side of the family (Cora Adair’s married name is Peebles). Harold's daughter says her father never spoke of what happened.
Willie's mother, Cora passed away in 1925, she didn't have to see her son take the life of his ex-wife then his own. As a mother that would be heartbreaking. I can't imagine how their children felt, how they moved forward and had marriages and families of their own.
Thelma as a young girl.
Willie Mack Peebles (facing left) with his son Harold.
Harold and his sister Rosa - children of Willie and Thelma
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