Ada Mae Johnson

1939 At a bridal shower in Gregory in March 1939 the guests played forty-two, the Texas domino game, and she and T. J. Rippstein "received the prize for high score in forty-two."

episode · Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 23 Mar 1939 · clipping

1943 Through 1942 she and J. T. had no word from their son Virgil, an Army Air Force sergeant in the Philippines. In February 1943 the War Department listed him among the prisoners held by the Japanese, and on 14 August a postal card in his own signature reached them in Taft, printed in Japanese for posting through the Red Cross: "Hope you all are well. See that all the folks are notified that I am O.K."

episode · Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 8 May 1942 and 17 Aug 1943; San Antonio Light, 8 Feb 1943 · clipping 1 · 2 · 3

1945 J. T. had died in December 1944, so she was a widow when word came in October 1945 that Virgil had been liberated. He reached San Antonio on Sunday, 21 October, after "almost 4 years" as a prisoner of war, and came home to her in Taft.

episode · Corpus Christi Times, 11 and 25 Oct 1945 · clipping 1 · 2

1963 For her 71st birthday in July 1963 her daughter Velma Amy Herron gave a barbecue beef dinner in Taft for 46 of the family, among them 21 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. It was "the first time that all eight of her children were together since 1945."

household · The Brookshire Times, 8 Aug 1963 · clipping

1976 She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Taft, where she had lived since 1929. At her death in May 1976 six of her eight children survived her, with 22 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren.

habit · Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 10 May 1976 · clipping