I Am Not Named After You or Anybody Else For That Matter

I got this idea from someone else’s blog I’ve been reading.

My family lineage off the top of my head....

I know that my paternal great-grandmother was named Amanda Garrison. I don’t know her maiden name. She was married to the brilliantly-named Pleasant Green Garrison. They lived in Newton County, Arkansas. Pleasant and Amanda had a series of children, but I am not sure of all the names of those. The only one I know for sure is my paternal grandfather, whose name at birth was also "Pleasant" or "Plez," for short. For some reason, people started calling my grandfather "Clarence." They pronounced that name with a heavy Arkansas accent so that it rhymed with "Lawrence," which is ultimately the name my grandpa ended up using. He had his name legally changed to "Lawrence Alton Garrison" at some point, and that was all I ever knew him by.

The only great-grandparent I ever met was Berslie Watson. She is my dad’s mom’s mom. To my knowledge, she had children by three men in her life. Her children whose names I know include Jimmy Watson, Doyle Watson, Otis Harris, Ruth Faught and Viola (Faught) Garrison (not in that particular order). There may have been other kids, but I cannot recall them. Viola is my paternal grandmother. This side of my family mostly lived in Northwest Arkansas.

Lawrence and Viola Garrison had seven kids: Dewey, Gerene, Raymond, Sue, Stephen, Carolyn and Walter. The family moved often, mostly around Northeastern Oklahoma. Walter, the youngest child, died in his early 20's in a car accident. Lawrence and Viola passed away in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Their oldest daughter Gerene Schmidt died in late 2004. Their youngest living son, Stephen Lawrence Garrison, is my father. He was born in 1949. He and my mother have lived in Rose, Oklahoma for nearly my entire life.

My first set of maternal great-grandparents were Harley and Ethel Nantz. They had four kids that I knew of: Dixie, Francis, George and Lloyd (probably not in that order). Lloyd Otis Nantz is my maternal grandfather. This family is from Northeastern Oklahoma. My Grandpa Lloyd was the only surviving member of this clan before he passed away in 1999.

My other set of maternal great-grandparents were Mr. And Mrs. Clifford McCuistion. I use this formal-sounding title for them because I do not remember my great-grandmother’s first name off the top of my head. They had four kids: J.E., Kathleen, Thidell and Nadine. Kathleen (McCuistion) Nantz is my grandmother. Her real first name is Mildred, but she loathes that name. Today she is my only living grandparent.

Lloyd and Kathleen Nantz lived in Tulsa for the first several years of their marriage. That’s where my mom Pamela Kay (Nantz) Garrison was born in 1952. Lloyd and Kat had another daughter Shelly (Nantz) Wilson in 1966. My grandparents, my mom and my Aunt Shelly all lived in Tulsa until the late 1970s until they moved to Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

My parents Steve and Pam Garrison met and were married while they still lived in Tulsa. Their first son Stephen Lloyd, or "Stevie," was born in 1976. By the time I was born in a Tulsa hospital in the final weeks of 1978, we were Locust Grove residents. Not long after my birth, we moved to the plains of Rose, a.k.a. The Dullest/Sweetest Place On Earth. My little brother Cody was born on June 26th of 1984. Young Cody died in the fall of 2002 at the age of 18.

My father works for the Postal Service and likes to fish, play with his grandchildren, pick his guitar and go to church all the time. My mom is a third grade public school teacher who enjoys crossword puzzles, talking on the phone and going to church all the time. They are church addicts. They are also very nice, caring and friendly people.

My older brother Stevie married Patty Hagen in 1996. They had three kids: Lukas, Sydney and Peyton McKay. After living in Pryor and Locust Grove for a few years, Stevie and his wife separated. Stevie now lives back in Home-Sweet-Rose. He is a pipe welder by trade, and a soft-spoken goofball by reputation.

I have lived in various places around Mayes County since graduating high school in 1997. Two years ago I purchased the Locust Grove home of my Grandparents Lloyd and Kat Nantz for just less than $20K plus extensive termite extermination costs. I married Allan John Logan three weeks ago today (June 28th, 2005), and instantly step-mothered three sparkling white children who are known to the Internet as Champion Teenager, Exquisite Banana and Wunderkind the Magnificent.

This is my direct lineage in a slightly over-sized nutshell. Thank you.