5.  Freda Mae Harris

Daughter of Mary and Carl Harris

Freda Mae Harris was born February 12, 1922 in Lawton, Oklahoma.  I don't really know much about her early childhood.  What I remember Nannie (Mary) saying was that Freda was sick a lot as a child.  I'm sure Nannie paid a lot of attention to the problems Freda may have had and protected her.  I have this very pretty picture of Freda and her sister Naomi.  In the picture Freda looks really sweet and pretty.   That is Freda sitting on the left.  I estimate the year to be about 1930 when Freda would have been 8 years old and Naomi would have been 6 years old.

As sisters will do, I remember hearing that Freda and her sister argued and fussed with each other quite a bit.  They look pretty happy with each other in this photo.  Being close in age, I'll bet they were pretty competitive with each other.

Here's another picture with Freda and her sister Naomi.  They are about 16 and 14 and working as car hops at Jimmie O'Donnell's Drive-In on N. E. 23rd Street in Oklahoma City.  The car hops are the girls wearing black slacks and white blouses.  Freda is the second car hop on the right and Naomi is the first one on the left.

I don't recall that Freda worked outside the home when she was older.  Her Social Security Death Index indicates that her Social Security card was issued before 1951.   Freda married Ross (Buddy) Bonner Jr. on June 5, 1946 in El Reno, Oklahoma.  I remember Buddy showing me their marriage certificate.  I have never seen one so pretty.  It was in a pink folding frame and the certificate was specially printed. Freda and Buddy had two sons, Joe and Gary.  Here's a nice picture of the four of them.

 Throughout her life Freda and Buddy were very involved in activities related to the American Legion, the Forty and Eight, the Oklahoma Cerebral Palsy Center and many more.  Freda was very attentive and supportive of her parents, Mary and Carl Harris as they got older.  In fact, after Carl died Mary lived next door to Freda and Buddy.  Freda would take Mary to have her hair done, to the grocery store, to doctor appointments and to visit friends and family.  She was always there for Mary.

Freda died on June 30, 2008 and is buried at Sunnylane Cemetery in Del City, Oklahoma. 

4.  Lloyd John Harris

First Child of Mary and Carl Harris

Lloyd John Harris was born November 3, 1919 in Oklahoma.  Lloyd's death certificate states he was born in Lawton, Oklahoma.  However, many times Mary (Nannie) talked about walking with her baby (Lloyd) to the railway station to pick up coal that the train engineer dropped off.  She said that was in Creta, Oklahoma.  Creta is in Jackson county Oklahoma.   Her trips to pick up the coal would have been in November and December 1919 because on the 1920 census, the family was living in Lawton, Comanche, Oklahoma.  On that census, Lloyd was 2 months old.  The census was recorded January 20, 1920.

In 1930, Lloyd lived with his parents and siblings in Oklahoma City.  In 1940, he was listed with his family on 8th Street in Oklahoma City, but then his name was crossed out.  I found Lloyd in 1940 in Oklahoma City with his wife, who was unnamed.  Both were age 20 and they lived on N. E. 14th Street in Oklahoma City. This 1940 census was recorded in April 1940.

Lloyd had married Louise George on May 6, 1939 in Oklahoma City.  Louise was from Custer county Oklahoma.  The wife who was unnamed on the 1940 census was noted to be from Custer county Oklahoma.  Lloyd and Louise had one daughter, Eva Marie Harris who was born May 2, 1940 in Oklahoma City, which would have been very shortly after the 1940 census was recorded.  Here's a cute picture of Eva when she was a baby.

Lloyd and Louise were not married too long and then divorced.  Lloyd was married a few other times, but Eva was the only child he had.

During World War II, Lloyd served with the US Navy Seebees in the Pacific. After that, for all of his adult life, Lloyd was a Police Officer for the Oklahoma City Police Dept.  I found that he served from 1951 until 1971.  He is listed in the book,  Oklahoma Justice:  The Oklahoma City Police, a Century of Gunfighters, Gangsters & Terrorists.  After he retired from the police force, he worked as a Security Guard at a hospital in Oklahoma City.

I recall that over the years, Lloyd lived with Mary and Carl on various occasions.  I particularly remember that around 1951, he lived with them on Lottie Street in Oklahoma City.  I know that because my Mother and I also lived there with them.  At the time, I remember that Lloyd always dressed well, wore lots of after-shave lotion and drove a fancy car.  His car was a 1951 Pontiac that he parked toward the back of the house so that no one could scratch it or even touch it.  He was very particular about that car.  Here's a car that looks just like his black Pontiac.  The cars he had after this one were also Pontiac's.

I don't have any photos of Lloyd as a child, but here's a really nice one of Lloyd and his daughter Eva.  I think it was taken about 1966 in Oklahoma City on the occasion of the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Mary and Carl.

Here's another photo, also taken in 1966 at the Anniversary party.  Left to right:  his brother Tebe,  sister Freda, mother Mary,  sister Naomi, Lloyd, and his father Carl.

Lloyd was always a friendly Uncle.  He came to all the family events, but otherwise he seemed to stay to himself.  I'm sure he was busy and involved in his work as a Police Officer.  Lloyd lived in Tecumseh OK for about the last 20 years of his life.  He died in his home on August 30, 1999.  He is buried at Arlington Memory Gardens in Midwest City, Oklahoma.  His grave is next to his parents Mary and Carl Harris.