When Lee Roy was about 16 years old, he hopped on board of circus train as it refueled in Brodhead. He literally ran away with the circus. Time passed and Lee Roy settled in Pineville, Bell Co., KY working as a linesman for Bell Telephone. He set poles and ran telephone line up the hollars of Eastern Kentucky. He also met an attractive girl who he soon married.
Lee Roy married Jasimine Durham on September 26, 1925 in Pineville. He was 26 years old; she was 17. They would have seven children, all born in Pineville. One child died as an infant.
About 1943, Lee Roy asked to be reassigned to Georgetown, KY so his oldest son, Bud, could attend Georgetown College. He was studying to be a preacher. Lee Roy continued as a linesman with Bell Telephone. He had risen to be a foreman and trouble shooter for the company, assigned to his own service truck.
Tragedy struck in 1948, just five days before Christmas. Lee Roy drowned. Heavy rains had swollen the rivers and, as the family story is told, Lee Roy must have spotted what he thought was a person in the flood waters of Elkhorn Creek. His truck was found parked on the side of Frankfort Pike, lights and engine still running, and Lee Roy's footprints across the muddy field could be tracked to the river. His hat lay on the creek bank. He drowned about a mile west of Great Crossing.
He was 49 years old. He had worked for Bell Telephone for 26 years and had lived in Georgetown for six years. He left a devastated wife, four daughters and two sons.
Lee Roy is buried in the Georgetown Cemetery. He was a Mason.
(There is confusion regarding Lee Roy's name. Lee Roy would sign his name as "Lee Roy" or "Leroy". His gravestone was inscribed as "Le Roy". Most everyone called him "Buddy".)
When Lee Roy was about 16 years old, he hopped on board of circus train as it refueled in Brodhead. He literally ran away with the circus. Time passed and Lee Roy settled in Pineville, Bell Co., KY working as a linesman for Bell Telephone. He set poles and ran telephone line up the hollars of Eastern Kentucky. He also met an attractive girl who he soon married.
Lee Roy married Jasimine Durham on September 26, 1925 in Pineville. He was 26 years old; she was 17. They would have seven children, all born in Pineville. One child died as an infant.
About 1943, Lee Roy asked to be reassigned to Georgetown, KY so his oldest son, Bud, could attend Georgetown College. He was studying to be a preacher. Lee Roy continued as a linesman with Bell Telephone. He had risen to be a foreman and trouble shooter for the company, assigned to his own service truck.
Tragedy struck in 1948, just five days before Christmas. Lee Roy drowned. Heavy rains had swollen the rivers and, as the family story is told, Lee Roy must have spotted what he thought was a person in the flood waters of Elkhorn Creek. His truck was found parked on the side of Frankfort Pike, lights and engine still running, and Lee Roy's footprints across the muddy field could be tracked to the river. His hat lay on the creek bank. He drowned about a mile west of Great Crossing.
He was 49 years old. He had worked for Bell Telephone for 26 years and had lived in Georgetown for six years. He left a devastated wife, four daughters and two sons.
Lee Roy is buried in the Georgetown Cemetery. He was a Mason.
(There is confusion regarding Lee Roy's name. Lee Roy would sign his name as "Lee Roy" or "Leroy". His gravestone was inscribed as "Le Roy". Most everyone called him "Buddy".)
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