and a womaniser, whereas Nannie was thought to be a brave and caring martyr. In fact, his drinking was so bad that he hardly noticed if his wife went missing for days on end. Nannie often took off to escape, sometimes going to visit her sister who was suffering from cancer or to visit Arlie’s elderly mother.
When Nannie was at home she played the perfect housewife and her neighbours often remarked on how beautifully she kept her home. She became an active member of the Church and made close friends with the ministers and their families. Everyone sympathised with Nannie, and her friends did all they could to shelter her from the shocking behaviour of her husband.
The more Arlie drank, the more his health deteriorated until one day he was unable to get out of bed, suffering from excruciating pain. He only lasted a couple of days and died in February 1950. The doctor who examined him shortly after he died said that there was no necessity for an autopsy due to the fact that he considered his body just couldn’t take any more alcohol abuse.
The whole town turned out for Arlie’s funeral, not because they liked the man, but because they wanted to support his grieving widow. Nannie explained to her friends that the last thing her husband had taken had been a cup of coffee and a bowl of prunes, and that he became exceptionally ill and died just two days later. Ironically, the last words Arlie said to his wife was, ‘It must have been the coffee!’
Arlie had left a will leaving everything to his sister, but oddly the house burned to the ground two months after he died, destroying any evidence. The only thing to survive the fire was Nannie’s beloved television, which she had taken to be repaired just the day before. Nannie went to stay with Arlie’s elderly mother while the insurance company carried out their checks. The insurance company eventually mailed a cheque to ‘Arlie Lanning, deceased’, which Nannie rapidly cashed. Nannie was forced to leave North Carolina shortly afterwards when Mrs Lanning died suddenly in her sleep.
Nannie then turned up at her sister Dovie’s house in Gadsden, Alabama, where she nursed her until her condition worsened. She died in her sleep on June 30, 1950.
HUSBAND NUMBER FOUR
Nannie was now forty-seven, and her looks were certainly starting to fade. Her once lithe figure had widened considerably, and a double chin and glasses changed the appearance of what was once a very pretty face. Knowing that she no longer turned heads as she walked down the streets, rather than using her traditional method of reading the lonely hearts advertisements, Nannie decided to join the Diamond Circle Club. For a meagre $15 per annum, the correspondence club sent out a monthly news-letter giving details of its latest members. Nannie decided that she needed to attract a more mature man, rather than the handsome youths she had previously gone for, and a retired businessman by the name of Richard L. Morton of Emporia, Kansas, caught her eye.
Richard was smitten by Nannie and he immediately wrote to the Diamond Circle Club requesting that their names be removed from their availability list. He even wrote to the club thanking them for introducing him to the ‘sweetest and most wonderful woman I have ever met’. Richard and Nannie decided not to waste any time, and they married in October 1952.
Despite being a middle-aged man, Richard had kept his good looks. He was tall, dark and half American Indian. Unlike her previous husbands, he showered her with expensive gifts and life in the plains of Kansas was, for a while anyway, quite blissful for Nannie. Within months, however, the marriage turned sour, as Richard ran out of money. Not only was he in debt up to his ears, but Nannie soon found out that he also had a mistress, which he told her in no uncertain terms, ‘he had no intention of dropping’.
Richard’s visits into town became more and more prolific and each time he stayed longer and longer.
When Nannie was at home she played the perfect housewife and her neighbours often remarked on how beautifully she kept her home. She became an active member of the Church and made close friends with the ministers and their families. Everyone sympathised with Nannie, and her friends did all they could to shelter her from the shocking behaviour of her husband.
The more Arlie drank, the more his health deteriorated until one day he was unable to get out of bed, suffering from excruciating pain. He only lasted a couple of days and died in February 1950. The doctor who examined him shortly after he died said that there was no necessity for an autopsy due to the fact that he considered his body just couldn’t take any more alcohol abuse.
The whole town turned out for Arlie’s funeral, not because they liked the man, but because they wanted to support his grieving widow. Nannie explained to her friends that the last thing her husband had taken had been a cup of coffee and a bowl of prunes, and that he became exceptionally ill and died just two days later. Ironically, the last words Arlie said to his wife was, ‘It must have been the coffee!’
Arlie had left a will leaving everything to his sister, but oddly the house burned to the ground two months after he died, destroying any evidence. The only thing to survive the fire was Nannie’s beloved television, which she had taken to be repaired just the day before. Nannie went to stay with Arlie’s elderly mother while the insurance company carried out their checks. The insurance company eventually mailed a cheque to ‘Arlie Lanning, deceased’, which Nannie rapidly cashed. Nannie was forced to leave North Carolina shortly afterwards when Mrs Lanning died suddenly in her sleep.
Nannie then turned up at her sister Dovie’s house in Gadsden, Alabama, where she nursed her until her condition worsened. She died in her sleep on June 30, 1950.
HUSBAND NUMBER FOUR
Nannie was now forty-seven, and her looks were certainly starting to fade. Her once lithe figure had widened considerably, and a double chin and glasses changed the appearance of what was once a very pretty face. Knowing that she no longer turned heads as she walked down the streets, rather than using her traditional method of reading the lonely hearts advertisements, Nannie decided to join the Diamond Circle Club. For a meagre $15 per annum, the correspondence club sent out a monthly news-letter giving details of its latest members. Nannie decided that she needed to attract a more mature man, rather than the handsome youths she had previously gone for, and a retired businessman by the name of Richard L. Morton of Emporia, Kansas, caught her eye.
Richard was smitten by Nannie and he immediately wrote to the Diamond Circle Club requesting that their names be removed from their availability list. He even wrote to the club thanking them for introducing him to the ‘sweetest and most wonderful woman I have ever met’. Richard and Nannie decided not to waste any time, and they married in October 1952.
Despite being a middle-aged man, Richard had kept his good looks. He was tall, dark and half American Indian. Unlike her previous husbands, he showered her with expensive gifts and life in the plains of Kansas was, for a while anyway, quite blissful for Nannie. Within months, however, the marriage turned sour, as Richard ran out of money. Not only was he in debt up to his ears, but Nannie soon found out that he also had a mistress, which he told her in no uncertain terms, ‘he had no intention of dropping’.
Richard’s visits into town became more and more prolific and each time he stayed longer and longer.
Similar Books
