Bachelor Uncle (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 10)

Marion Skipworth Lemman, Jr. (Big Unk)

I don’t have a bachelor uncle, but there was a man in our lives whom we called “Big Unk” and who was most certainly a lifelong bachelor.

Big Unk was Marion Lemmon, a confirmed bachelor who was a friend and companion of my Mother’s for about 10 or 15 years. My Mother never remarried after her divorce in the early 1950s, and truly only dated one or two men whom I remember. She devoted herself to her work and making sure that she was able to provide for her two children.

She worked for many years in the jewelry business, first at Munford’s Jewelers in downtown Memphis and then as the bookkeeper for the old George T. Roy’s Jewelers located in the 100 block of Madison between Front Street and Main Street. She would go on to serve as District Manager for Sarah Coventry Jewelry.

Marion (or Big Unk) was also in the jewelry business, and she had known him for a number of years as an acquaintance. I honestly have no idea when they began dating, but it was probably sometime when I was in high school or college. After my brother and I both married and had small children, he was always around for them. He doted on our children as if they were his own grandsons. They loved him, too, and still fondly remember their Big Unk.

Marion Skipworth Lemmon, Jr. was born 15 August 1907 in Memphis, Shelby County, TN to Eva Blocker and Marion Skipworth Lemmon, Sr. He had one sister, Katherine, who had two sons. Those sons were the originators of the name “Big Unk.”

Marion joined the Army during WWII even though he was 35 years old at the time. He was always proud of his service, but returned to the world of retail jewelry after his discharge.

He was a resident of the Peabody Hotel and a longtime employee at Brodnax Jewelers, working as a diamond expert.

Big Unk left us too soon. He passed away on 7 November 1974 in Memphis. He was 67 years old.

I’m happy to write about Marion Skipworth Lemman, Jr., since he had no children of his own to carry on his story, and I’m not sure if his nephews research their family’s history.

I’m happy to include him in ours!

(Sources for military service, birth and death: U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010. Ancestry.com)

@2019 Copyright by Carla Love Maitland