NE NE - Judy Fowler, 21, South Sioux City, 1965

[LuvChocolate]

Jodi, the article says there were going through a divorce. I wonder if the divorce had become final or was she living a bigamist life. Or maybe not married at all.

Did you read the comments on the bottom of the page... sounds like she was a nice lady.
But not to her first three children.

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/09/20/news/local/ddf2571e318f488b862571ef000a6d60.txt

 

[Jodibug]

I don't believe the divorce was final when she left. I think it may have been finalized sometime after she left. I do not believe that she was declared dead. I'll ask my ex and see if he knows.

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't seen the comments.

Sue Mullen is my ex's girlfriend. Her comments are spot-on.

 

[Malapoo]

I'm not defending her, but is it true she was 20 or 21 when she LEFT and had a 7 year old child? It says that in the post card paragraph. While that doesn't excuse what she did, it may explain it to some degree. Had she tried to find her children at some point when she "grew up", I'd even almost forgive this to some degree, but the fact that she never tried to restore contact - especially when she was dying is less forgive-able. But if she was that young with kids that age, I can imagine that she was one of those who felt deprived of her youth who just had to break out and go wild. It isn't a good thing, but to some degree understandable. Please don't think I'm saying it's ok to walk out on your kids, but the age bit sort of stunned me and I could see where a person would feel the need to be selfish for a period of time though again, I'd like to have seen her come to her senses and maturity and re-establish contact at some point.

 

[Jodibug]

I am probably off by a couple of years on the age of her oldest (daughter). I am going from memory and this stuff was told to me in 1992, the year that my ex and I got married.

The oldest may have been only 4 or 5, but she did have three children by the time she left at 20/21. Yep, that's rough. This I know because I had my own children at 17 & 19.

My ex is an alocoholic and drank heavily when we were married. We get alone fine now, since he is sober and we live in separate states, but he wasn't always such a nice guy.

Still, I never even thought of leaving my children behind.

When I was married to ex, I asked his stepmother a couple of times if his father ever drank and/or was violent. She assured me that he wasn't, and that my ex did not get his problems from his father. Every time I was around my ex's father, he was very kind. Always calm and quiet. Never looked like he could hurt anyone.

If you are in a situation where you and your children are living in a volitle house, then you get the out of tha situation, not leave them to fend for themselves.

And to never look back??? The man she was married to when she died posted at the siouxcityjournal.com that he never knew. I feel really sorry for him. How awful it must be to find out that you never really knew the person you loved for years. I feel sorry for her son and grandson (that knew her) as well. I am sure that they are all questioning their memories of her. That is not a situation I would ever want to be in. Judith's lies hurt all of them as well.

 

[Malapoo]

Yeah, I'm not excusing her. I might, had she tracked them down once she was settled and secure, but she didn't. Her loss though I know the kids will also pay as you can't NOT feel rejected to some degree even though logic tells you it was HER problem. I'm just wondering what would make a woman do this. Maybe she was abusive or felt she could be if she let herself go? If that was true maybe it was best she left. It's just sad that those kids had to grow up feeling they were rejected or that they did something as I know kids in those situations tend to feel.