Walter James (Jim) Stephenson -- January 18, 1918 - February 6, 1996
By Carolyn Stephenson
November 2, 2020
Daddy once told me when he was 16, living in McAdoo, Texas, he was thrown off a horse and the horse kicked him in the head causing a hole in the top of his head. David was telling Jenk that he was moving a pipe or post and almost hit Daddy in the head. Uncle Charlie yelled out to him and said be careful with that and don’t hit your dad in the head. Mom told me that Daddy was taken to the doctor and was told he was very lucky to have lived such a blow to the head. The doctor wanted to put a plate inside his head to protect his brain but Ma would not allow it. The doctor cautioned that his head was very vulnerable to being hit and if he ever got hit in the head it would kill him. The doctor also said his life expectancy was about 35 years. But Daddy lived to be 78 years old. As a small child I was always aware of the hole in the top of his head, because his hair would not grow in that area. When he combed his hair, he would comb it straight back over his head, using his hair oil. I don’t remember what he used on his hair but it was always oily. Sometimes he would use Baby Oil. He always combed his hair back over his head. As he got older his hair thinned and the bare spot was more noticeable.
Standing over him as he sat in his chair I could see it was a large deep hole. Jenk said he could place a regular size chicken egg in the hole and you would only see one third of that egg. Very seldom did he ever leave the house without a cap or hat, but he always took it off when he was in the house unlike some people today.
Daddy also had a left bent arm that would only extend out about 135 degree angle. In my memory he could never extend his left arm straight out. I can’t remember the reason for it other than it was broken at the time he was thrown from the horse. I do remember him saying that his mom, which would be Ma (Annie) Stephenson, put his arm in a sling and after several weeks when he took his arm out, he was never able to straighten it. It was always bent as long as I can remember and I’m 69 year’s old. That’s all I can remember at this time.