This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Colston, Goodwin, Jacobs, Michael Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/xYB.2ACE/1506 Message Board Post: Mrs. Thelma Colston was honored Saturday, January 4, on her 99th birthday in the lounge of Lake Country Nursing Center by her immediate family. Mrs. Colston was born in Marietta in 1904, the third child of John and Ella Mahala Goodwin Jacobs. She is the only surviving child of the family. Her siblings were Jewel Flanagan, Nadine Colley, Hubert, Elmer, Ray, Glen, Harold and Wayne Jacobs. Her parents came to Oklahoma in 1900 from Tennessee, after a short residence in Texas. Her father, John Jacobs, was a "Waterman" in Marietta. He drove a mule drawn tank wagon that was used to deliver water to homes in town, long before there was any city water system. The water was pumped by windmills and stored in elevated tanks. Jacobs sold the water to his customers for 15 cents per 50 gallon barrel. Her maternal grandfather, Beal Columbus Goodwin, was an early day local minister and operated a store which was located at the corner of Allen and McGehee Roads. Her family moved to the Shady Dale community in 1909. Thelma attended school at Shady Dale where she met and married Dabney L. Colston on June 4, 1922. The marriage was performed by the Rev. W.P. Rowland. Dabney was the son of J.W. and Lula Colston. He was a farmer and cattle buyer and passed away in 1966. They are the parents of three sons, Billy, Joe, and Bob Colston and one daughter, LaNell Michael. Mrs. Colston is a Gold Star Mother. Her son, Billy, lost his life in September, 1944, on Pelieu Island, which is part of a small island chain west of the Philippines. Pelieu was one of the bloodiest engagements of World War II. Billy was on a Navy mission to recover wounded Marines from the island and was shot by a Japanese sniper. His family received his Purple Heart in September, 1945. Mrs. Colston has lived her entire life in Love County. She has 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She is a longtime member of the Marietta Church of Christ and is currently a resident of Lake Country Nursing Center. Source: Marietta Monitor, Love County, January 10, 2003, page 5.