Roy Johnson Pemberton, son of George H. and Dorothy (Perry) Pemberton, was born in Henderson, Kentucky in 1914. According to his daughter, Pegge, Roy’s family farmed.
On July 24, 1937, Roy married Janette Elizabeth Hurt, and they had one child:
| Barbara Ann Pemberton | Born in July 9, 1939, in Evansville, Indiana. Barbara died March 31, 2005. |
Roy and Janette were divorced. Farm life at the time in Kentucky and Indiana was hard. Roy was self-motivated and wanted to seek out a better life for himself, so in late 1942, Roy left Indiana and headed for Seattle, Washington.
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In Seattle, Roy planned to find work in the shipyards, but instead went to work for Seattle Metro as a bus driver.
Thomasina Ann "Tommy" Blake, daughter of Thomas and Lydia Blake, was born in Anaconda, Montana in 1928. During World War II, Tommy's family moved to Bremerton, Washington, where her father worked at the shipyards as a welder. Tommy and her mother also worked at the shipyards, as riviters. Tommy rode the bus to work every day, and became acquainted with the bus driver, Roy Pemberton. One day he asked her out. They started dating and fell in love. In 1944, they went to Montana and were married there. Soon after, they moved to Indiana and stayed until the summer of 1947, when they moved back to the Seattle area, settled in, and started a family.
Roy and Tommy had two children, both born in Seattle, Washington:
| Thomas Lee Roy "Lee" Pemberton | Born in 1947. |
| Peggy Diane "Pegge" Pemberton | Born in 1948. |
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Roy then started a glass business in the Ballard district of Seattle, called Roy’s Glass. However, Roy and Tommy were divorced in 1949.
After his divorce, Roy again remarried (wife's name unknown). They had one child:
| Mark Pemberton |
Roy then remarried to Lilly (last name unknown), and they had two children:
| Roy Pemberton, Jr. |
| Eddy Pemberton |
Roy continued with his glass business and prospered. In the 1950’s, he moved to a larger shop down the street. Roy had several workers in the shop, as well as people who would install the glass at his customers’ locations. He ran the business until he retired in the 1980’s. Before retiring, Roy’s Glass Shop had a bowling league, which Roy both sponsored and participated in. He was an excellent bowler, and his team won many trophies, which were displayed at the shop. Roy sold the business in the 1980’s, but kept busy at the many things he loved to do.
Roy was very likable and enjoyed spending time with friends and acquaintances. He joined the Eagles Club in Ballard after retiring, and spent much time there, attending dances, dinners, and Sunday brunch with family and friends. He also learned to play pool, spending many hours practicing, and became quite good at it.
Before retiring, Roy loved to go to local swap meets looking for antiques. He spent many days going to swap meets and collecting the many “treasures” he found. Between this and his other activities, Roy kept quite busy until his health failed in the 1990’s. He spent the next several years in very poor health and left this world on Fathers Day of 1999.
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After her divorce from Roy, Tommy returned to Montana, where she lived and worked, helping her parents run a hotel they owned at the time called "The Beaver Hotel" on Main Street, in Butte.
Theodore Patrick "Ted" McDermott, son of Philip Dennis and Robina June "Ruby" (Cook) McDermott, was born in Sunburst, Montana in 1928. (Philip was born in Belt, Montana, and Ruby was born in Sweet Grass Hills, Montana). Upon graduating from highschool, Ted joined the Marines and served during World War II, participating in the landing at Normandy on D-Day, and in the campaigns in Italy and Turkey. (Pictures of Ted while in the Marines). Ted was awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded in action. Ted didn't care to talk about his war years much, and often had recurring nightmares about them. He did mention that he had served on details preparing the bodies of his dead comrades to be shipped back home.
Tommy was introduced to Ted by an employee of the hotel, at Ted's request, while he was on leave from the service. They got acquainted, liked each other, and wrote letters back and forth until his time in the Marine Corps was over. After Ted left the service in 1950, he and Tommy married and they had 5 children, all born in Butte:
| Robina Florence McDermott | Born in 1952. |
| Paulette Kathleen McDermott | Born in 1954. |
| Michael Patrick McDermott | Born in 1956. |
| Timothy Kevin McDermott | Born in 1959. |
| David Scott McDermott | Born in 1961. |
After leaving the service, Ted became a contract miner for the Anaconda Company. He was a blaster, the one who drilled holes, packed them with explosives, and then detonated them, blasting rock loose so that ore could be expracted from the mine. He was very good at his job according to his mining buddies, and this was a job few cared to do.
Ted and Tommy lived in two small apartments and a housing project in Butte, until they finally bought the house on Copper Street, below the Machine Shop Mining Yard, where they lived while their children were growing up. They both belonged to the Fraternal Order of Eagles, bowled on leagues and loved to play pinochle with family and friends.
Lee and Peggy legally adopted the last name of McDermott in 1965 becoming Thomas Lee Roy McDermott and Peggy Diane McDermott
Ted and Tommy in front. Back (left to right) are: Tim, David, Mike,Kathy, Robin, Pegge, and Lee. |