Gloria Carter Spann
Gloria Carter Spann | |
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Born | Gloria Carter October 22, 1926 Plains, Georgia, U.S. |
Died | March 5, 1990 Americus, Georgia, U.S. | (aged 63)
Resting place | Lebanon Church Cemetery, Plains, Georgia |
Alma mater | Georgia Southwestern State University |
Known for | Sister of Jimmy Carter |
Spouses |
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Children | 1 |
Parents |
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Gloria Carter Spann (née Carter; October 22, 1926 – March 5, 1990) was a motorcyclist and activist. Spann was a sister of the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter. She was noted as one of the first women inducted into Harley-Davidson’s 100,000 Mile Club, was named Most Outstanding Female Motorcyclist in 1978 and worked as an activist for motorcycle rights.
Early years
Gloria Carter was the second of four children, and the first daughter born to
Carter graduated from
In 1964, Spann resigned from the Baptist Church the Carters belonged to after the church voted not to lift its ban on black people from attending.[6]
Carter presidency: 1977–1981
Although Spann had some level of fame of her own before Carter's election, she was not forced into the spotlight until then. She was probably the sibling who shunned the spotlight most during her brother's years in office.[7] Before Carter was elected president in 1976, Spann had participated in several campaigns for him. In his bids for the governorship of Georgia, she made countless phone calls and mailed numerous pamphlets on his behalf.
Spann maintained a relatively low profile as she and her husband participated in cross-country cycling on their Harley-Davidson motorcycles. She began cycling around 1967. In 1977, she published a book of her mother's letters detailing her mother's struggles and accomplishments during two years working for the Peace Corps in India.[7][8] She and Walter were also members of Union Life, a religious brotherhood.[9]
Spann's son caused her great distress. He became a nocturnal wanderer and often disappeared for three or four days at a time, leaving Spann frantic. As her husband made good money, Spann was not required to work, but since her son was continually expelled from schools, she began work as a secretary in order to send him to a private school.[10] She discussed her trouble with her evangelist sister, Ruth Stapleton. At Stapleton's cabin in the mountains, Spann picked up material that encouraged readers to give their problems to God.
William Carter Spann moved to California in 1969, and Gloria cited his troubled life as the main factor that turned her back toward her faith. William Spann often said that his mother rejected him and used this to justify his unconventional behavior. Gloria Carter Spann never saw her son during the last 21 years of her life.[10]
Though William had moved out to California and severed contact with his family, this did not keep him out of the spotlight. During Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign, William was interviewed in his California jail cell. Of his uncle's success, he said: "He's in the White House, I'm in the big house." Gloria also received a phone call threatening to reveal that "Jimmy Carter's got a nephew in jail" if she did not pay a sum of money to keep the caller quiet.[10] In 1979, Spann was herself arrested for disorderly conduct when she refused to stop playing a harmonica in a McWaffle restaurant in Americus, Georgia.[11]
Spann was one of the first women inducted into Harley Davidson’s 100,000 Mile Club, was named Most Outstanding Female Motorcyclist in 1978, and worked as an activist for motorcycle rights.[12][13][14] During their years as motorcyclists, Gloria and her husband became "den mother" and father to the younger riders. The Spanns planted a large garden for bikers each year and canned the vegetables to serve as they often had unexpected guests. Their farmhouse was arranged for multiple cots or sleeping bags. Walter constructed a four-hole outhouse to accommodate bikers who were cruising through the South or headed to the races at Daytona.
Illness and death
In the fall of 1989, Spann learned that she had
On March 5, 1990, Spann died of complications from pancreatic cancer, at the age of 63. Her father and her sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton, and brother, Billy Carter, had also died of pancreatic cancer. Her mother died of breast cancer.[15] Spann's tombstone reads, "She rides in Harley Heaven." Spann is buried in the Lebanon Baptist Church Cemetery near Plains, Georgia, where her parents and brother are also buried.
References
- ^ "No Place Like Home to Stop Carter", The News-Palladium (Benton Harbor, Michigan) May 17, 1967, page 17, accessed July 17, 2017
- ^ Thomas, Helen, "Most of Carters Moving into White House", York Daily Record, (York, Pennsylvania), December 18, 1976, page 13, accessed September 17, 2017
- ^ Hampson, Rick (March 18, 1997). "'The Bad Peanut' From Plains -- Nephew In The Carter Family Didn't Want To Be 'One Of Them'". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ "Walter Guy Spann Obituary: View Walter Spann's Obituary". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved July 25, 2017 – via Legacy.com.
- ^ Stapleton 2013, p. [page needed].
- ^ Anderson, Jack. The Daily Telegram (Adrian Mighigan), June 4, 1976, page 4, accessed July 7, 2017
- ^ Newspaperarchive.com.
- Newspaperarchive.com.
- ^ Grossman, Ellie. "Gloria Carter Spann edits book", Ukiah Daily Journal (Ukiah, California)< September 8, 1977, page 22, accessed July 17, 2017
- ^
- ^ "Jimmy's sister out of tune", The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois) February 27, 1979, page 1, accessed July 17, 2017
- ^ Stapleton 2013, p. 12.
- ^ "Jimmy Carter's Sister Dies", Daily Sitka Sentinel (Sitka, Alaska) March 5, 1990, page 2, accessed July 17, 2017
Sources
- http://www.bikerrogue.com/Articles/Bros_Events/goodbye_gloria.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20050315170533/http://www.bassharp.com/bspress.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20011101131356/http://www.hdfoundation.org/testread/family.html
- Carter Sister Injured on Cycle
- https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/01/us/jimmy-carter-s-sister-has-pancreas-cancer.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/07/obituaries/gloria-carter-spann-ex-president-s-sister-63.html
- Stapleton, Michael (2013). Blood and Alcohol. Bloomington, Indiana: Xlibris Corporation. ]