Rosalie Jean Willis worked as a waitress, but is best known as the first wife of the infamous cult leader Charles Manson. Along with the burden of being the wife of a monstrous husband, she had to endure the death of all three of her children before she could rest in peace.
Rosalie Jean Willis is Charles Manson’s first wife
Rosalie Jean Willis, as already mentioned, was the first wife of the American criminal Charles Manson. She was born in the United States on January 28, 1937. Clarence Willis and Virginia McNich raised her as their daughter. Rosalie, the third of her parents’ four children, grew up quite normally.
She spent most of her childhood in Benwood, West Virginia with her parents and siblings. The 84-year-old had two older sisters, Amy and Eileen, as well as a brother, Clarence “Buster” Willis.
Unfortunately, neither her parents nor her siblings are still alive. Rosaliena was white, and she was an American citizen.
Rosalie Jean Willis married Charles Manson when she was 15 years old
On January 7, 1955, Rosalie Jean Willis married Charles Manson. Their wedding took place at Nazareth Church in a private ceremony attended by close friends and family. The most intriguing aspect is that Rosalie was only a 15-year-old teenager when she married Manson, who was reportedly 20 at the time.
The former couple first met at the hospital where Willis worked as a waitress. They met by chance when Charles, a part-time auto mechanic and car thief, had to move to Charleston, West Virginia with his mother, Kathleen Maddox. Maddox befriended Rosalie’s father there, laying the groundwork for the infamous marriage.
However, the most fascinating fact is that Willis married Manson even though she knew he was a thief. Her hope of being able to change him after marriage proved to be an unattainable goal. As a result, after three years of marriage, in 1958, she filed for divorce, which was finalized the same year.
Her son with Manson killed himself
Rosalie Jean Willis gave birth to Charles Manson Jr. in 1956 after three years of marriage to Charles. When Charles was sentenced to Terminal Island Prison in San Pedro, California for smuggling a stolen car across the border, she was only about three months pregnant.
While her husband at the time was away, she took care of the child herself until her mother arrived. Willis married another man and moved to another city as her child grew. Her eldest son, on the other hand, did not manage to overcome the stigma of being the son of a criminal.
In the end, he shot himself in the head around the age of 37.
She married twice after her divorce from Charles
Rosalie was more than Charles’ wife. She married twice after divorcing him. She married a second time to a man named Jack White. Although she did not state when she married Jack, they reportedly had a good but short relationship. They divorced by mutual consent in 1965.
She had two children in marriage. Her first child, Jesse J. White, was born in 1958, and her second child was born in 1959.
Willis married Warren Howard “Jack” Handley for the third time after divorcing her second husband. They had a good relationship, but it didn’t last long. Things got worse for her when she had to watch all her children die in front of her eyes.
Rosalie Jean Willis’ three children died unnaturally
It’s hard to imagine the agony Rosalie went through, but she did. Rosalie had to witness the death of all the children in her life. In addition to the death of Charles Manson Jr., whom she renamed Jay White (after her second husband), her children from her second marriage also died.
The tragedy began in January 1971 with the death of her 11-year-old son Jed. His death was allegedly caused by an accident in which her friend shot him in the stomach while they were playing.
Similarly, her second child, Jesse, was found dead in his car at the age of 28. According to reports, he and a friend had been drinking at a bar in Houston, Texas, on the night of his death. His death was said to be the result of a drug overdose.
What happened to Rosalie Jean Willis? Her death
Rosalie is no longer with us. She died on August 21, 2009, nearly 11 years after the death of her third husband in 1998, according to Find a Grave. She reportedly died as a result of complications from lung cancer. She was at her home in Tucson, Arizona, when she died. Rosalie was then 71 years old. She is buried in Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City, Clark County, Nevada.
As for her first husband, Charles Manson, he passed away on November 19, 2017 at the age of 83 in Bakersfield, California.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education