June Carter Cash 1929-2003

(Valerie) June Carter was born into the Carter family, in 1929…in Virginia. Her father being Ezra Carter and her mother Maybelle, who was a seminal figure in collating and recording folk and country songs. From childhood she -with her sisters Anita and Helen - was part of the Carter family act. However, she felt that her gift was for comedy rather than music, in her early years. In 1952 she married her first husband, singer Carl Smith, by whom she had a daughter, Carlene, who performed as Carlene Carter. Her second marriage was to a policeman, “Rip” Nix, by whom she had another daughter, Rosie. During her second marriage, she and her family became part of the Johnny Cash act, and June and he fell in love. Johnny was married to the mother of his four daughters, Vivien Liberto....who was reluctant to give him a divorce. He also had drug problems, which made June nervous about committing to him, though she loved him.
 One of her admirers was Elvis Presley who fell in love with her, and she later said that Johnny had been jealous of her friendship with the young rock star. June was always well liked, in the country world, as a warm hearted sincere woman. She was involved in charity work, in Nashville and in Jamaica where the family also lived. She was godmother to Hank Williams Junior. She had a strong, earthy and powerful voice, rather than a sweet or girlish one. She was fun loving and was a talented comedienne. In 1955, she decided to take some time to study acting, and she moved to New York, working under Lee Strasberg. She did take on several acting roles, in later life, often in TV movies with Johnny... as he also had a moderate career in TV movies, television and also some movies.
 In “The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James”, June played Jesse James’ Mother,.  In Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, she had a regular role as the wife of Johnny’s retired gunfighter, who moves into the town. She also played Johnny’s wife, when he played a bogus evangelist, in Little House on the Prairie. In the 1960s, she wrote a song which later became a hit for Johnny, “Ring of Fire” with her cousin and friend Merle Kilgore. It was about the passion of a forbidden love. In 1968, June finally agreed to marry Johnny, and they remained married from then until her death in 2003.
 In 1970, they had their only child, a son, John Carter Cash. Their marriage had its ups and downs, but he depended on her for support and companionship. He never fully overcame the drug and drink problems though he kept on struggling with them, with his wife’s help and also depending on his Christian faith. He also developed severe health problems as he grew older. With his tendency towards addiction, when he was ill and need pain relief, he was always in danger of becoming addicted to the pain medications. June was devoted to him, and to an extent put her own career to one side, to be there for him. She usually toured with him, and they would always perform their duet hit, Jackson, and a few other songs together. June was a talented dancer, and would sometimes perform country style dances during the act.
 As Johnny’s health grew worse, he still kept on working, as much as he could. He and June were pleased about plans for the making of the film “Ring of Fire” about their life, with Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix. June and Johnny spent more time in Jamaica, where they had a property, for him to enjoy warm weather and to relax. However, he was determined to work as long as he could even if touring was out of the question. In 2002/3 June’s health got poorer, and she had lost her two sisters, Anita and Helen, in the late 90s. In 2003, she had what was meant to be routine surgery to repair a heart valve but she died. Johnny was devastated, as he was now in very poor health and had lost the woman who had been by his side for almost 40 years.
 He missed her terribly and only survived her by 4 months. June had been working on an album, for the first time in years, which was later produced by her son John Carter (Wildwood Flower)… But her legacy isn’t just in country music. It lies in her love for her family and especially for her husband, and her warmth and kindness.