Sam, 25, paid tribute to his late mother in a statement to PEOPLE shortly after her death. The "Family Tradition" singer married Thomas in 1990. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner also listed her death as "accidental" after a surgeon punctured the membrane close to her chest wall following her breast lift procedure. His parents meant to christen him Hiram Williams, after Hiram of Tyre, the Biblical king, but he didn't end up becoming Hiram either. You're about the purtiest thing I ever saw," via Sing a Sad Song. But clearly Williams' tragic death got in the way of that plan. Whiskey Riff. Later he shared more photos and thoughts. The former model, who lived in Nashville, had traveled to Jupiter, Florida to undergo liposuction, as well as to remove previous breast implants at Bafitis Plastic Surgery. In Georgiana, Lillie landed a coveted job at a cannery, according toSing a Sad Song. July 7, 2013 12 AM PT. Tragedy has struck the Williams family previously. Hank Williams first auditioned for the Grand Ole Opry in 1946, but he did not make the cut. They agreed that Williams' mother, Lillie, would raise the baby, with Williams and Jett having visitation rights. Tom [Hiddleston, the actor portraying Williams] puts across that impending sense of doom. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Like his first marriage, Williams did not want to wait to marry Jones. Less than 48 hours later, Hank Williams was dead. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 - January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. This story has been shared 101,613 times. The autopsy indicates that Thomas' lung collapsed after her surgeon punctured the membrane while completing the fat transfer as part of a breast lift following a breast implant removal. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. He responded to an ad from Kaiser Shipbuilding, a shipyard company in Portland, Oregon that promised a free one-way ticket, training, free rent, and a steady wage for anyone willing to work. Hank Williams Jr.'s wife, Mary Jane Thomas, died after undergoing an elective cosmetic surgery, reports from Florida's Palm Beach County medical examiner reveal. I Saw The Light, the Hank Williams biopic, will be playing in theaters around the country on Friday (March 25). The cause of death for Mary Jane Thomas, the wife of country singer Hank Williams Jr., has been revealed. Under the name Dr. C.W. Tom [Hiddleston, the actor portraying Williams] puts across that impending sense of doom. His spina bifida, never properly treated in childhood, was a chronic source of agony. MTV, EMA and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Star hooked on painkillers, Jackie Daly writes. Mary Jane was a former model for Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion. The singer's wife was released from the hospital March 21 and was transported to a resort for recovery. Hank Jr.'s daughters Hilary and Holly Williams from his marriage to Becky White were both severely injured in an auto accident in 2006, with Hilary going into cardiac arrest . My father fell in love with the Daytona Beach beauty the minute he set eyes on her in the early '80s. Hank Williams Jr.'s youngest son, Sam, said he was under a conservatorship put in place by the family following the death of his sister Katherine in 2020. The wife and former model had traveled from Nashville to Jupiter, Florida to undergo liposuction and get previous breast implants removed, People reported. When new wife Billie Jean . In January 1953, Jones went to court, but the judge ruled that her marriage to Williams was illegal. Hank Williams Jr. has broken his silence regarding the tragic death of his wife, Mary Jane Thomas. Getty. He checked into the North Louisiana Sanitarium at the fall of 1951, but was unable to quit drinking for good. Discover Hank Williams Death Monument in Oak Hill, West Virginia: A humble plaque marks the site where the country music legend was found dead in his Cadillac. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The WSFA radio station was also fed up with his behavior, and in August 1942, Williams was let go from his job at the WSFA for "habitual drunkenness," according to I Saw the Light. Within 48 hours of Williams prediction, he had met his maker, but the circumstances surrounding how he died have given rise to one of music historys greatest debates. Is this, by any chance, Tammy Wynette?". (AP Photo/FILE). Alysse Gafkjen. Regardless of how Williams got his first guitar, it is a largely undisputed fact that the credit for teaching him how to play the instrument goes to a man named Rufus Payne. The 27-year-old was driving a Chevy Tahoe in . Mary Jane Thomas, the wife of Hank Williams Jr., died suddenly on Tuesday at the age of 58 following a "medical procedure." Country music legend Hank Williams Jr. is in mourning today after the sudden death of his wife Mary Jane Thomas "following a medical procedure" that was carried out in Florida. Mary Jane Thomas and Hank Williams Jr. in 2021. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. HANK Williams Jr's wife's cause of death has been revealed after her tragic passing at age 61. Hank's mother, Lillie, and father, Lon, had briefly settled in a rural area of Alabama called Mount Olive, to start their family. About six or seven hours later, on the morning of Jan. 1, 1953, Carr realized his passenger was dead and already beset with rigor mortis, the, Priscilla Presley Shares Emotional Post On Lisa Marie's Birthday, Jay Leno Appears On First Talk Show Since Burn & Motorcycle Accidents, Sam Elliott Reunites With Big Lebowski Co-Star Jeff Bridges At SAG Awards, Florida Man Faces Legal Consequences For Hammer Attack On Shark, Dukes Of Hazzard Car Driven By Cast Members Has Been Totaled, Tom Sizemores Manager Releases Upsetting Update On His Condition, Austin Butler Called A True Gentleman For Helping Winners Up Steps At SAG Awards, Actor Who Plays Jamie On Yellowstone Addresses Rumors Of Behind-The-Scenes Drama. Williams' mother, Bobbie Jett, was six months pregnant with her when Hank Williams married his second wife, Billie Jean Eshliman. According to band member Sammy Pruett, "none of us dug her too damn much.". Hank was born with a spinal condition, known as spina bifida occulta, which was not well understood at the time. The "All My Rowdy Friends" singer and ex-"Monday Night Football" crooner met Thomas in 1985 at one of his concerts in Washington state. "My dear Mama Mary Jane was a beautiful soul who forever affected everyone who knew her. . Williams-Dunning was driving a 2007 Chevy Tahoe while towing a boat Saturday night . Reports are conflicting on Thomas' age but range from 58 . In 1941, he briefly joined a rodeo in Texas, where his condition worsened after he suffered a bad fall. . "He would try most anything he was pretty independent.". After his wife's tragic death, Hank Jr said: "Her kind spirit and beautiful and endearing love carries on in the hearts of our son, Sam, grandsons Beau and Tennyson, and granddaughter Audrey Jane.". The resulting operation marked the beginning of Williams' addiction to pain medication, per Sing a Sad Song. We've received your submission. "I'm certainly not an . Receive daily updates with the best country music videos, news, and more! But, according to a new story from the New York Post, one of the biggestissues of debate about Williams life remained untouched by the movie: His mysterious death, something that the singer predicted less than 48 hours before he died. A representative for Bafitis Plastic Surgery did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Williams. But as Jack Neely, executive director of the Knoxville History Project, explains, local folklore tells a different story. The truth about Hank Williams death may never be known. On July 1, 1990, the couple tied the knot in Missoula, Montana, per the . While heart failure was reported as the official cause of death, officials observed that the man's body . Her spirit was gentle and giving. Wynette's primary physician, famed Pittsburgh liver-transplant specialist Dr. Wallis Marsh, flew to Nashville that night and declared Wynette's death due to a blood clot to the lungs, although no autopsy was performed. 27-year-old Katherine Williams-Dunning . Daughters Hillary and Holly are Hank Jr's other children with his ex-wife Becky White, who he was married to from 1977 to 1983. "I think he had a profound sadness in him," says Marc Abraham, writer . Williams lived fast, both personally and . Reps for Hank and Sam did not respond immediately to the Suns request for comment. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. She became an accomplished musician in her own right, performing under the name Jett Williams. . The time of death Wynette was 55 was never established, and no autopsy was performed. Local lore also places Williams at a Knoxville hospital getting a second shot of morphine this in addition to the one administered by the hotel doctor that might have caused a drug overdose. For his part, Hank was always picking up odd jobs, selling peanuts or shining shoes on the corner to make extra cash. Sam seemed to be reeling from the death of his sister and the daughter of Hank Jr, first revealing the news of the accident himself on Facebook, writing: "My sister and brother in law have been in a terrible accident. . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. At midnight, Carr began arranging to transport Williams to an early morning performance in Canton, Ohio. In one sensational passage, Daly writes that Wynette's infamous 1978 kidnapping from a Nashville shopping mall had been staged by Wynette herself possibly in league with Richey. Hank felt there was something bad around the corner.. Holly has one child and Hank Jr has three grandchildren all together. He and his cousin, J.C. McNeil, with whom he was almost inseparable, spent their time listening to gospel music on Sunday mornings and lively string band performances at the raucous parties held in the camps on Saturday nights. Hank Williams Jr.'s wife, Mary Jane Thomas, died after undergoing an elective cosmetic surgery, reports from Florida's Palm Beach County medical examiner reveal. Katherine Williams-Dunning, daughter of country music icon Hank Williams, Jr., died Saturday night after losing control of her SUV. During her life, Wynette underwent more than three dozen major surgeries, primarily due to abdominal adhesions. In August 1952, Williams was fired from the Grand Ole Opry for his failure to show up to Opry-sponsored appearances, according to PBS. The musician wrote: "I am in a conservatorship," in five separate tweets each with one word of the message. Thomas died March 22 at age 58. In his childhood, Hank Jr. received music lessons from several artists that were friends with his father, including people like Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. ", The 25-year-old made the allegations in a silent YouTube video, holding up a sign that said: "I want out.". All the responsibility for supporting the family now fell to Lillie. On the evening of Dec. 30, 1952, the restless, rail-thin 29-year-old tossed and turned in bed at his home in Montgomery, Ala. When the singers death was announced to the waiting crowd at the Palace Theatre in Canton, they sang Williams I Saw the Light in unison.. Thomas was released from the facility at 7 p.m. on March 21 and was "sitting up in bed, speaking normally" the next day, the reports said, only to "suddenly" become unresponsive. He said: "I definitely broke and went through a really, really, really hard time. Sam shared the post as he wrote: "It's my second one not free.". Hank Jr has forged his own path in the country world and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last November. Her mother told her, Daly writes, that she pretended to have been kidnapped from the Green Hills Mall and forced to drive out of town, and then claimed to have been beaten and dumped by the side of the road. Nobody would know where he was," via Sing a Sad Song. Williams was living his dream, but it would only last three years. Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh) moved herself and her daughters to Nashville from a life of poverty in rural Mississippi, where the former hair stylist became a country music superstar with such hits as "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "Stand by Your Man"(RealAudio excerpt). At the time, a family source speculated that it may have been a blood clot after an undisclosed medical procedure. The couple's relationship was stressful from the start. Mary Jane Thomas the wife of Hank Williams Jr. reportedlydied after undergoing plastic surgery in Jupiter, Fla. An autopsy rules that her cause of death was accidental, and she died due to a collapsed lung that was punctured the day before. Thomas, pictured with Williams in 1989, traveled from her home in Nashville, Tennessee, for liposuction and breast implant removal procedures. Days after Sam made the claims,TMZconfirmed through court records that Hank filed a petition for an emergency conservatorship in August 2020 for Sam. Lemon, Marshall wrote Williams a series of fraudulent prescriptions for drugs including morphine, barbiturates, amphetamines, and chloral hydrate that no doubt contributed to his failing health. He married Becky White from 1977-83, and they had two children together, daughters Holly and Hilary Williams. She could take down a ten-point buck and fix dinner for her grandchildren at the same time! I actually wrote 13 pages for that scene but took them out because they felt superfluous, explains Abraham. In 1951, Williams suffered another accident, this time while hunting. When the singers death was announced to the waiting crowd at the Palace Theatre in Canton, they sang Williams I Saw the Light in unison. Thomas, who was married to Williams for more than 30 years, passed back in March. While Lillie worked hard for the band, she wasn't all too popular with the members. The producers noticed his talent, and invited him to perform on air. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Mary Jane Thomas died on March 22 of a collapsed lung that was punctured during an elective surgery the day before, according to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. On her third birthday, custody would go to Williams. ", Caller: "Uh, it was kind of unexpected, but it was a natural death, yes. She was rushed to a local hospital and died in the emergency room. According to Hank Williams, So Lonesome, Marshall was actually a high school dropout, who had simply paid $35 to obtain a degree from the Chicago School of Applied Sciences that claimed he was a "Doctor of Science and Psychology." Unable to fly, and now unable to make it to Charleston on time, Williams hired a driver named Charles Carr to drive him to Canton, Ohio for the New Year's Day show. The cause of death for Mary Jane Thomas, the wife of country singer Hank Williams Jr., has been revealed. This story has been shared 119,909 times. But Lillie was a remarkably resourceful woman. According to the Guardian, her identity was undisclosed for years. or redistributed. He thinks Williams died -- the official cause was heart failure -- somewhere between Bristol, Tenn., and Oak Hill on the way to a New Year's Day 1953 show in Canton, Ohio. At a time when the music he made was still mostly regional in its appeal, he was well on the way to national celebrity when he died in 1953, and his posthumous fame would grow even greater. Carr called a doctor to Williams' room. . (Carr died in 2013 and, for much of his life, kept silent on his journey with Williams.). Market data provided by Factset. The Drifting Cowboys were a popular act, but by the age of 16, Williams was already struggling to control his drinking. There is a framework of events that is largely agreed upon, starting with Williams being chauffeured to a planned New Years Eve show in Charleston, W.Va. About six or seven hours later, on the morning of Jan. 1, 1953, Carr realized his passenger was dead and already beset with rigor mortis, the New York Post writes. The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Hank Williams. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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Daly says her mother told her she had been beaten by Richey and concocted the abduction/beating story to explain the bruises. Ajax, in which his skull was split from forehead to chin, knocking out several teeth, dislodging an eye from its socket, and . To have a kid [Carr] turn around, feel his pulse and realize [Williams] was dead, it felt anticlimactic., Besides, Neely adds, No matter which account you pick, there are going to be people who say, Thats not how it happened. . The new biopic I Saw the Light, in theaters Friday, traces country legend Hank Williams struggles with alcohol, infidelity and the weight of being one of the biggest music stars in the United States, following hits such as his cover of Lovesick Blues (1949) and his own Why Dont You Love Me (1950).