Jeff Skinner bio

Jeff Skinner was born March 11, 1933, in Memphis, Tennessee, where he lived with his family. His parents, Norman and Jean Skinner, had two other children, Patty and Nora. Jeff was the youngest.

Norman Skinner was the head foreman at a vegetable canning plant in Memphis until its closure in 1943. He moved his family back to his hometown of Oxford in early 1944, living on the family farm and taking a job at the Bowlan Glove Factory.

Jeff was an obedient son, though he was known for his practical jokes and pranks. He fit right in at North Yoknapatawpha High School, where he immediately became the class clown. He looked up to the older Jessie Danahy and his crowd of tough friends.

Though Jeff was an unlikely member of the group and not good with his fists, Danahy took him under his protection, and the group adopted him as a younger brother. When Jeff joined the workforce at Bowlan Glove, he maintained his friendship with Danahy.

Norman Skinner quit his job at Bowlan in 1950, insisting his family move with him to Jackson, Mississippi. Jeff was in love with his high school sweetheart, Priscilla Massey, and remained behind in Oxford when his family moved south.

Jeff and Priscilla were engaged right after graduation in 1950. The relationship ended badly the next year when Priscilla caught Jeff with another girl.

Jeff worked at the Bowlan Glove Factory, starting in freight handling right out of high school. He was a hard drinker and joker but never took to the rough-and-tumble ways of his coworkers.

Following his layoff from the Bowlan Glove Factory, Skinner went to Michigan, looking for a better job. He worked in Flint, Michigan, in an auto parts manufacturing factory for three years and was again laid off.

In 1962, Jeff moved to Leesburg, Florida, where he worked in the Daniels' orange groves. He married Kitty Daniels, the daughter of the family, in 1964.

In 1967, he left Leesburg after his marriage ended in divorce. His whereabouts after Leesburg are unknown.