Mary Jane Thomas (1960s – March 22, 2022) was an American model best remembered as the wife of outlaw country music star, Hank Williams Jr.
The country music scene is notorious for nasty breakups, cheating scandals, and the likes but some couples have still gone on to prove that true love exists even in the industry. Mary Jane Thomas and Hank Williams Jr. made a perfect example.
Married for over thirty years, Thomas and her man experienced their fair share of troubles and even contemplated divorce at some point. However, they overcame and made their marriage of one of the longest-lasting unions in not just country music but the larger Hollywood.
Born in the 1960s, Mary Jane Thomas was a native of Daytona Beach, Florida, and grew up to be a typical surfer girl. She spent copious amounts of her spare time on the beach and thanks to her natural good looks, she landed several modeling gigs. Thomas combined her studies with modeling for some time and upon receiving her diploma, decided to take up modeling full time. Mary Jane Thomas’ career never reached the heights of an international supermodel but she had a memorable run as a model for the popular suntan lotion brand, Hawaiian Tropic Lotion before she met her future hubby, Hank Williams Jr. Every time we step out into the world is another opportunity to meet the love of our lives and for Mary Jane Thomas that opportunity came when she attended a musical concert in Washington in 1985. She crossed paths with Hank Williams Jr, who at that time had already made a name as a country musician, and they struck up a conversation. They found each other quite interesting and later started dating. Thomas and Williams Jr. were together for five years before tying the knot on July 2, 1990. The ceremony took place at the University Congregational Church in Missoula, Montana, and the couple exchanged their vows before family members and friends numbering 50. They later honeymooned on the continent of Africa. The marriage was the first for Mary Jane Thomas who at the time was in her 20s. It was however the third for the then 41-year-old Hank Williams Jr. The singer’s first marriage was to a model named Gwen Yeargain in the year 1971. It lasted for six years and produced a son named Shelton Hank Williams who was born on the 12th of December 1972. Following his divorce from Yeargain, Hank Williams Jr. also got married to a lady named Becky White in 1977. The marriage lasted for six years as well and produced two daughters namely Hillary Williams and Holly Audrey Williams. The marriage between Mary Jane Thomas and Hank Williams Jr. lasted for more than thirty years before death took the former away. The couple split their time between homesteads in Tennessee, Missoula – Montana, as well as Alabama, and part of the reason for their longevity is their willingness to compromise. Having grown up as a typical surfer girl, Mary Jane Thomas regarded Montana as way back in the woods. She nevertheless accepted to relocate there and give up certain pleasures such as nice restaurants and shopping malls. She also picked up some of her husband’s hobbies, including hunting various species of animals. It wasn’t all rosy for Thomas and Williams Jr. and they have had their fair share of challenges. In fact, some of their issues got so bad that the singer filed for divorce from Mary Jane in February 2016. By that time, they had been married for 16 years and he described the moment as one of the toughest days of his life. Following the divorce issue, Thomas and Williams Jr. spent the next few years separated but they refused to let go without a fight. Inspired by their love for each other, as well as an earnest desire to avoid raising their kids in broken homes, they found their way back to each other and fully reconciled just in time to celebrate their 21st anniversary together in 2011. One of the major reasons that motivated Mary Jane Thomas and her husband to shelve their divorce plans and work on their marriage is their kids. The couple’s union produced two kids namely Katherine Williams Dunning (born 21st of October 1992) and Samuel Williams. Samuel previously studied for a business degree at Belmont University. He later dropped out and has since pursued a music career which has seen him drop several singles such as Gemini, Darkwater, and The Lost Grandchild’s Plea. He is yet to get married but has a son named Tennyson Williams. The only one of Hank Williams Jr’s children who did not follow his footsteps into music is his daughter, Katherine. Katherine was an entrepreneur and ran her own clothing line known as Weston Jane. The Company had a charity bent as much as an economic one and focused on supporting moms and other women by carrying their designs and selling other items made by them. Katherine lived a wonderful and full life with her husband, Tyler Dunning, whom she married in October 2015. They were a happy couple by all accounts but their happiness was cut short after they were involved in a car crash in June 2020. According to reports, Katherine was the one driving their 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, which was towing a boat, when the vehicle crossed a median dividing the highway and rolled over. It further crossed through the highway’s northbound lanes and stopped on the shoulder. Katherine died on the spot while her husband survived with some injuries. The tragedy devastated her parents and siblings and they grieved mostly in private. It was only her elder sister, Holly Audrey, who took to Instagram to ask for prayers for the entire family to get through the ordeal. About a year after Mary Jane Thomas’ daughter passed away, she managed to pull herself together and move on with her life. The Daytona native had never been one for the spotlight even while her daughter was alive and this remained the status quo till her death. This made it difficult to figure out what Mary Jane Thomas did for a living or what she was up to but we can surmise that she kept busy with her husband, kids, and grandkids. As earlier stated, her son, Samuel, had a son named Tennyson. Her late daughter, Katherine, also had two kids, Beau Weston Dunnings and Audrey Lane Dunnings before her death.
Mary Jane Thomas is a Former Suntan Lotion Model
She and Hank Williams Jr. Met at a Concert in Washington in 1985 and Got Married Five Years Later
The Couple Once Filed For Divorce But Their Union Still Blooms After More Than Thirty Years
Mary Jane Thomas and Hank Williams Jr. Lost Their Daughter in a Car Crash in 2020
