J.D. Sumner - How Deep Is His voice

Pure logic seems to dictate that all of us have some sort of an abstract idea of what the voice of God would sound like. The impression we carry may have come from a male figure or perhaps the Cecil B. DeMille classic 'The Ten Commandments'! But for a very little girl a lasting impression came and remained unchangeable! I'd like to share with you a very special memory of mine. 

To borrow a quote from Charlie Hodge's repetitive explanation regarding my comings and goings within the Elvis world, let's begin with, 'One of the times when Mary Ann was in Vegas-.' Yes, one of those times! I can't recall the day or time but the incident being recounted in the text of this story is as clear today as it was in the late 70's!

I had spent most of the afternoon with a dear friend of J.D. Sumner's, who worked for a record label in Nashville, TN., running around the Hilton getting into some controlled mischief!

It was little things like asking the very curious and somewhat suspicious beauticians in the Hilton Beauty Shop if we could buy two bottles of blue black hair dye to take upstairs for a friend that had a show to do that night! And if we could would they write down the instructions since we weren't after all licensed beauticians. With our nonsensical inquiry answered positively, volunteers came out of the proverbial woodwork offering to both deliver and apply the potion! 

We then took our leave and disappeared down the hallway reassuring them that we really needed no help with the process! 

From there we had sought out and devoured every piece of coconut cream pie in that hotel, tactlessly charging to Elvis' account. A habit that came quite readily I'm afraid.

Laughing and giggling we returned upstairs to try out a new curling iron from the salon and put a profuse number of curls in J.D.'s hair for that night's performance! After the expected resistance was quelled, we won and proceeded to work on his new 'do'! He had to admit that the pompadour 'look' was quite different! And it did get a couple of double takes and some knowing grins from Elvis during the show that night! 

During the early evening before going down the service elevators and to the backstage area it had been my custom to call home and check on the day's events.

Since we were all in J.D.'s room talking, I telephoned from there instead of making the trek back to my suite. When my conversations came to a close he asked who I was talking to and I said, 'Dianna'. 

Now, J.D. had met both Dianna and Jayne Ann on several occasions but had never talked with them on the phone from Las Vegas or anyplace else for that matter. 

At his request, I handed over the phone and Dianna, then 5 or 6 years old at the most, and they proceeded to have a lengthy conversation. This gentle giant of a man greeted her with that deep voice resonating over the phone lines with, 'Hello baby, how are you ?' 

After a while, Jayne Ann made her way to the phone. She and J.D. chatted about school, when Mommy would be home, and if Lisa Marie, who was her age, was there. 

Getting the receiver back from J.D. wasn't an easy task in itself! Their conversations went back and forth for some time. I asked which of my two daughters was on the other end of the line. He said Dianna was back on the phone.

I said, 'Hello' -and there was silence. Again, 'Hello', thinking it had disconnected.

Then I heard a small gasp that held a wonderment one would expect when a child sees Santa Claus for the first time or watches their first Christmas tree come alive with a million twinkling lights! Then, spontaneously, in a way only a small child can convincingly accomplish, she slowly and very cautiously gathered all of her courage together to ask what just might have been the most important question her mind had considered during her very few years on earth! 

With awe-inspiring reverence, she whispered to me, '-mommy-was that-was that GOD?'

The urge to laugh was resisted, instead I assured her that no it wasn't God-that it was J. D. and he had a very, very deep voice! I don't think I changed her first opinion-and I'm still not certain she was convinced that it wasn't God Himself checking up on her at bedtime that night! After all, J. D. had made a point of asking if she was intending to say her prayers before she drifted off to sleep!

I shared with him what she had said and predictable tears came to his eyes.

For a big man-for a man wise to the ways of the world-he was a gentle man. 

And so was Elvis. I think that was one of their strongest bonds.

When I was back home I found my Bible and turned to the book of Revelation, to coincidentally, Elvis' favourite book of the Bible, where a description of God's voice has been written down for us to read and know. 

Interestingly, the Holy Word reads, 'And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder:' Rev. 14:2 Sort of sound like a description of J.D.'s voice too doesn't it?

The last few weeks of J.D.'s life I found myself wanting to talk to him once more before he left this old world. One could look at him and know it would be soon. After Mary Agnes' death, life just wasn't the same for him. I sent a note with Big John Hall to give to him at the Gaither's taping in Nashville, left information with his daughter Shirley and called Graceland to leave word. Our paths crossed but not close enough to be able to talk.

When I heard he had died my heart sank. I didn't know I'd miss him. We surely had our ups and downs. One of the biggest was the choice of the speaker at Elvis' funeral. 'The Church world will recognize Rex's name-and we need that', he had said. Yet there was no story to tell that had meaning. You see, Elvis had tearfully shared with me all of what had been said in that meeting and in other meetings and the story he told me is quite different than the one that has been voiced. I choose to believe my friend and his tears.

How do you say good-by to someone who shared your heart in a matter?

During the times when I talked honestly and straightforwardly with Elvis, and he was in turn shared honestly and openly with me, J. D. was the one caught in the middle! It was J.D. Sumner who stayed up all night walked the floor with Elvis and listening to him and then the very next day lost the rest of his sleep time walking the floor and listening to me!

He dried Elvis' tears and he dried mine. There were times John Daniel Sumner only had an hour or two of sleep between Elvis telling him good night and hearing my knock on his door early the next morning after I had spent another long night in prayer! 

He'd open the door, rub his eyes, shake his head, and tell me to come in and all the while mumbling that Elvis and I were without a question the two biggest 'worry warts' God ever put on this earth. I've considered that statement in the years since and you know, he was probably right! 

J. D. Sumner always listened and he always encouraged -and most importantly he knew God when He saw Him at work!

I want to see him again and pray that he has made Heaven his final abode like he told me so many, many times he planned to do. And that he is doing what that very next verse in that chapter of Revelation states and that is, "-they sang a new song"

© Mary Ann Thornton

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