Gibson v. Dorris

1 Petitioner is the maternal grandmother of minor sons of the respondent Glenna Dorris. She and her husband were married in 1942 and have lived in Oklahoma City for a number of years. They are of moderate financial circumstances, paying $65.00 a month house rent from her husbands social security, retirement pay, and income from extra work he normally performs. Petitioner has no separate income of her own. She is 57 years old. She has taken care of her daughters two sons from their infancy. They are happy in her home. At least one of them is doing well in school. The respondent also resides in petitioners home and on behalf of the boys and herself contributes $45.00 a month towards family expense besides buying clothing, school supplies and necessities of the boys. She works at the Western Electric plant; she has worked there some two years. Her husband, Eugene Dorris, is in military service and is stationed in France. They were married in November, 1957. For a time she and he operated a tavern. He also drove a cab for a while before going into the army. At trial time he had been in military service two years and was home on furlough. He and the boys mother propose to take her sons with them to France at expiration of his furlough. The petitioner, their grandmother, objects. The petitioner contends that her daughter, Glenna Dorris, and her husband are unfit persons to have custody of minor children.