This article written and copyright 2014 by Will Johnson, wjhonson@aol.com, Professional Genealogist
Rosalie Jean Willis was born 28 Jan 1937 in Benwood, West Virginia, the daughter of Clarence "Cowboy" Willis and his wife Virginia McNinch who had been married in Marshall County, West Virginia in 1929. Rosalie was the youngest of three sisters, Eileen, Amy, and Rosalie; and they also had a brother Clarence "Buster" Willis. Cowboy and Virginia separated while the girls were still young.
In 1954, Charles Manson had been living with his mother Kathleen in or near Charleston, West Virginia, when he became friendly with Rosalie's father Cowboy. It was through this connection that he met Rosalie; they married on 17 Jan 1955 at the Nazarene Church, Marshall County, West Virginia; she "aged 17". This church was chosen because Charles' grandmother Nancy Ingram was a member. Meanwhile Kathleen decided to move to the Los Angeles area.
Charles and Rosalie decided to go visit or perhaps live with his mother in Los Angeles. He stole a car to make this trip. Shortly after they got to California, he was arrested for this car theft, so he was not present when their only child Charles Milles Manson Jr was born on 10 Apr 1956 in Los Angeles County, California (CADI).
Kathleen and Rosalie did visit Charlie in prison, but Rosalie soon got tired of this, and took up with a man named Jack White. By him she had two sons Jesse J White born 3 Feb 1958 in Los Angeles County (CABI), and Jed White born 4 Apr 1959 in Riverside County (CABI). In the meantime, she filed for divorce from Charlie on 9 Jul 1957 with a final decree on 10 Sep 1958.
Apparently at this time she married Jack White, they would be divorced in 1965.
On 3 Jan 1971, her son Jed White was killed by an accidental gunshot blast, age 11.
In 1971/2 the family was living in Massachusetts where her son Charles Manson got his SSN card issued.
On 23 Aug 1986 in Houston, Texas, her sons Jesse White died from an overdose. On 29 Jun 1993, her son Charles Manson committed suicide by gunshot.
Her final husband was Warren Howard "Jack" Handley who had been born 1 Apr 1926 in Indiana and died 10 Nov 1998 Los Angeles, but resident of Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.
She died 21 Aug 2009 of lung cancer in Tucson, Arizona. Both she and Warren are buried at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial, Boulder City, Clark County, Nevada.