Roni Stoneman Hemrick(1938-2024)

The Stoneman Family won the Academy of Country Music "Vocal Group of the Year Award" in 1967. After Pop's death a year later, Roni Stoneman, known as a virtuoso banjo player in both country music and bluegrass, pursued a musical career on her own.

I love it. An old man in Nashville-an old feller who'd come across the street with his family. He had a walker and was very old. I was smiling and I thought, 'Country music brought them people here.' He stopped and said, 'Aren't you Ernest Stoneman's least 'un?' 'You know 'em?' 'I sure do! I remember you when I was a kid!' 'How old are you?' '96! This is my first trip to Nashwille!' He said, 'I remember you when I was a kid'? How old does he think I am? But he'd seen me onstage 4-5-6-7-10-all the years of my life. He grew up with me! He remembered. So I told my daughter I kicked the walker out from under him! I got a story I wanna tell you-the one about Debbie Reynolds!