Today in motorcycle history II, March 5, 1990

  Jimmy Carter's sister, Gloria Carter Spann, dies from pancreatic cancer.  Gloria and her second husband, Walter, spent much of their time out of the spotlight and in the saddle on coss-country trips aboard their Harley-Davidson.

  During their years as motorcyclists, Gloria and her husband became "den mother" and father to the younger riders.  The Spanns planted a large garden for the bikers each year and canned the vegetables to serve as they often had unexpected guests.  Their farmhouse was arranged for multiple cots or sleeping bags.  Walter constructed a four-hole outhouse to accommodate bikers who were cruising through the South or headed down to the races at Daytona.

  When she died she was buried in the Lebanon Church Cemetery near Plains, Georgia where her parents and brother, Billy Carter, are also buried.   Gloria Carter Spann's tombstone reads, "She rides in Harley Heaven."

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