Whitney Thore, Glenn Thore, and fans of “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” have had the opportunity to meet Glenn’s daughter, Angie Burdett, in the recent season. However, viewers won’t have the chance to meet Angie’s birth mother, Jackie, as she passed away in 2015, a few months before Angie tracked her down through her adoption paperwork.
While Whitney and Glenn have shared some information and a couple of photographs of Jackie on the show, there is still some mystery surrounding her. Jackie’s full name is Mary Jacqueline, and she was born in February 1949. It is believed that she was born and raised in Escambia County, Florida, although this cannot be confirmed. According to the 1940 census, Jackie’s parents were living in Millview, Florida, which suggests that Jackie might have been born there.
Whitney Thore has provided a timeline regarding Angie’s birth and adoption, shedding light on the events just before and after Glenn left the country. After bringing Jackie to North Carolina to meet his family, including his sister Karen, Glenn was deployed to Kamiseya to intercept Russian code during the Vietnam War. Jackie stayed with Karen in her apartment in Wilmington, North Carolina, but when Jackie’s mother discovered her pregnancy, she made Jackie come home and placed her in a home for unwed mothers. Jackie’s mother advised her to put the baby up for adoption.
On May 4th, 1968, Jackie gave birth to a daughter whom she named Tamara Renee. At the age of 22, while Glenn was still in Japan, he became a father.
Whitney also shared a photo of the adoption paperwork Angie obtained from the adoption agency many years later, which contained information about Jackie and Angie’s birth family. The document stated that Jackie was at the Allen Memorial Maternity Home in Mobile when Angie was born. It described Jackie as 19 years old, 5’2″ tall, weighing 105 pounds, with medium brown hair, hazel eyes, a light olive complexion, and a small-boned, petite frame. Her adoptive parents had adopted her when she was three years old. Jackie graduated from a Catholic high school in 1967 and attended a junior college for a short period. She had experience babysitting, working as a cashier in a department store, and enjoyed activities such as singing, typing, and cooking. Jackie was in good health, with only hay fever and a tonsillectomy at age 3. Her blood type was O+.
Later in life, Jackie married and had two daughters, one in 1970 and another two years later in 1972. It appears that Jackie and her husband eventually separated, but she retained his last name. Jackie passed away in April 2015 after battling cancer. At the time, she was living in Mobile, Alabama.
Angie and Jackie’s daughters have met and formed a close bond. Their relationship continues to grow and develop.