1946 // Marilyn in Vegas – Aunt Minnie & Bill Pursel

From May 14th-July 10th of 1946, Norma Jeane established residency in Nevada by staying with Grace Goddard’s Aunt Minnie Willett. This allowed her to legally file for divorce from Jimmie.

Minnie lived in a small railroad cottage at 604 S. 3rd Street. The home has since been demolished and is currently a parking lot. 608 S. 3rd Street still stands though and is an example of what it would have looked like (Photo to the right above).

It’s here that Norma Jeane met Bill Pursel:

“However, her luck changed one day when she walked on to Aunt Minnie’s porch, wearing white shorts and a halter top, with her hair pulled back and tied with a ribbon. At that moment, a young man by the name of Bill Pursel was talking to a former high-school friend who was raking the yard. ‘My friend introduced her to me, and she came off the porch so we could shake hands. There was a picket fence between us but our eyes were locked. Her first words were, “Pleased to meet you” and I said “Same here.” We then just stood there staring at one another for a few seconds. Finally I said, “Would you like to go for a walk?” She said “Sure” and we took off.’ The new friends ended up in a Las Vegas restaurant called Corey’s. There Norma Jeane told Bill that she was in the city to obtain a divorce from her husband, James Dougherty. ‘She left the impression that she just wanted to be free,’ says Bill. ‘She was not bitter.’ That night the couple went to see a movie, and from that moment they became firm friends and spent almost every day together. Bill remembers: ‘She was a beautiful gal. We were just two young adults going out; we’d go to the movies, the lake, and all over the place: we went to Mount Charleston, west of Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, and to Lake Mead, which was a great place to go for a swim as well as fishing or boating. We would find a café or somewhere out of the way and sit opposite each other. She would stare right into my face and it would make me nervous because she was so beautiful. We would often write notes to each other on napkins and pass them to each other while we were dining.”

Morgan, Michelle. Marilyn Monroe: Private and Confidential (p. 80). Skyhorse. Kindle Edition.