From Wikipedia
Puente was born Dorothea Helen Gray on January 9, 1929, in Redlands, California, to Trudy Mae (née Yates) and Jesse James Gray.[3] Her parents were both alcoholics and her father repeatedly threatened to commit suicide in front of his children. Her father died of tuberculosis in 1937; her mother lost custody of her children in 1938 and died in a motorcycle accident by the end of the year. Puente and her siblings were subsequently sent to an orphanage, where she was sexually abused.
Gray's first marriage, at the age of sixteen, in 1945, was to a soldier named Fred McFaul, who had just returned from the Pacific theater of World War II. Gray had two daughters between 1946 and 1948; she sent one child to live with relatives in Sacramento, placed the other for adoption and also suffered a miscarriage. McFaul left her in late 1948.[5][6]
In the spring of 1948, Gray was arrested for purchasing women's accessories using forged checks in Riverside. She was charged and pled guilty to two counts of forgery, serving four months in jail and three years' probation. Six months after her release, she left Riverside.
In 1952, Gray married merchant seaman Axel Bren Johansson in San Francisco. She created a fake persona, calling herself "Teya Singoalla Neyaarda", and claiming to be a Muslim of Egyptian and Israeli descent. They had a turbulent marriage; Gray would take advantage of Johansson's frequent trips to sea by inviting men to their home and gambling away his money.
Gray was arrested in 1960 for owning and operating a brothel under the disguise of a bookkeeping firm in Sacramento;[5] she was found guilty and was sentenced to ninety days in the Sacramento County Jail. In 1961, Johansson had Gray briefly committed to DeWitt State Hospital after a binge of drinking, lying, criminal behavior, and suicide attempts. While there, doctors diagnosed her as a pathological liar with an unstable personality.
Gray and Johansson divorced in 1966, although she would continue to use Johansson's name for some time following their separation. Gray assumed the identity of "Sharon Johansson", hiding her delinquent behavior by portraying herself as a kind, Christian woman. She established her reputation as a caregiver, providing young women with a sanctuary from poverty and abuse without charge.
In 1968, Gray married Roberto Jose Puente. After sixteen months, the couple separated, with Gray citing domestic abuse as the main cause. In 1967, she attempted to serve him with a divorce petition[inconsistent], but Puente fled to Mexico; the divorce wouldn't be finalized until 1973. The two would continue to have a turbulent relationship, and Gray filed a restraining order against him in 1975. Gray would continue to use the surname Puente for more than twenty years.
Following her divorce, Gray would focus on running a boarding house located at 21st and F streets in Sacramento. She established herself as a genuine resource to the community to aid alcoholics, homeless people, and mentally ill people by holding Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and assisting individuals to sign up to receive Social Security benefits. She changed her public image to that of a respectable older matron by putting on vintage clothing, wearing large granny glasses, and letting her hair turn gray. She also established herself as a respected member in Sacramento's Hispanic community, funding charities, scholarships, and radio programs. She eventually met and married Pedro Angel Montalvo, though Montalvo abruptly left the relationship only a week after their marriage.
In 1978, Gray was charged and convicted of illegally cashing thirty-four state and federal checks that belonged to her tenants. She was given five years' probation and ordered to pay $4,000 in restitution.
Comments