Draft:Nel Hoon

Submission declined on 26 September 2024 by Greenman (talk).

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Declined by Greenman 53 days ago. Last edited by Citation bot 12 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author.

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Comment: See WP:COI. See also WP:BLP. Statements, starting with the date of birth, need to be sourced or removed. Greenman (talk) 07:46, 26 September 2024 (UTC)

Nel Hoon, née Vernell Hodge, (born February 28, 1940) is an American artist, author, and mother of Richard Shannon Hoon, lead singer of the band Blind Melon from 1990 until his death in 1995. Nel was born to a poverty stricken area in Alabama and moved to Indiana later in life. Nel came into the spotlight along with her son Shannon and is widely known for keeping his memory alive by hosting the Shannon Hoon Vigil. Later in life after multiple career changes she became an artist and an author by creating her own craft brand and becoming an independently published author at age 84.

Early life

Nel Hoon was born under the official name Vernell Hodge on February 28, 1940, in southern Alabama to mother Vernell Hodge and father John L. Hodge. Nel had one sister, Carolyn, and one brother, Terry.

Nel moved with her family to the Lafayette, Indiana, area and settled there to later start her own family.

Relationships and Family

Relationships

Nel met her 2nd husband, Dick Hoon, aka Richard Leonard Hoon, a bricklayer in Dayton, Indiana on a beach at Monticello Lake^[1] and they married in 1965. Unfortunately, they later divorced and lived apart until Dick's death in 2021.^[2]

Nel reconnected with longtime friend Johnny Redington in a platonic companionship that inspired their writing until his death in 2017.

Family

Nel had three children. Tim Forkeotes and Anna Hirst were here first 2 children prior to meeting Dick Hoon. She had one child, Shannon Hoon, with Dick Hoon. Nel has multiple grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Career

Nel had many careers before becoming an artist and author. She had to do what it takes to pay the bills after a lifetime of struggle including being born at the tale end of the depression into a poverty stricken family so she acquired many job skills. Some of those jobs included bar manager, thrifter, and many more.

Bar Manager, Thrifter, and Other Jobs

Nel managed a bar in Dayton early on. Later she briefly moved to Chicago and worked at a bar there. After returning to Indiana she became a thrifter turning found treasures into personalized art and reselling.

Arts & Crafts

Nel creates arts and crafts under her brand name Eye and Mind inspired by her son, Shannon Hoon. Creating gifts for Vigil goers is what originally inspired her start into the arts and crafts. She began by making necklaces, votive holders, and other gifts for travelers, and her motto was "nobody leaves vigil empty handed."^[3]

The vigil gifts expanded into a business when Blind Melon fans asked for more crafts by Nel. She now works part time as a freelance artist under the brand name "Eye and Mind" making jewelry and designing clothes as well as creating functional art like plant stands inspired by the Blind Melon song "Skinned".

Author and Poet

Nel became a published author in 2024 at the age of 84 after discovering some old writing between herself and her friend Johnny Redington. Nel approached fellow poet and artist Melodie Yvonne about compiling and illustrating the poetry, letters, and stories written between Nel and her longtime friend Johnny. The collaboration was successful and Nel & Johnny: Assorted Poems & Letters Between Friends was published independently on September 15, 2024.

Shannon Hoon and Tim Forkeotes Vigil

Nel started the Shannon Hoon Vigil in 1996 to honor her lost son, and the tradition continued officially until 2015.^[4] Fans began traveling from all over the world to gather at the Dayton Cemetery in Dayton, Indiana to support Nel after Shannon's death and the tradition continued for decades.^[5] Vigil was largely known as a 'sober event', and this rule was always respected by event goers.^[3] The event became known as the Shannon Hoon and Tim Forkeotes Vigil after the death of Nel's second son, Tim, in 2009. The event started small with around 20 fans and grew to hundreds by the end.^[6]

The Shannon Hoon and Tim Forkeotes Vigil was discontinued in 2015 because the event became too much on Nel due to medical complications as well as multiple incidents with the Dayton Cemetery that discouraged the continuation of the event including an incident as early as 2012 where Vigil goers were threatened and "smoked out" by property maintenance personnel.^[3] Some fans still meet today in a new celebration dubbed the Tones of Home Gathering.^[7]

In the Media

Nel is interviewed in Rolling Stone in an article about Blind Melon and Shannon Hoon released on November 11, 1993 and speaks on raising Shannon.^[8]

On September 17, 2008, the book A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon by Greg Prato was published and featured interviews from Nel Hoon and others close to Blind Melon^[9]

Vigil 20 the Nel Hoon Story details Nel's story about Vigil in Dayton, Indiana.^[10]

Nel was featured in an interview series called "Three with Photographic Melodie" on January 25, 2017, and answers random questions about herself and Blind Melon.^[11]

A documentary about Shannon Hoon titled All I Can Say was released on June 26, 2020, and shows Nel in various scenes throughout.^[12]

An article published immediately after the release of All I Can Say speaks on Nel's scenes in the movie in UpFulLife.^[13]

The Pin Doctors published an article about Shannon Hoon's wrestling career that includes clips and words from Nel on May 11, 2021.^[14]

References

^ Heath, Chris (July 1996). "Meloncholy and the Infinite Sadness" (PDF). Blind Melon Articles - Details Magazine Scan July 1996.
^ "Obituaries in West Lafayette, IN | Journal and Courier". jconline.com. 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kaszer, Shawna (2012-10-21). "Melonheads Gather To Remember Fallen Singer: My Experience At The Annual Shannon Hoon Vigil". HuffPost. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
^ Bongiovanni, Domenica. "Annual Vigil for Shannon Hoon ends this year". Journal and Courier. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ "See Lafayette native, Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon through the years". Journal and Courier. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
^ "See Lafayette native, Blind Melon's Shannon Hoon through the years". Journal and Courier. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
^ Yvonne, Melodie (2016-09-18). "Tones of Home to Celebrate the life and Music of Shannon Hoon". Photographic Melodie. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
^ Neely, Kim (1993-11-11). "Blind Melon: Knee-Deep in the Hoopla". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ BraveWords. "When BLIND MELON Toured With GUNS N' ROSES – "I Would Sit Next To AXL On The Couch; He Would Turn To Me And Go, 'Who Is That Guy?'"". bravewords.com. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ White, Mark Stacey (2015-11-13), Vigil 20 the Nel Hoon Story (Documentary), Nikki Bermillion, Rob Brueneman, Spring Devine, MSW Films & Entertainment, retrieved 2024-09-25
^ Yvonne, Melodie (2017-02-06). "Three with Photographic Melodie – Nel Hoon and Flea Market Pete". Photographic Melodie. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ Bangert, Dave. "Tones of home in 'All I Can Say,' a documentary about Lafayette's Shannon Hoon, now playing". Journal and Courier. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ "THEY SEE EVERYTHING YOU DO: Shannon Hoon, Blind Melon, & The 'All I Can Say' Documentary [B.Getz on L4LM] - The Upful Life". www.upfullife.com/. 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
^ Swafford, Joshua (2021-05-12). "Celebrities Who Wrestled: Shannon Hoon aka The Lead Singer Of The Band, Blind Melon". THE PIN DOCTORS. Retrieved 2024-09-24.