Once upon a time, Lavonia was singing in the choir at Saunders Memorial AME Church on Mack Ave and Pennsylvania in Detroit, Michigan. Lavonia looked up in the balcony and saw three little country boys leaning over the rail, one of whom was James Willie "Wenchie", the others were Joe Iman and Carl.

Apparently, Carl had told James Willie several days before when he saw Lavonia at church that "Man, she won't talk to you!" James Willie thought otherwise. So, he showed up to choir practice to woo Lavonia his way. James approached Lavonia after choir rehearsal and to his surprise, she did talk to him and let him walk her home with her sister and girlfriend.

From that point, James Willie became a frequent visitor to Saunders Memorial. Approximately a year later, James asked Lavonia’s father for her hand in marriage. Lavonia’s father agreed to the marriage but told James that “if he did not want Lavonia he could always bring her back”. The rest, as they say, is history.