‘There’s two sides’: Paternal grandma shares her take on J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy

LOVELAND, Ohio — Amid nearly 100 guests adorning red elephant skirts, sequined "Trump" clutches and bedazzled patriotic hats, one attendee at the Northeast Republican Women's Club luncheon on Tuesday stood out among the crowd, not for her outfit but for her famous family member.

Melva Lene Shepherd, the paternal grandmother of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) — Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate — listened in on the meeting in Loveland, Ohio, as a "special guest" of a club member, welcomed with applause from the group.

Shepherd spoke with Raw Story in an exclusive interview about her relationship with her grandson and what she wants the world to know about her family's side of Vance's 2016 bestseller, "Hillbilly Elegy," which focuses mostly on Vance's maternal side of the family as he was primarily raised by his "Papaw" and "Mamaw" as his mother dealt with addiction.

Vance's late father, Donald Bowman, put him up for adoption at age 6 and he was told by his mother that his father "didn't want" him anymore, Vance wrote in the book. Consequently, Vance did not have a relationship with the paternal side of his family throughout much of his life due to his father's absence, according to a spokesperson for Vance.

"I liked it. It told one side. There could be another book written on the other side," Shepherd said. "No matter how flat the pancake is, there's two sides to it."

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While Shepherd didn't want to comment specifically on what perspectives might have been missing from the book, she said Vance and his late father had "an awesome relationship," and Vance was "coming to visit him, sitting with him" at the end of his life. Bowman died in November.

"Most people know about granny and that side of the story, that he was adopted, and his dad let him be adopted, after much prayer," Shepherd said. "As the years went by, they became real close."

Luke Schroeder, a spokesman for Vance, told Raw Story that “J.D. reconnected with his father later in his life. Many Americans with similar family situations never get that opportunity, and J.D. is grateful that he did."

Shepherd said Vance also has "brothers and sisters on that side of the family that he's real close with," but ultimately, Vance "wasn't really in my life that much." Shepherd said she last saw Vance at Thanksgiving, and she doesn't really see her great-grandchildren from Vance and his wife, Usha Vance.

"I understand that we didn’t bond, and he’s not in my life like my other grandkids," Shepherd said. "I understand that. I wish it were different, and I realized I probably need to reach out to him more, too."

Shepherd said she is not actively helping Vance campaign for vice president with Trump, but she "absolutely" supports her grandson's politics, particularly his opposition to abortion. Trump said on Tuesday he would not sign a federal abortion ban.

Vance told CNN in December, "We have to accept that people do not want blanket abortion bans. They just don’t. I say this as a person who wants to protect as many unborn babies as possible. We have to provide exceptions for the life of the mother, for rape and so forth. That is just a basic necessity."

"I’m totally against it," Shepherd said about the issue of abortion.

Even with her grandson running for vice president, Shepherd, who has lived in Hamilton, Ohio, her whole life, said her life hasn't changed "at all." She hasn't met Trump, but Vance's father did.

"His dad met him back when he was politicking for the Senate. We have a picture of him and his dad with the president," Shepherd said.

When asked by Raw Story if she was surprised by Vance's pivot from criticizing Trump to being a supporter, she said "not really."

"I think he’s coming around," Shepherd said.

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