John Dillinger Marries Beryl Ethel Hovious

Dillinger returned to Mooresville where he met Beryl Ethel Hovious (born August 6, 1906), the daughter of Stephen Hovious and Cara Vandeventer.

The two were married in Martinsville on April 12, 1924. He attempted to settle down, but he had difficulty holding a job and preserving his marriage. The marriage ended in divorce on June 20, 1929. Beryl Dillinger remarried in July, 1929 to Harold McGowen, with the pair divorcing in July, 1931. In 1932, she married a third time to Charles Byrum and they had one child. Beryl Hovious Byrum died November 30, 1993 at Millers Merry Manor, Mooresville, Indiana and is buried at Mt. Pleasent Cemetery, Hall, Indiana.

Upon his return [after the Navy] to Mooresville in April 1924, John Dillinger met and married 16-year-old Beryl Ethel Hovious and attempted to settle down. With no job or income, the newlyweds moved into Dillinger's father's farm house. Within a few weeks of his wedding, he was arrested for stealing several chickens. Though his father was able to work out a deal to keep the case out of court, it did little to help his relationship with his father. Dillinger and Beryl moved out of their cramped bedroom and into Beryl's parents' home in Martinsville, Indiana. There he got a job in an upholstery shop."

Dillinger began courting a young lady named Beryl Hovious. She would soon become his wife; they were married on April 12, 1924. Dillinger settled down for a while, he found a job and enjoyed the marriage life. He joined a Martinsville baseball team called the Atletics (AC); he was noted as a good second baseman, and a shortstop. John and Beryl soon became good friends with another baseball team player named William Edgar Singleton, a team member who would also umpire for the team on occasions.