In Memory of......

......my dear father-in-law....who passed away May 26, 1995

Forever in my mind, it will never be that date, though....it will always be the Friday before Memorial Day. Less than six months after the death of my own Daddy....I lost my daddy-in-law, too. The "it's not odd, it's God" thing about it all....were that the circumstances surrounding his death fell right in line with what we had gone thru on December 4, 1994 with Daddy. The phone call....it was just our Mom's and Pappy and me there....same ambulance service being called and having to get stern because they were so slow....same Fire Department showing up....same following the ambulance to St. Mary's Hospital...and, then, at the hospital, them wanting to take us into "that little room"....and I refused to go this time. I knew what it meant. It was in that room where they told you that your life would never, ever be the same because of the death of a loved one.

What a tragic time for our family. Pappy and I knew exactly what each other was going thru because we had both experienced the same pain so close in time....and Jess, love her heart, had lost both of her Papaw's so close together.

But, you know what it did??? It served to just bring us all closer together...to cause us to lean on each other even more. And, as far as me and Pappy...well, we knew more how to comfort each other!!! Isn't that exactly what God had planned??? Even in the loss of our Dad's....God had a plan!!!

I still think about him so often...and how much he cared about Pappy and me...and how he would come to our house and "brag" on us and help us....and, especially, how he would go room to room flipping every light switch trying to run up our electric bill and laughing the entire time!! He gave each of us some money one year at Christmas....and I took mine and bought a Tennessee pearl ring...that I have to this day and it will always remind me of him!! He loved having all of his kids (all 8 of them), and their spouses and his grand kids come to their house on Sunday afternoon...and he would get upset if everybody didn't show up some time that day!!!! I loved the swing he bought us at a yard sale while we were pregnant with Jess....it got a lot of use....and the picture he bought me at a yard sale because it was just like one I had admired at their house (still have it)....and the fact that he wanted Jess to be born on his birthday....and she was 15 days late!!! His love of race cars...and how he could sit for hours and watch racing on TV....the time we took him to the Aquarium in Chattanooga....just Pappy and Jess and him and me!!! When he passed away, my sis-in-law (only sisters I have are Pappy's sisters) picked out his clothes....a white shirt, leather vest, and and one of those bolo (sp????) ties with an Indian head on it...because it just wouldn't have been him all dressed up in a suit and tie.

Did he ever know what he meant to me???I sure hope so!!!

I asked Pappy to choose the scripture....and after much searching to find just what he wanted to say....here's what he gave me:

Proverbs 4:4-5 (NLT)
My father taught me, “Take my words to heart. Follow my commands, and you will live. Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them."

You're probably wondering why in the world did I pick the following song....well....Willie Nelson has always reminded me of my father-in-law. His mannerisms....his build....his voice....and this is one of my all-time favorite songs....so that's why I chose this one!!!

In Memory of my other Dad

September 11, 1925 - May 26, 1995

(yes, he was born on September 11th!!!!)

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!