I try to read my hometown newspaper at least once a month. More and more, I’m drawn to the OBITUARIES. People whom I knew when I lived in the small town are beginning to die off. I hate to see them go. Most were wonderful people, some were real characters, and their life stories are utterly fascinating.
More and more, I realize just how unaware I was growing up. The OBITUARIES are filling in a lot of gaps that I didn’t know I had. The small town is still educating me.
The life stories of those I knew as students in school are of particular interest, so far mostly those who were older than me. I always felt that my education in that little town was particularly good, and more and more, the obituaries are confirming my opinions. There was little local industry other than farming and ranching and a state university within commuting distance. Many students left after graduation. Those who stayed lived active full lives, often taking leadership roles in the community, even while making a living. They served their community and their churches well.
Fellow students who left the little town usually moved to bigger cities, both in Texas and across the U.S. Many went on to college: Texas A & M, Sam Houston State College, the University of Texas; Southwest Texas State and other universities both in and out of state. An astonishing number achieved advanced degrees.
Many men served in the military, both those who stayed and those who left. Almost every adult man I knew growing up had served in World War II. Some were bona fide heroes as their tombstones and obituaries attest. Many local men I never knew gave the ultimate sacrifice. Some of the younger men did not survive Korea and later Viet Nam. They were all great patriots. They did what their country asked of them, regardless of how they felt about the wars. Some of them and their families still suffer after effects.
Many of those who left the little town became quite successful… some of them serving in senior leadership positions in industries all over the world, especially in the oil and gas industry. They married spouses from all over and raised families.
It makes me inordinately proud that there was a time when I called most of these men and women ‘friend.’