I Remember .............. Dillard O. Hamby
Recently I attended the funeral of a great man, Dillard O. Hamby. I had not seen him in quite a long time. As I looked at the many pictures of him, his family, and his friends, I began to remember his zest for life. As the service started, I was overwhelmed with the feelings and my own memories that came flooding back.
I glanced over at my own father and saw his eyes were misted and a single tear balanced on the verge of his tanned, leathery cheekbone. What a testament to the enormous respect that we all had for this man. Let me be very clear that the tears we shed were not out of sadness. We all know that Dillard is dancing with Jesus in Heaven right now. He no longer has the limitations that his aged body held him to and he is at peace. Our tears were a form of affection for Dillard, a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and especially friend. These are yet a sampling of my own memories.
*Dillard loved to garden. I can remember him bringing a sampling of his spoils to church to share with anyone who would take them. I mostly remember his giant sunflowers he had planted at his house. They were taller than he was (which was huge to me as a child). He seemed so proud of them. Every time I see a sunflower, I think of Dillard and will continue to do so.
*Every year I looked forward to Vacation Bible School. Not only because it was VBS, but also because I knew that afterward, as I waited on my mom to get ready to go, I could sit with him as he took his lunch break. We would sit across from each other at a round folding table in the Fellowship Hall as he would eat his homemade lunch. We would talk about mostly anything (he had a way of making even a child feel like they had something important to say). I remember one time asking him about the anchor tattoo on his forearm and he told me of his service in the Navy. I joked with him that he was a little skinny to be Popeye!
*I never thought I would meet a man who liked cats as much as I did until Dillard. When the pastor mentioned his love for cats, I immediately remembered a pair of tabbies he gave to my family. Now, you should know that we needed those cats like a hole in the head. They were named Lois and Clark (my brothers named them) and as soon as you would put them down, they would race to hide under the bed. We took great fun in holding them up, right above the floor, side by side in the hallway and at the count of 3, letting them go to see which would get to the bedroom first. Dillard enjoyed my stories about our "cat races."
*Anyone that ever went over to Dillard's house could tell you that there was something about his wood stove. One day I went over and came to this realization as many before had as well. I remember seeing Elsa's sewing room with a beautiful quilt over the stretcher awaiting her skilled hand at her machine. I remember sitting on the sofa, visiting with Dillard in his living room. I didn't mind the heat since it was winter and I've always been a little cold blooded.
*Mostly what I remember about Dillard is his work ethic. He really was a living example of Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Especially in today's society, it is hard to find someone who works enjoys working hard and makes everyone around them enjoy it too. That was Dillard. Even when you were working (I vacuumed a few floors at the church too) it never seemed like a task.
One day, when my time comes, I know without a doubt that I will see Dillard again. He'll be waiting at the door of Heaven with Jesus with open arms ready to greet me. Until then, we have our memories and those who knew him can say, "I remember Dillard O. Hamby."
I glanced over at my own father and saw his eyes were misted and a single tear balanced on the verge of his tanned, leathery cheekbone. What a testament to the enormous respect that we all had for this man. Let me be very clear that the tears we shed were not out of sadness. We all know that Dillard is dancing with Jesus in Heaven right now. He no longer has the limitations that his aged body held him to and he is at peace. Our tears were a form of affection for Dillard, a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and especially friend. These are yet a sampling of my own memories.
*Dillard loved to garden. I can remember him bringing a sampling of his spoils to church to share with anyone who would take them. I mostly remember his giant sunflowers he had planted at his house. They were taller than he was (which was huge to me as a child). He seemed so proud of them. Every time I see a sunflower, I think of Dillard and will continue to do so.
*Every year I looked forward to Vacation Bible School. Not only because it was VBS, but also because I knew that afterward, as I waited on my mom to get ready to go, I could sit with him as he took his lunch break. We would sit across from each other at a round folding table in the Fellowship Hall as he would eat his homemade lunch. We would talk about mostly anything (he had a way of making even a child feel like they had something important to say). I remember one time asking him about the anchor tattoo on his forearm and he told me of his service in the Navy. I joked with him that he was a little skinny to be Popeye!
*I never thought I would meet a man who liked cats as much as I did until Dillard. When the pastor mentioned his love for cats, I immediately remembered a pair of tabbies he gave to my family. Now, you should know that we needed those cats like a hole in the head. They were named Lois and Clark (my brothers named them) and as soon as you would put them down, they would race to hide under the bed. We took great fun in holding them up, right above the floor, side by side in the hallway and at the count of 3, letting them go to see which would get to the bedroom first. Dillard enjoyed my stories about our "cat races."
*Anyone that ever went over to Dillard's house could tell you that there was something about his wood stove. One day I went over and came to this realization as many before had as well. I remember seeing Elsa's sewing room with a beautiful quilt over the stretcher awaiting her skilled hand at her machine. I remember sitting on the sofa, visiting with Dillard in his living room. I didn't mind the heat since it was winter and I've always been a little cold blooded.
*Mostly what I remember about Dillard is his work ethic. He really was a living example of Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Especially in today's society, it is hard to find someone who works enjoys working hard and makes everyone around them enjoy it too. That was Dillard. Even when you were working (I vacuumed a few floors at the church too) it never seemed like a task.
One day, when my time comes, I know without a doubt that I will see Dillard again. He'll be waiting at the door of Heaven with Jesus with open arms ready to greet me. Until then, we have our memories and those who knew him can say, "I remember Dillard O. Hamby."
Comments
Post a Comment