19.  At the End of His Day

 “As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.  The wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” (Psalm 103:15-16 KJ)

Daddy lived for 92 years in an amazing time in history.  Born in the 19th century, his life spanned from the first flight of the Wright brothers airplane, to seeing live on TV,  the first man step on the moon.  In his youth, his family traveled by horse and buggy, and he eventually drove home in a Buick LeSabre.

Daddy was an amazing man.  He was gentle, honest, kind to everyone, he trusted people because he was trustworthy.  A few times he was taken advantage of.  I never heard him raise his voice.  Daddy was generous to everyone.  He did tax returns for neighbors, mostly free of charge. 

He volunteered for the Michigan National Guard, and was deployed as a medic to Germany in WWI. Wounded and decorated with a Purple Heart medal, I’d call Daddy a hero.  He rarely spoke of wartime experiences.

Daddy was faithful to go to church and Sunday school; we were the Sunday school orchestra, with Daddy playing his violin, Mom on the piano, Jan played sax, and I my trumpet.

Daddy was indeed a “flower” who flourished in his day.  Now he is gone, and I wanted to be sure that he would be remembered.   I promised my sister Jan that I would write, “Memories of Daddy.”  I regret that it took so long, and that I can’t send her a copy.  I hope she can read it from where she is, and know that our memories of Daddy has been written as promised, to be passed on to future generations.

Robert Z. Hicks, 2020