Texas A&M 1952
My Dad...what an amazing man he was, and I was so blessed to have him as my father. I was born during his final exams of his senior year at Texas A&M, and my mother said he managed to graduate with a 4.0 average in spite of my entrance into the world.
What I remember most about my Dad was his honesty, his humor, and his devotion to our family. Early on he taught me to never compromise my integrity in whatever I was involved in. I can't say I always have lived up to his standards, but, it is always in my mind when making decisions. He taught me to work hard, and to always believe that whatever goal I set for myself, I could achieve. There have been so many times in my life that would have been miserable failures, had this not been instilled in me by my Dad.
My Dad was a petroleum engineer. He went to work for Sun Oil Company right after he graduated from Texas A&M, and when I was about 12, he bought a small oil and gas exploration company called Triad Oil and Gas. He went on to drill the first, and deepest triple completion well in Laurel, Mississippi. To this day I still have no idea what a triple completion well is, but I do know that he was revered and admired for his daring courage and determination to reach his goals.
My Dad was in my life until I was 18. He died of a heart attack while driving his car--a shock to say the least, and one I thought I'd never recover from. He was my rock, my idol, my "soft place to fall" (thank you Dr. Phil for this quote), and when he was gone I had no idea how I was supposed to continue forward. But, Dad was in my heart and head, and I did continue forward. I went back to college; graduated; got married; began teaching; had children; got a couple more college degrees; worked in a couple of different fields; started a retail business, and finally here I am. Not because I'm so great, but because my Dad made me believe that no matter what--no matter how unfair things in life seem to be; that no matter what road-blocks we face....we can continue on.
If he were here today I think I'd just want to sit with him and talk about the things we did when I was little....perhaps journey back and relive the times that seemed simpler........but I can't, and yet, I am forever grateful that God gave me my Dad here on earth. I love you Daddy. x0x0
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