41 YEARS

I got a call late last night from nephew Brady...who happened to be visiting his sister, Trudy, in Texas. As usual...our conversation covered a variety of topics including our health, our children, our siblings and life in general. A special topic that came up was...their father...my brother...Durward.

It was 41 years ago...February 10, 1970...that Durward was in an auto accident...on his way home from law school...that claimed his life. He had just turned 37 years old, 3 weeks before. Brady was just 12 at the time, Trudy was 11 and Tim was 9.

Most, if not all, of us have been through tragedies in our lives and it would be useless to try to compare which tragedy is worse. We would all surely agree that losing a parent...whom you idolize...in those pre-teen years when you might need them the most...is devastating...to say the least. If life wasn't hard enough at that age already...it just became nearly impossible.

Brady has long since passed the stage of bitterness and need for sympathy for his dad's death. Like all of us who have lost parents, he thinks of his dad often but takes the anniversary of his death...not to grieve...but to recall the happy times and wonderful memories of his dad.

Brady is a multi-talented man...with a beautifully calming voice and the wit and education to speak knowledgeably about many subjects. He can hold you spellbound as he relates his story...one minute making you laugh til your ribs hurt...and the next minute bring you to tears as he touches your soul.

One of his talents lies in his ministry. Brady has planted the seeds for many church congregations to get their start. He joins with several co-pastors, gathers a small congregation...and then works to grow that congregation in numbers and spiritual ways. He finds a pastor who will take over and guide that church forward and then Brady steps out of the picture to use some of his other talents to refresh and regroup himself. When he feels, or hears, the call to start another church...he begins the process again.

Trudy is also a multi-talented woman. A wife and mother first, she is also a long time educator, a Certified Newborn Care Specialist, caring for special needs babies, preemies and multiples, with neurodevelopmental certification. Trudy enjoys her life and is willing to share it with others to the best of her abilities.

Tim, too, has many talents, but has spent many years doing missionary work in South Africa and currently in Australia.

Brady, Trudy and Tim have grown from that tragedy 41 years ago...to make their own legacy that their father would beam at with pride. They are the perfect evidence that, even from the depths of tragedy and despair...with faith...love...and a willingness to persevere...we can ALL go on. We can survive.

Our family is quite proud of these 3...just as their father would be.


Dan