He was a Godly man who was active all of his life in serving within and without the local Church. He lived a life of faith for Christ and died in 1949 when I was only two years old.

          In 1988, I desired to know more about who he was as a person. I was able to visit with a number of persons who knew him personally. They remembered how he helped others in the farming community, gave homeless persons lodging, food and work in the Great Depression, his kind nature and of course his Church association. Each person I interviewed was asked many questions. One of them was, if he had any negative qualities. All but one individual answered "No" to that question. For the person who replied to the affirmative, he stated that my Grandfather "...was a bit overly religious."

          I just pray that when I am dead and gone for almost forty years that the worst someone might be able to say about me is, he "...was a bit overly religious." Our reputation lives beyond the grave. It is the most valuable commodity we have in our possession.

          I am told that my Grandfather died without a lot of worldly goods but he was rich in faith. To me he was a wealthy & successful man as can be proven by his reputation!

          But here is the rest of the story: My Grandfather has a son who retired from the ministry in June of 2002. And of course, a grandson who is a pastor. Oddly enough, neither of us knew about his desire to be in the ministry until after the decision was made to follow the Lord’s Calling!