Monday, October 17, 2011
Gail--I just a few minutes ago learned of your father's passing. Don had just found out and e-mailed me. I know yours is a great loss, but you can find some solace in thinking of your father in so many meaningful and uplifting ways. A member of the rightly styled "greatest generation" who served his country nobly and well; a staunch son of the high country with all the character traits such as a solid work ethic, upstanding character, simple faith, devotion to family, and love of the Smokies which we should all rightly cherish; a pillar of the community and especially his church; and a loving father, grandfather, and great grandfather. He lived a good, long, full, and fulfilling life. Would that each of us could say that at the end of our days.
You and all those in the family are in my thoughts.
