My Daddy was a great man…He was well loved by his friends and family. Respected and his word was his bond.
He was a strong person physically and mentally…and smart.
No one knew grading like my Daddy…He could put a backhoe anywhere and do anything with one. Instinctively he knew which way water would flow without an instrument. He could do amazing things with all kinds of equipment his work was sought after by almost everyone.
Daddy was good with math…could not spell very well, but read and understood way beyond his high school education.
He loved to work…work was his life. He was a Grading and Public Utilities Contractor, but had been a carpenter. He worked in a mill as well as a saw mill, a furniture refinishing company and on the dairy farm he grew up on (but did not care much for farming.)
He grew up knowing hard work…and far as I can tell did not mind hard work…thrived on it… just not farming…nor eating pinto beans…
He loved canned biscuits and country ham and eggs…And could make the best pancakes…(he taught me how to make them)
He was the oldest of 4 sons born to Astor J Delk and Lyde Nance Delk …in 1936.
He married my Mother when she was 15, he was 18. A short 10 months latter I was born.
He attended Piney Grove UMC…went to Farmer School and graduated high school there..
He loved working, flying his air plane, fishing, boating, hunting, my Mother and brother Kenneth and all of his family.
Daddy lived his life as he seen fit…he taught me the importance of work , honesty, and being true to what I believe. He taught by example …not so much by words…but by what he did …he did not talk much about feelings …
Daddy was a good provider for his family and showed his love for us by providing well. I am thankful for the insight to understand him this way (even if it has taken me a while.)
I remember one summer I broke my leg…Mother was sick…Daddy slept on the floor and made sure I was okay thru the night. I woke up in the middle of the night in pain and there Daddy was on the floor beside my bed …wanting to know if I was okay…I remember thinking how surprised and shocked I was to find Daddy so worried about me…
Make no mistake …My Daddy meant everything to me. While I did not understand him and his ways at the time… I loved him with all my heart. Still do…
When he turned 53 we gave him a Birthday party and a cake with a bulldozer and truck and construction site on it! He loved it! In fact when he passed away his staff gave me the bulldozer and truck …he had them on his desk…along with a photo of Daddy and I taken and Les and my wedding in 1988. You know that was the only photo he had on his desk…(I was told how he was so very proud of that photo) 🙂
Daddy had cancer and once it was discovered, he passed away 74 days later. Up till diagnosed, he was healthy and strong!
It was a difficult time for me (for all of the family.) But for me the hardest thing I have ever faced. It changed my life and the path I was on. As it turns out, for the better for me…
Daddy was gone 25 years the 24th of March…this week.
It is my belief that as our loved ones pass …God takes part of our heart with them..till the day it comes our time and we don’t mind leaving so much…
