Last Saturday I received the news from my cousin that Uncle Hal was passing. The next morning I received word that his spirit went to Heaven. He was ninety, a veteran of the United States Army serving in both Korea and Vietnam.
But that wasn’t all that he was. He was a husband and father then doting grand and great grandfather. He worked hard. He lived a decent and moral life setting the example for others to follow. Besides being my uncle he also became a good friend and confidant. He went out of his way to call me and talk with me following my mother’s tragic car accident, weeks and months following.
He didn’t have to do that. After all, none of his other brothers or sisters took the time to call and talk to me. He did it I believe because he genuinely liked me as a person more than as a mere nephew. That was apparent two years ago when I visited him at his home in Moore, Oklahoma. He took the time confiding in me the family he and Mom grew up with. There were of course the hard times. After all, he and Mom were of thirteen siblings, whose father struggled during the Great Depression as a tenant farmer, got a break working the Boeing plant in Wichita Falls, but squandered it by his alcoholism and abusiveness.
He told me about himself, how he made the decision of his young life to make the Army his career when he returned to Texas just before his four-year hitch was up. He didn’t want to be a farmer. It was a decision that had positive consequences in his life that included meeting his future wife and siring three children.
Hal, you inspired me to be all I could be, just to borrow from the U.S. Army marketing slogan. From when I first met you at Grandma’s in 1969 to your inspiring words whenever I called you while I was in Basic training at Fort Sil. You lend an ear to my own grief. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when you called to say your beloved wife had passed. I am proud that you took the time to send me cards on birthdays and at Christmas. I’ll miss you dearly my uncle.
Jerry Schellhammer 