Today, we buried my only brother. He was the last of my siblings to go. He was a kind man with an infectious laugh and a million dollar smile. He was older than me and in fact was married and had two children before I was born. He lived over a 100 miles from me his whole life. Back when I was child and he was an adult, 100 hundred miles seemed like an eternity away. He was a wise man, much wiser then me and had a way of being able to explain things to others around him in a way that made it easy to understand. Maybe that is why his children all grew up to respect him so much. For years and years he was a teacher, elder and deacon, in the church where he and his wife Arlene had labored for years. I remember going with my family to visit his family when I was a child and Anderson for a small town boy seemed to be the size of new York City. What great times we had together when they would come to visit us in Salem in our small house on College Avenue.
As I stood at the funeral home last night and person after person came to tell me how wonderful he was, I realized that it wasn't just because he was my big brother that I thought he was great, it was simply that he was great to everyone. He was kind, caring, helpful, and courteous to everyone around him. In high school he was given the nickname “Virgil” after Virgil Stallcup, who according to my father was one of the worst players who ever played in the major leagues. I have no idea whether that was a reflection of my brother's ability to play baseball, but I suspect it may have had something to do with him being called “Virgil”.
You see lately he had been plagued with a serious disorder of his spine that could not be repaired. Dealing with the severe pain of this had somewhat damped his spirits but even do to this he still managed to put his faith first and be a shining example of what a man, father, and husband, God wants us to be. Suddenly last week he came down with a very serious intestinal infection that most people never recover from. The infection was removed from him but not until serious damage had been done. It would turn out to be the situation that would claim his life. After being told that he only had days to live we all waited for this illness to finally take it's toll. When I finally received the call from my niece Renee' to inform that me that he was now in the hands of the God, I felt alone and distraught. I got in my vehicle and drove to Lake Salinda and parked by the lake and cried. Later I looked across the lake to see fish jumping everywhere, just like they used to when my father would take Wayne to Fort Ritner or Sparksville to fish when he was a child. Across the lake I could hear a fox squirrel barking mockingly at me as I gazed out on the lake. Off to one side I could hear the “caw”, “caw', calling of a couple of crows. Another bird, perhaps a mockingbird, behind me sang a beautiful song as the gentle wind blew through the trees. Suddenly I wondered, which one of the these things was my brother calling to me to say, “Don't fret for me, it's beautiful here in heaven! Our mother was here to greet me and I kissed her on the cheek! She said there are no weak hearts in heaven. Our sisters Viona and Ilona are also here and they look great wearing those angel wings! Seems that brains don't bleed in heaven either like they sometimes do on earth!Dad is here and believe it or not he introduced me to Virgil Stallcup! How funny that was! We are going to get a pick up game together sometime and that will be fun. Seeing my family was wonderful but the greatest thing was seeing the face of Jesus! He still has the scars on His hands and he let me touch the wounds in his side. His face is even more radiant than I could imagine! He told me how he loves us in ways I could not imagine.” It was then that I realized that everything was going to be alright. I understood that God was going to comfort Arlene, their family and all those who grieve for our loss because He loves us that much! One of these days we will all meet again, and what a day, glorious day that will be! Until that day, good bye brother, and friend! You were one of the most remarkable, and content men I have ever known and I miss you already but I will see you again!
Your brother,
Shayne