Papaw

Let me tell you about my papaw. Lawrence Douglas Parish was born on this day, May 21, in the year 1920. He went to heaven at the age of 81 on February 24, 2002. I was fortunate to live just a few miles from my mamaw and him growing up and blessed to have him on this side of heaven until I was 30.

He was born in the small town where I am from and my parents and Mamaw still live, Grand Rivers, KY. He had a fabulously dry sense of humor and was great at one-liners. He used to say that he graduated seventh in his class...and there were only eight students.

In his early twenties, he joined the Army rather than wait to be drafted, and was sent to Europe to fight in World War II. He was a mechanic during the war and his job was to ride a motorcycle to find broken down Army vehicles and repair them. He fought in the worst battle of the war, The Battle of the Bulge, where there were more American casualties than any other battle.

He came back to Grand Rivers after the war and married my grandmother on May 7, 1946. I remember my Mamaw traveling all over the world when I was younger. I asked her why Papaw never went with her. Her response was that Papaw had to be in Europe for three years during the war without coming home. He said if he ever made it home, he was never leaving, and he didn't.

I think my favorite memories of him are of his singing. He had a beautiful, deep bass voice and you could always hear him singing the bass parts at church. I can still hear him singing the old hymns. Many of those old hymns are my favorite songs because of him.

One of my favorite pictures of him is a picture from World War II. I'm not sure where it was taken, somewhere in Europe. But it's of Papaw kneeling beside a cross...the grave of a fellow soldier. I asked him if the soldier was one of his friends and he said he was just an aquaintance. It was another soldier from our small town. Papaw had that picture taken and sent it back home to that young man's mother so she would have a picture of her son's gravesite. That's just the kind of man he was.He didn't ever get in hurry. He would make up any excuse to take us to Wal-Mart or Dairy Queen. He loved Little Debbie Cakes and MoonPies. When we spent the night at his house, we'd always have midnight snacks at about nine o'clock. He handed out Juicy Fruit gum to the little kids at church. He wasn't a man of many words, but when he spoke, boy was it funny.

I have only fond memories of him and he was a very important fixture in my life. He would have been 88 today. Happy Birthday, Papaw! I love you!