Life: Crux of the Matter

Last week I attended a funeral for my sister-in-law’s ninety-one year old father. There was a very lovely small graveside gathering and he was given military honors.

Not only did the deceased earn his doctorate degree  (a professor of history) and served honorably in the armed forces, he helped lay the building blocks of a community college system here in Maryland and he was a published author. We found out from Dr. Brooks, one of his colleagues who was there to give a testimonial of Dr. Garitee’s professional life, the book has served as a reference resource for several generations of students. The deceased’s love of family and desire to help build an educational model affordable for all was admirable, too.

Much to the surprise of my sister-in-law, a man in the crowd said he wanted to speak. He said he’d read the obit and was a student of the deceased some 50+ years ago. He went on to testify about the wonderful education he’d received and how grateful he was for it. He became inspired to also become a teacher.

My sister-in-law Andrea said, “What I want everyone to know the most is that my Dad was orphaned at age six and if my Dad and his brother hadn’t had each other and been each others keepers in the orphanage and throughout life, he wouldn’t have gotten through many challenges and built this legacy for himself.”

Rest in peace Mr. Garitee, your example will continue to inspire your family for generations and other future students through your published work.

That is all for today from SowtheHeart.com