Only Two Names Will Do

                My father had passed away a couple of hours earlier. The two men from the mortuary arrived at my parents’ farm in the Big Bend. Mother mentioned to them a name “Gilbert Wayne.” Upon her speaking those two words, one of the men said, “When I hear both names, I know that is a person who has known Gil for a long time.”

                My mother quietly, with a slight twinkle in her eye, said, “Edmund and I were the first to see him after his parents, Junior and Merlene.”

                Mother loves to relate the story of her friendship with the Morris family. She and Dad met Gil’s father, Gilbert Forrest Morris or Junior, when he came frequently to the Bend to visit his maternal grandparents, Jim and Mary Clark. Jim owned and operated Clark’s Store located a half mile west from Mother’s present home (Sharon Gibson lives at the location of the store now.). At Clark’s Store, a person could buy a loaf of bread, pump and purchase gas for a car, and pull a cold bottle of pop from a vintage cooler, pop off the top, and drink it on the spot. (A person wanted to leave the empty bottle for recycling and refilling instead of paying a small deposit for taking the glass bottle.)

                About a year after Junior married Georgie Merlene Johnson in Texas, they moved to the Big Bend community. They lived on the farm that is now owned by my mother. At that time, Junior’s parents, Gib and Thelma Morris, owned it. Merlene set up her first country home in what is now the detached garage to the west of Mother’s home. At the time, the small house was situated where Mother’s house is now located.

                As newlyweds, my parents enjoyed doing things together with Junior and Merlene. Naturally, the four of them had their plan about when Merlene’s baby came. My parents would accompany them to the hospital at Pawnee, Oklahoma, where the baby would be born.

This era predated sonograms followed by reveal parties. The excitement of the baby’s arrival was heightened by the anticipation as to whether it would be a baby boy or a baby girl.

My parents, Edmund and Bernyce Gates, and grandparents, Calvin and Gladys Smith, sold a load of cattle at Wichita, Kansas. They arrived home and learned Junior had taken Merlene to the hospital. The first Morris baby was on its way into the world. Mother and Dad hopped into the car and headed to Pawnee.

Merlene and Gilbert Wayne -  from Mother's
photo collection 

As Mother recalled, the baby had held off his arrival. When little Gilbert Wayne Morris arrived on August 17, she and Dad celebrated joyfully with Junior and Merlene. In the 21^st century, when oodles of family members are on hand for the birth of a baby, it may seem an oddity that only my parents were there with Junior and Merlene. Mother explained that both sets of grandparents and the siblings of Junior and Merlene lived in Texas.

The four of them continued their friendship, with Mother and Dad doting on little Gilbert Wayne. Mother described him “as such a cute little boy” and remembered celebrating milestones with Merlene, such as his first steps. My parents and grandparents lived at that time on the Jefferson place just across the road.

Gilbert Wayne Contemplating
the Steps  - from Mother's 
photo collection.

           Even though the Morris family moved in the early 1950s, into Ralston, the families retained a friendship, serving together many years in the Ralston Baptist Church together. With Junior and Dad carpentering together, Gil’s son, Loy, even enjoyed working with them on some jobs. My sister, Angie, and I developed friendships with Gil’s sisters, Patricia and Pam.

Just months before Gil’s retirement, he assisted Mother in planning my father’s funeral. Having just arrived back from vacation, he scheduled a time for Mother to reminisce about all their memories. His handling of all the arrangements pleased my mother, the perfectionist. Gil even set the military marker on Dad’s grave at Pixley Cemetery in the Big Bend on his own time and at his own expense after he had retired.
          Mother was pleased how Gil developed his singing voice, even providing comforting music at family members' funeral services. (She has retained a cassette tape of his quartet, The Masters Men, and listened to it just last month!)
          Countless times, Gil compassionately navigated families, inundated with heart-wrenching grief, through a meaningful, comforting service, furnishing empathetic support to them. He used the God-given gifts and capabilities to assist during some of the most difficult times families encounter.

Since Gil’s first home is the farm that my Mother owns, sometimes he drops by to get some well water and recall with her his earliest days and memories of his grandparents and great grandparents. When your recollections intertwine and go back for so many years, one can’t help but cherish those friendships.

Happy Birthday, Gil!

(or as Mother would say, Gilbert Wayne)