Durwood

Durwood giving the Sunday morning devotional at our 50th class reunion.

Again, our little town has lost one of it's sons.

Durwood Thigpen, class of 1956.

Two weeks ago, he was busying around town as usual, carrying on his duties at the Chamber of Commerce office, even played golf on one of the nicer days we've had.

No, Durwood hadn't been in excellent health. In fact he has had numerous health issues but it seemed that he was always able to keep them in check. All of a sudden, it seemed as if his whole body was engaged in a civil war; every part fighting against each other. After being entered into the hospital, he never came out of the critical care unit....a duration of 1 week.

Durwood was one that had left his hometown as a young man and then returned to re-claim the rich heritage that it had afforded him. He was striving daily to instill in the townspeople:

"Your behavior is what you believe; all the rest is just talk."

It's sad to say, but we do have a lot of "talkers in our small town". They talk about what they believe but their behavior doesn't display what they believe.

Durwood lived his beliefs...he didn't just talk about them.

He will be missed. My hope is that he has left enough of himself that his vision of a better community will be caught by enough people that his efforts won't be in vain.

Peace to your household...

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
James 4:13-15, New International Version