This is my dad, Lawrence Wilson, dressed in a tux for my youngest sister Carolyn's wedding in Gainesville, June 15, 1974. He never did like to dress up and this is the only time I ever remember seeing him in formal attire. He was reluctant to "give away" his baby girl, the youngest of 7.
I remember daddy as a farmer, riding his tractor and plowing or picking peanuts. There were no mechanical cotton pickers on our farm in the '40's and '50's. I used to dream that someday they would invent one - and they did much later! We never had a lot of material wealth growing up but he always made sure we had the basic things. And he was so resourceful and could make of repair almost anything - especially cars and engines. He was a good mechanic. I could write a book about my dad. He always praised us when we got good grades in school and this encouraged us to do so. I never wanted to disappoint him. He rewarded us for good work, especially when we had to work in the field. He would leave and go to the store and bring back treats and drinks. Our friends like to work for my dad because he was so nice. When we finished working in the field, he would let us load up on the back of his old truck and go to the creek and go swimming.
This photo was made the week he died from cancer. He took radium treatments and we asked if we could come home and drive him to Dothan for treatments. He said "no"; that he would call us when he needed us. On Sunday, July 25, 1982, I got a call and he asked if I would call the other sisters (5) and tell them that he needed us if we could come. We were all there by Monday, coming from FL, NC, IN, & Washington DC. He wanted us to get the Dr. to let him come home from Opp hospital because he knew he was not going to live very long. We spent 7 days with him at home before he died early Monday, Aug. 2nd. Our son flew to AL from Texas to help care for him three days that week. He couldn't taste so he wanted some beer for breakfast one morningjust to see if he could taste it, and the grandchildren thought that was so funny. The little ones would come in from outside and climb in the bed with him and talk to him the last couple of days when he could no longer get up. My sister Sue is a nurse and she gave him injections for pain. This was a very special week when we could all be there with him. After the funeral, we had dinner at home with extended family, and in a way it was a celebration of his life and we rejoiced that he was no longer in pain.
