Lamar's Legacy

There are so many good lessons that I learned from my father. He was an extremely loyal man in all aspects of his life. Not only was he faithful to my mother, he would never speak a harsh word to her or against her to someone else. When my mother and I would fight when I was a fiesty young teenager, he would invite me to go for a ride with him to calm me down. Once we had reached the hardware store or drug store, he would turn to me and quietly ask me to be kinder to my mother. I knew he was not taking sides, just trying to make peace, make me feel comforted, and asking me to be more understanding. He was a peacemaker and did not like to hear conflict.

He did not like off-colored jokes or bad language, it offended him and he would leave, even if the conversation was at his relative's house, he would quietly excuse us and we would get up and leave.

He could never tell a lie. Even trying to make surprise plans or in talking about a future party or present, his grin betrayed that he was hiding something. He couldn't even tell a white lie.

He liked all people and held no prejudices. He was slow to make judgments about people and treated everyone fairly and warmly. He had no guile, even against people who had done him wrong, or the Japanese soldiers and prison guards who had treated the Americans with violence and inhumanity during WWII. Instead, he related humorous stories about Japan and later showed a fondness for Japanese food and rice that we shared. When I was sent on a mission for our Church to Japan, he was excited and happy to relate to my new experiences. When a friend came to visit me from Japan, he was very welcoming and tried to speak Japanese with her. I couldn't understand much of what he said, and my friend said that it was not a standard Japanese he had learned, but that used for prisoners by the guards. Still Dad had a kindness and sweetness about him that never saw the bad or evil in others, but looked for the good.

No man that I have met has done more for his country and said less about the trials he encountered and the sacrifices he made.