Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Wistful Wednesday: Friend to all

A long time ago during the summer there was a fire in a house over west of Ponsford.  It was a hot day…first I was sent for sugary drinks and ice water, then I pumped water out of the pond for the tankers.  I never made it near the house but I heard that there were newspapers and magazines stacked up all over in the house and that made putting out the fire quite difficult.  We were there for the better part of a day.

The elderly fellow that lived there moved into the barn.  I have often wondered “Didn’t he have family?”   After that we would see him on his tractor going to church.  Church must have been at least ten miles from his barn.  Even in the winter with the cold wind blowing he would be all bundled up and on his way to church.

He attended church faithfully.

Last week at the cemetery I saw his headstone.

Ray Hanson (2)

Someone put a tractor on his headstone.  “Friend to all.”

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20 comments:

Buttons Thoughts said...

Tears here. To be alone is very sad. hug B

DJan said...

He must have had some friends at least, to have such a nice headstone, unless he took care of it himself. He was 83, if I figured it out right. I like the tractor. :-)

Intense Guy said...

His friends were his family. Being single, I can understand how this would work.

I assume his last name is on the other side of the memorial? You have helped a "good man" to be never forgotten.

thecrazysheeplady said...

Friends are good family too :-).

Anonymous said...

A faithful servant and a fitting headstone.

Linda W. said...

A very appropriate headstone. Always sad to hear when someone dies.

Far Side of Fifty said...

I covered it up in the photograph.

Tired Teacher said...

God Bless Ray, and God bless his friends for the tribute on his headstone.

Primitive Stars said...

RIP Ray, fitting headstone indeed.Blessings Francine.

Red said...

That's rather a sad ending. Some people live to their own tune.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful post about a very determined church-goer. He has a lovely resting place.

Cynthia said...

I like the tractor, and I think Ray would have, too.

Sam I Am...... said...

I'm pretty much a loner myself. I don't have time to "suffer fools" and there are SO MANY out there! LOL! I love being alone. I do wish I had a good friend near by but I've tried and I'm too liberal and too independent for a woman living in this area of the country....or so it seems.
People want to feel sorry for you but I feel sorry for a lot of them because they're not living their authentic life and I have seen many unhappy "couples" that seem to live just to make each other miserable. So, for me, I'm good and Ray was probably happier than most....I know I am!

Linda Kay said...

So happy that someone thought enough of the fellow to put that inscription on his tombstone.

Anonymous said...

What a sweet story.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

What a guy Ray was! Going to church driving a tractor 10 miles in the winter takes real dedication. Bless his friends for seeing that he had such a nice headstone! Great post.

Linda Reeder said...

Oh, I see. You removed his surname from the stone, under the tractor. OK.
This is a great post. From the fire, to moving into the barn, to driving the tracto the loving headstone, it's all very touching.

Alan Burnett said...

I can't think of a finer obituary than that. The only thing I would prefer on my headstone would be something like "he was a harmless blogger .... and he lived to be 200"

Rita said...

He must have had somebody who cared about him. I can't imagine him arranging this stone for himself. There are lots of extremely stubborn people in this world who would insist on living in their barn after a fire and, nice as they can be, there would be hell to pay if you try to force them to do something they do not want to. Ask me how I know--LOL! I could likely morph into one myself come the day. ;)

L. D. said...

It is a good story. People make do whenever things happen that they loose control of in life.