HubCityMan1912
07-20-2006, 12:39 AM
Mr. Jerome Collins, Reporter
WDAM-TV, Channel 7, NBC
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Wednesday 19 July 2006
Dear Jerome,
I regret to inform you that Mr. Earnest "Buddy" Myrick, 92, of Petal, is my most esteemed "First Cousin-Twice Removed"...That is, he is my maternal 96-year-old Grandmother [Edna M. Sims] paternal 1ST Cousin. (Their fathers--my great-grandfather [Peter Myrick] and great-great uncle [Travis Myrick], respectively--were brothers.)...
He was truly a Great American Patriot, having marched across Europe with Patton's American troops in WWII to help defeat Hitler and the Nazis...
He proudly owned the #1 1929 Ford Model A automobile in all America! (I remember riding in it as a kid in the mid-1960's...It was all-original and perfect...I believe he first aquired it in the 1940's or 50's after the passing of an elderly couple that he had befriended for many years in the community)...
He died doing what he loved: flying!
There is so much more to tell about this great fellow American, Friend, blood kinsman and Brother-in-Christ...I last really saw and visited with him on Sunday afternoon the day before Labor Day Monday last year (about 4 Sept. 2005)...It was the day of our 73rd annual Myrick Family Reunion, which was to be held on its usual date [Sunday before Labor Day] at the Petal Civic Center, but which--for the first time since its founding in 1933--was canceled due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina! (He and my grandmother were the oldest surviving members of the entire [extended] Myrick Family.)...I drove (inched) over to his home to check on him and his wife--but lo and behold--he and his son (who had literally cut his way into South Mississippi all the way from St. Louis), were out in the backyard (near his private airstrip) re-building his greenhouse! (Remember, he was only in his early 90's--that's young for a Myrick!) They had already chain-sawed most of the damaged trees out of the way...What a red-blooded Mississippian/Southerner/American he was!
He lived a long, good, active (yet far-from-"easy") Life--but we have suddenly/shockingly lost a true Friend and patriotic Model Citizen...
Mississippi and America have lost another Real Hero.
He was truly Christ-like meek (not weak): Strong in spirit, mind, and body, yet quiet in nature and kind-hearted...
Thank you Jerome for your competent, respectful and dignified coverage of this Great and Dear Man! (He deserves it!) God Bless you always for your usual compassion, empathy, and sympathy...
Please keep Buddy's dear wife Lula Mae and their children (son/daughters) and all the rest of his devoted but grieving Family in your Prayers. THANKS ALWAYS!
With Warm Regards...
WDAM-TV, Channel 7, NBC
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Wednesday 19 July 2006
Dear Jerome,
I regret to inform you that Mr. Earnest "Buddy" Myrick, 92, of Petal, is my most esteemed "First Cousin-Twice Removed"...That is, he is my maternal 96-year-old Grandmother [Edna M. Sims] paternal 1ST Cousin. (Their fathers--my great-grandfather [Peter Myrick] and great-great uncle [Travis Myrick], respectively--were brothers.)...
He was truly a Great American Patriot, having marched across Europe with Patton's American troops in WWII to help defeat Hitler and the Nazis...
He proudly owned the #1 1929 Ford Model A automobile in all America! (I remember riding in it as a kid in the mid-1960's...It was all-original and perfect...I believe he first aquired it in the 1940's or 50's after the passing of an elderly couple that he had befriended for many years in the community)...
He died doing what he loved: flying!
There is so much more to tell about this great fellow American, Friend, blood kinsman and Brother-in-Christ...I last really saw and visited with him on Sunday afternoon the day before Labor Day Monday last year (about 4 Sept. 2005)...It was the day of our 73rd annual Myrick Family Reunion, which was to be held on its usual date [Sunday before Labor Day] at the Petal Civic Center, but which--for the first time since its founding in 1933--was canceled due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina! (He and my grandmother were the oldest surviving members of the entire [extended] Myrick Family.)...I drove (inched) over to his home to check on him and his wife--but lo and behold--he and his son (who had literally cut his way into South Mississippi all the way from St. Louis), were out in the backyard (near his private airstrip) re-building his greenhouse! (Remember, he was only in his early 90's--that's young for a Myrick!) They had already chain-sawed most of the damaged trees out of the way...What a red-blooded Mississippian/Southerner/American he was!
He lived a long, good, active (yet far-from-"easy") Life--but we have suddenly/shockingly lost a true Friend and patriotic Model Citizen...
Mississippi and America have lost another Real Hero.
He was truly Christ-like meek (not weak): Strong in spirit, mind, and body, yet quiet in nature and kind-hearted...
Thank you Jerome for your competent, respectful and dignified coverage of this Great and Dear Man! (He deserves it!) God Bless you always for your usual compassion, empathy, and sympathy...
Please keep Buddy's dear wife Lula Mae and their children (son/daughters) and all the rest of his devoted but grieving Family in your Prayers. THANKS ALWAYS!
With Warm Regards...