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_Henery HARDY _______________|
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|--Bernice HARDY
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|_Queen Elizabeth __________ _|
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_William MATHIS Jr________+
| (1808 - 1900) m 1830
_Samuel Earl MATHIS _________|
| (1850 - 1931) m 1874 |
| |_Jane Gillison HARRIS ____+
| (1811 - 1876) m 1830
_Henry Lacy MATHIS __|
| (1891 - 1978) m 1912|
| | _Andrew Jackson FOOSHEE __+
| | | (1826 - 1922) m 1847
| |_Anna Elizabeth FOSHEE ______|
| (1859 - 1939) m 1874 |
| |_Polly Ann CLARK _________
| (1829 - ....) m 1847
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|--Frank Merrill MATHIS
| (1921 - 1996)
| _William James COLE ______
| | (.... - 1880)
| _Andrew Jackson COLE ________|
| | (1854 - 1923) m 1877 |
| | |_Temperance BUCHANAN _____
| | (.... - 1860)
|_Annie Nina COLE ____|
(1895 - 1985) m 1912|
| _James William KIMBROUGH _
| | (1830 - ....)
|_Tennessee Huntas KIMBROUGH _|
(.... - 1905) m 1877 |
|_Mary Elizabeth ROGERS ___
(1830 - ....)
[456]
Memorial to Frank Merrill Mathis written by his son-in-law.
As a son-in-law, one has a different perception than a family member. There is a healthy distance and respect. The relationship, beyond being married to the daughter, can be a friendship combined with a dose of paternal counsel and advice. The friendship can be struck over the rebuilding of a 350 engine to be mounted in an old Chevy Impala being towed over the Sierra Nevada.
Or in synchronizing Bailey Creek's 1000 kilowatts of power with 10,000 megawatts of california's Pacific Gas and Electric grid. We would jump when the jolt of hydroelectric power would go on-stream, comrades-in-arms during that brief instant when time had been vaporized.
My priviledge was to have worked with a man who was a working man from head to toe. To have worked with him, was to learn what it meant to do work-from dawn until dark, in cold or heat, with flashlights under the hood to steal that last hour of work in order to adjust a choking carburetor or gap a misfiring set of points. Work for Frank Mathis was more than a vocation and a hobby; it was a passion.
It was during these precious times that I would hear just glimpses of stories that I had heard only second-hand through the sons and daughters-through the re-telling by Frankie, alias Hoss, Scoobie, Dede, B. J. Becky, Gre'gry, and Elaine. Stories that became mythical in the retelling:
The famous walk with an older brother in search of work that led to a timbering job in the Oregon evergreen forests-an image of beauty and nature that impressed him always.
The tragic image of storming the Normandy beaches where yellow Cat bulldozers piled bodies of American troops 20 feet high on the sand. Not the experience a young man should witness, but the memory Frank had to live with nevertheless.
The heart-rending story of a neighbor's child drowning next door, when, in agony of despair out of absolute love, he had spanked his own children in the relief for their safety after trying to breathe life into the drowned child.
The strange years: Viet-Nam! Long drives across America moving family with U-Haul in tow, cats crawling over seven kids in the backseat of an Edsel while favorite songs would be sung on the way to Montana, the girls taking turns keeping their father awake at the wheel by tickling the back of his neck, running their fingers against the grain of his crewcut.
During his retirement years, after a distinguished career in the military, in which he served in two wars and in several conflicts, there was always work, work, work, double time, over time at the Lock and Dam.
Work was a barometer of good health and good spirits for Frank, the more the better. Frank will always be remembered as a hard-working may. He could work three normal men into the ground, even at 70.
During these same years, there was also reconciliation-an attempt at peace-making with all of the family, who had sacrificed greatly in deference to the military service and career. Vegas, Reno and New York City often were surreal venues where the family could live for a snap-shop instant when the past is forgotten and all is forgiven at the roll of the dice. Reconciliation: the live between father and family often disguised but always evident.
A good-hearted man. A man who always had a dollar for the homeless. A man who would pickup hitchhikers and stop to help a family change a tire. A man who would share food off his own plate. A man who would work until three in the morning belly-deep in cold water trying to get a motor turning-over for a friend in need. A giver, not a taker; generous to a fault.
An honest man. A devoted father and grandfather. A loving husband. A man who was proud of his family. A true friend. A hard worker. A good soul. A humanitarian. A man who adored his dogs. A man who would give his dog a t-bone steak, while he happily would nibble of a candy bar - Baby Ruth wrappers in each pocket by the end of the day.
Salt of the earth. So many qualities bound together - all rooted in love, yet difficult to express.
As we imagine Frank in another life, we can't help seeing a man in cover-alls intently mowing a huge patch of lawn, sweat on his brow, a smile on his face, Old Blue at his side, licking a dish of ice cream. The sound of cicadas coming on with the sun going down. The satisfaction of a good day's work, tired bones, but total satisfaction.
Somewhere, at a place where the cicadas are humming, and the smell of fresh mowed grass blows gently in a warm evening breeze, the love of man, of family, of nature, of discipline, and of faith will deeply touch us-and it will be in this precious moment when the memory of a remarkable man will last-now and for eternity.
We will miss Frank Mathis, the man, but his spirit will always endure, may each of us strive from this day forward to exemplify the depth of his love and his goodness.
_____________________
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_Merritt PARDEE _____|
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| | _____________________
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| |_____________________|
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| |_____________________
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|--Joseph Merritt PARDEE
| (1874 - ....)
| _Silas GARRIGUS _____+
| | (1785 - 1859) m 1804
| _David GARRIGUS _____|
| | (1812 - 1873) m 1835|
| | |_Hannah LINDLY ______
| | (1789 - ....) m 1804
|_Amanda GARRIGUS ____|
(1844 - 1914) |
| _____________________
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|_Ann SPRANCUSAS _____|
(1822 - ....) m 1835|
|_____________________
[3960] April 2,1998 - Marquita Snow, a fifth grade student at Okolona Elementary School presented a certificate of appreciation to Congressman Roger Wicker at the 'Summit for Chickasaw County's future' held at Houlka.
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_Dewitt T SPRINGER ________|
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_Russell T 'Buddy' SPRINGER _|
| (1944 - 1998) |
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| |_Gladys Odell __________ __|
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|--Virginia Ruth SPRINGER
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| _Carl Shaw CLANTON ________|
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|_Mary L CLANTON _____________|
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|_Mary Virginia __________ _|
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