Living a Legacy

Grandaddy wearing the scarf that I

made him (we laughed together- it

was way too long! ha!)

Richard "Buddy" Arnold Sorrell=a man that lived with legacy in mind. My grandaddy didn't know how to do things any other way. Maybe it was the role models set before him, or just the dedication that he learned so young in life. He lived through such hard times: the Depression, World War II, and a marriage that was committed to the words "in sickness and in health". I want to be like him in so many ways. And as we raise little Emma, I hope to instill in her many of the attributes that Grandaddy protrayed of Christ.





As I sit here typing, I smile just thinking of all the times we laughed together. That is one thing that we all talked about this weekend, at the funeral, was his laughter. He had such a handsome smile, much like his mom, Ethel Sorrell. And when Grandaddy laughed, his whole upper body jiggled! I can just see him now. You never knew that Grandaddy was struggling because he always laughed or told a funny joke and made you laugh. He used to always get out the funny pages and share a comic that made him smile or he would try to get together funny stories to tell at his monthly railroad meeting. I think that laughter was one of the things that the Lord gave to him to sustain him through so many hard times. I think that he learned to laugh in spite of the circumstances. He knew who was in control and he modeled that to all of us.





I think the hardest thing for me is going to be the loss of his presence. There has never not been Memaw and Grandaddy. He was just always there. Now, the lack of him being here is so hard to accept. Death is so hard to understand and I think the hardest part is that we were never meant for it. God never meant for us to be seperated. Oh, I long to see him and Daddy again soon.





I believe that you do appreciate life more though when you have experienced death. I want to live out the legacy that has been modeled for me all of these years. He was a rock. He knew what it meant to commit and do something. He was the most disciplined person, but the most caring man that I ever met. He wasn't afraid to tell you that he loved you. And he was always there. I am so proud of the legacy that I have inherited.