The Passion To Do Things Others Only Talk About

Papa & I - March 2010

This post is a particularly personal post. Just this past week, in the rush of packing for our 2 month trip to Central & South America and wrapping up an awesome project. My grandfather passed away.

My Grandfather had battled a brain aneurysm vigilantly for 6 months when it was finally his time to go. It is hard to describe how huge of an impact he had on my life, but I know I would not be the man I am today without his influence.

At his funeral my family asked me to deliver a eulogy, you will find it below. It isn’t your typical teary-eyed eulogy, instead it is a reflection of  the success of his life.

The Passion To Do Things Others Only Talk About

I want to start with a quote:

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove…but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” – Forest E. Witcraft

My mom (Jan Harris) gave this to Madge and Byne when I was a child. I will never forget seeing it hanging on the wall. This quote was something papa and grandma lived by. They were honest caring people with a huge heart and a love for family and friends.

Today we are here to honor the life of my Grandpa, Byne David Harris Sr. As many of you know, he was a man with many passions, yet there was nothing was he more passionate about than his family and Jesus Christ. I’m sure most of us in this room, he let us know how important Jesus was to him and that he wanted to share his passion with you.

This was papa’s way of subtly letting you know he loved you and cared about you. Sure he might come off a little bit pushy, but who isn’t when they are passionate about something and for Papa, passion was something he always had in abundance.

My grandfather lived a wonderful life. The 83 years he lived can be described as nothing less than awesome, he crammed enough life experiences in there that it would seem he was Methuselah. That joke was for you Papa, for everyone else Methuselah lived to a ripe old age of 969.

Here are just a few of the highlights of my grandfather’s life. I think you will agree it was pretty awesome.

He served our country in two Wars, He raised a family with the help of my Grandma Madge consisting of 3 Children and 4 Grandchildren, he built award winning homes, he was a professional photographer, he open a part store, and he was a friend to many.

To me this sounds like a life to be celebrated.

One of my fondest memories with Papa happened in late 2006. His brother Clinton was sick in Alabama, which is a quite a drive. It was the winter break of my first year in college and I had the opportunity to drive him to visit his brother. This experience would forever change me.

During this drive, I heard his entire life story from Mistakes to Triumphs. As for anyone, life threw him a few curve balls, but he took them all in stride. Hearing his life experiences pushed me to realize what was important. My grandfather was the type of person that never stopped learning. From building amazing homes to selling things on Ebay he always had a knack for doing things others only talked about doing.

Did you know he learned to fly a plane before he learned to drive? I mean really, who else can say that? Pretty cool. How about that fact he was in the 2^nd group of people trained to modern fly a jet in 1951?

From the time he was young he was always driven. He left the farm at an early age going on to serve in the Army during World War 2 and then after the war he returned to go to college and attended the University of North Alabama.

After college he was one of the few that would return to the military to serve. He always had a passion for flying so he rejoined in what would eventually become the United States Air Force, finally retiring as a Captain.

From the Military to being a freemason, to having a wonderful marriage of 53 years, to being an advid photographer, to raising an awesome family, though I know I might be a bit partial, my papa was always a man with a smile that had an impact on many.

I am lucky to say my papa was part of my life and I am sure everyone in the room can say the same. In his honor I challenge you to live a day like Byne did. Take today and every day with a zest to learn something new and the passion to do things others only talk about.

Thank you for being such an inspiration to us all, papa.

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