Gary Lee Hathcock...the name sounds a little odd to me. He was Daddy. And Daddy was the big man who helped this little boy every day of his life.

My first memory is of early morning sunlight pouring through yellow curtains in our kitchen. It was Sunday morning and Daddy was making breakfast before church. He always made sure we went to church as a family, as his wonderful father had done.

And, like Buddy Hathcock, my dad was a hard worker, a skilled and thoughtful worker who wouldn't send off a cabinet until it was perfect. Daddy built store fixtures all of his life. As a very small boy I remember him coming home to eat lunch with his family [smile]. Afterward, as he headed for the door, I would usually latch myself to his leg. I didn't want him to leave. As my dad and I reminisced recently, he told me how much he loved it when I would do that.
 



If you wanted to know the truth about my dad, there was no way to get it from him. He was too humble.

For example, he was a brilliant man. Daddy would never tell you what an excellent chess player he was. His trophies sit today where they always have: in a cabinet, dusty. In the fall of 1977, Chess Life published an article by Larry Evans, which touted a strategy that the grandmaster believed impenetrable. In the spring of 1978 Chess Life published a letter from Gary Hathcock of Norwood, NC which showed a way around the strategy. ...But the greatest joy my dad received from chess was playing with his friends and his three-year-old son.

His beautiful guitar playing was rarely heard in public. The hours I spent listening to him strum were cherished. "Please play one more. Just one more, Daddy, please." He would.

His favorite music was what he heard in church. That's why he loved to sing in the choir.
 



My dad was our Earthly rock. My mother would tell you that he was her encourager, her strength, as he was always, always optimistic (to which I'm sure many others can attest). He was blessed as peacemaker.

...He bore the load for my mom, me, and my brother, worked so hard for us, always did his best to ensure our happiness.

When Carlyn was born, I was jealous. [Smile] I wanted Daddy all to myself. But of course, Daddy quickly showed me what a blessing a brother is. ...And my dad had similar effects on people--they loved to be around him. Over the past two days nearly everyone has said the following: ... "I am shocked." ... "There was no man better." ... "I will miss him."
 



The beach is my favorite place on this planet; I love it. I talk about it frequently, but I didn't realize until about five hours ago exactly why. ...I love it because my dad loved it. He was in love with sunshine and nature because he saw everything as God's....marveled because God had made it. ...It is beauty.


 



Gary Hathcock was many things, but there are a greater number of things he was not.

He was not selfish: ...he gave what he had away to others... he was selfless.

He was not proud: ...his elderly Honda Civic, his trademark blue plaid shirts and jeans, his permanent reserved manner. He was meek, humble.

He was not envious: ...his faith, family, and church were more than sufficient. He was empathetic and generous.

He was not worldly: ...he did not think of this place in any terms but their direct relationship with the ethereal.

And... He certainly was neither complicated nor artificial: ...he knew that the fashion of this world is passing away. ..So he never attempted to serve but one master.

  



I do not mean to say that he was without sin. That is impossible. But he did the most profound thing a person can do: he tried, sincerely. He lived in this way not for fear of hell, nor to qualify for heaven, but simply because he knew that is how God wanted him to be. My dad strove to walk as much like Jesus as he could. He made it look easy.

I am not saying these things due to my prejudice, though I am certainly biased [smile]. But... to prove that my dad truly possessed such qualities, speak with anyone who knew him; not his sons or wife or brothers, but anyone who knew him, even briefly. ...For me, he is the exemplar of living life to the best of we feeble, deficient human beings' very limited capacity.
  



I've used a lot of adjectives to describe my Daddy. If I were forced to choose one, I guess it would be: genuine. He never had to try to be certain way. That was just him.

I was so fortunate--blessed--to be one of the closest people in Gary Hathcock's life. And I want you to know, as I know to be fact, that Gary Hathcock was the same man in public as he was at home with his family, and as he was in complete privacy.

...My mom told me this morning, "When your dad spoke, people truly listened, because they never had to think what he might mean, it always came from an honest heart."

And I heard someone say last night, "Either you loved Gary, or you hadn't met him yet."
  



I've heard myself, my brother, and my mother ask recently, "What are we going to do, now?",     ..."How can we continue without him?",     ..."What..are we going ..to do?"     ......We're selfish [half smile] : we want him back.

I have to tell myself, remind myself, what Daddy would want us to do, and what he would say. ...If my dad could speak here now, he would tell you, all, that he loves you. ...He would say "Thank you." ...He would speak about how much he loves his family and his church family. ...He would almost certainly make one of his dorky jokes... say with a big smile how he's looking forward to Vacation Bible School, which he loved so much. And then he would change the subject, because he firmly believed that "It's Not About Me."