Virgie Bell's View

L. W. Richmond passed away at his home in Indian Creek surrounded by his family. L.W. grew up in Lampasas and Comanche County, Texas. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1953 and was on his way to serve in the Korean War when the armistice was signed. He spent most of his military career in Japan. He married Jerry's sister, "Dolly,” on November 30, 1957 and they farmed and ranched in the Brownwood area starting in 1959. I hope that De'on will come by to get all this information about his passing and the proper tribute as I have it prepared for Gunz Up.

I haven't posted in a couple of days and felt last night that it would be impossible to do so again. It seems everything is so ugly and depressing as far as the news is on T.V. and in the newspapers, and it just seems the wrong season to repeat it. I am so sick of the pathetic celebrities, the corruption of government officials and the absolute shamefulness of the U.N.

Last night I lay awake trying to understand a Koran being used to swear an elected official into power. To be honest, everything is just too mind-boggling for me to really voice an opinion on. And I am not going to give up my life to have someone jump in with different opinions. I don't care what Jimmy Carter’s father did or did not do nor do I care to research anything concerning him. I lived the life of a wife and mother and my opinions were formed from my view of history as I lived it. As I have never been anything other than what I am, a citizen in good standing with my country. I will leave to others to act as a springboard into other pools of knowledge. In 70 years plus I have never run on to a person that I wasn’t able to have a reasonable conversation in whatever subject and have never tried to pass myself off otherwise. So for today, I want to report on the passing of a Marine that I knew but a short time, yet came to admire greatly in the time I knew him.

L.W. was a man that pulled his own load with grace and dignity. First of all, I love having Thomas as a last name. My grandmother on my mother’s side was a Thomas and Lord knows I near worshiped that woman. But back to the story of my brother-in-law L.W. He married Virginia Bell Thomas (Dolly) in 1957. I didn't know about the name at the time I married Jerry and thought he was lying about it until he placed a call to Dolly to confirm it. Jerry is the baby of this large family and they each have a protective and indulgent attitude toward my husband. In my phone conversation with Dolly she remarked that she hoped we stayed married long enough for her to meet me. Well ,needless to say we did. It was a record for him and the usual thing for me.

I still remember Jerry telling me about his brothers and sisters. When he referred to this particular one of the band of brothers, his words were, “I can’t wait for you to meet them, Babe. I can't wait for you to see the house they built and their ranch ... and that L.W., well, he is just the salt of the earth.”

Seems that all the rest of the family had been beset with their own supply of misfortune and tragedy, but somehow this family had been spared ... in other words, a real Father Knows Best on TV in reality.

I met L.W. and Dolly at a family reunion, but it was a couple of years before we went to this piece of heaven on earth, a piece that a Marine and his devoted wife had carved out of this Texas town. L.W. designed and oversaw the building of this beautiful home. The back door was never locked whether they were there or not. The doors to the bedrooms where the family slept were locked and there was a loaded rifle on the side of the bed, next to the master of the home. This, his family, was all that he treasured and he would die defending that part of his treasure if he had to.

There was a small lake on this ranch and Jerry and L.W. caught several catfish, some over 20 lbs. L.W. always laughed and joked a lot with Jerry.

I said Jerry is the baby and it shows among all of them. He has a couple of cousins that I assume thought he was a hell raiser at times, but the cousins are more Jerry 's age. No one adored Jerry more than Dolly and L.W. I asked them both about their life and found out they fell in love at first sight and married within 2 weeks. They had raised four children in whom they had enormous pride, and that each of them had finished college; the youngest daughter was finishing a degree in law at Texas Tech, one son ran his own feed store in Brownwood, Texas, another son was an ordained preacher pastoring a church in Ohio, and another daughter was a wife and mother who stayed close to the family nest.

L.W. took his family deep sea fishing every summer. By the time I met them they had their own big ocean worthy boat and travel home. They had also visited just about everywhere they deemed worthy as family trips, like Carlsbad Caverns and The Smithsonian. I asked Dolly one time what it felt like to have done everything right. She was amused at my question, but when she saw I was serious,she admitted that yes, she had had a good life and was proud of what she and L.W. had achieved with their life together.

L.W. was diagnosed with cancer before Thanksgiving in 2004 and was at the point of entering aggressive treatment. Dolly was beside herself with worry. During all of this, she learned that she too, had one of the most invasive forms of cancer there is. Like her husband's, the cancer was advanced.

Dolly lost her fight, despite the radiation and other treatment she received. L.W. faced only one Thanksgiving before he left to join her before another Christmas advent. They both asked for privacy during the difficult and ravaging time they would face, though they let it be known they welcomed cards and letters. I admired their courage and dignity.

After Dolly passed away, Jerry came back from the funeral and said, "You should see where she was buried Babe. Under a tree in an old cemetery that joined their ranch property. Just where she had told L.W. she wanted to be buried ...you should see it Babe. It is all just so perfect...that L.W., even in severe illness , was still the salt of the earth.”

I had tried never to let two or three weeks go by that I didn't send them a little card saying Jerry and I thought of them and they were in our prayers. When Dolly passed on, we decided that L.W. would still receive a card in the mail. L.W. got to hear all about our house remodeling, full descriptions of paint and floor coverings, things like that. We just tried to sound forever upbeat until this Thanksgiving. At that time, we felt our card would be intrusive in a life where his boys were taking care of him. He was bedfast and needed help to get into a wheelchair.

Due to numerous health problems of my own, I missed the funeral services of these two fine people, but I wanted to share with Gunz up the passing of this significant and wonderful man, as well as his wonderful wife, Jerry’s sister.

To L.W. Richmond, his wonderful wife, Dolly, and the children you raised together, Semper Fi.

Love,
Virgie

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