That would
be 117 years ago. He had five sisters (Etta, Alva, Gerdette, Gertrude, and Mattie Lou) and one brother, Solon. He finished 8th grade and then was needed to help his
father with the farm. His mother died when he was 14 and his father remarried
Rosa Smith. She had a relative who was married to Florence Mercer and one day
when Florence's sister, Paulin,e was caring for Florence's eldest child, Benji -
Ellie first laid eyes on Pauline.
They were
married on the first day of January 1921. The marriage resulted in the birth
of six children - Rudoph, Iva, Thelma, Carolyn, Ann, and Beth.
When Ellie
was 50 years old, I was born to Iva.
We often
celebrated granddaddy's birthday on Mother's Day, so in addition to having a great appreciation and love for my mother and both of my grandmothers (Lonnie Jones
Huffingham/Walker and Pauline Mercer Nesmith), I also honor my
grandfather - the Rev. Ellie Wallace Nesmith.
Granddaddy accepted Christ as a young man and first heard the "call" to preach in his early 20s. My grandparents helped organize Glendale Community Church in 1936. He was ordained in 1945 and became the pastor of the church. He held that role until he retired in 1963.
One of my earliest memories is copying what I had observed at a Sunday service when I stood on a chair, shook my finger, and said: "Sinner you need to repent". I don't really remember Granddaddy ever doing that, however.
In 1992 as we celebrated his 95th birthday, we put together a book about his life. - Granddaddy Had a Mansion and You Can Have One Too.
My son, Tray, often remarked about his great-grandfather's longevity and
the strong faith that was a major part of granddaddy’s life.
"I bet great-granddaddy is going to have a huge mansion in Heaven", he said. When asked why, his remark was that it was taking God a long time to build it. (John 14).
Granddaddy went to see that mansion 30 years ago. I believe many people in Heaven (and still on earth) who understood the "you can have one too" and trusted Christ.
I remember him lifting his hands for the opening prayer in our worship services, his preaching, and the many times he called on the sick and grieving. Sometimes my sister, Cindy, and I got to ride with him.
Once he saw me be rude to another child I'll never forget how I felt when I realized he had seen me!
Granddaddy was kind, but not demonstrative with his affection. However, when my marriage was ending, although he certainly did not believe in divorce, he was very supportive.
My dearest time with him was when he invited me to share the bench between our house and his.
"Sister, your mother has been sharing some of your writing...but I have noticed something -- you are not signing your work."
"Someday", he continued, "you will have grandchildren who will read some of your stories and be glad to know you wrote them".
I now have many binders filled with my words that will give my grandchildren insight into their heritage.
A heritage that I am happy to share with them.
May you have enough sunshine in your life,
to make you appreciate the shadows
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