A Great Man This Way Passed
“I get to play baseball on a real baseball team!” a little
boy excitedly announced. The little boy was too young to know about sign-ups,
registration costs, and equipment requirements. He just knew that he was going
to get to play baseball. There was no money for a baseball glove, but perhaps
the coach might have an old glove he could use.
The little boy had a young uncle who learned of the need,
and suddenly there was a new baseball glove for him to use. Such was the love
of his uncle, a great man who would grow greater and greater by spending his
entire life, literally until his last breath, serving others.
A baseball glove for a little boy who wanted to play
baseball is seemingly a life-changer. I know this because I was the little boy
and that act of giving has had an indelible impact on my life. As I have grown
from being a little boy wanting to play baseball into adulthood, I have often
thought of that glove and the love it represents.
The young uncle in the story is my Uncle Bobby, Robert
Edward Gorman, who passed away earlier this week. He left behind a legacy of
service. Such was his impact on his community that the Visitation was moved to
the high school auditorium in his beloved Hope Mills, NC.
On Saturday morning, he was outside washing off his gator to
get it ready to pull high school band equipment later that day at a marching
band competition. For 28 years he volunteered with the high school band. 28
years of carrying equipment and cheering on the young student musicians. 28
years of service culminating in this moment of making sure his gator was cleaned
to his exacting standards and ready to serve the students in the band. His daughter helped for a time before the
demands of the day pulled her away to other tasks. Moments later, his life of
service was over.
The mayor asked that all of the flags in town be lowered to
half-mast in honor of Uncle Bob. He had retired from the Air Force after twenty-four
years of service and been a member of the County Rescue Squad for eleven years.
He had also served for fourteen years as a Town Commissioner and Mayor Pro Tem,
a position he was still serving in when he passed away.
He was days away from election day where he would again
offer to serve the town as a Commissioner and would possibly again be the top
vote-getter, as he had been in the previous election and several times before. Despite the wreathes outside each polling place in honor of his passing,
still voters cast their vote for him. Such was the legacy of a great man who defined
servant-leadership.
As I stood at the end of the receiving line with my family, I
witnessed the long line of friends, neighbors, constituents, fellow-volunteers,
former band students and their parents, firemen, police officers, state
patrolmen, and educators who gathered to share their love and appreciation with
my Aunt Marian, his wife of 47 years, their children Bobby and Alie, their
grandchildren, and his family. I heard countless stories of Uncle Bob’s acts of
service, his phone calls to check on others, his love for his family, and his
ready smile.
As they described Uncle Bob, I was reminded of his dad, my
granddad, James Gorman. Uncle Bob had followed the example of my granddad in
his love and care for others. An example, I try to follow in my life. Both were
great men, perhaps because they never aspired to be. They simply worked hard to
take care of everyone they encountered.
A young man gave a little boy a baseball glove so that he could
play ball on the team. That gift wasn’t just needed baseball equipment. The
gift was the example of true love and caring for others. A gift that continues
to challenge me decades later to follow the example of a great man who this way
passed.
Fayetteville Observer Story - http://www.fayobserver.com/news/20171104/longtime-hope-mills-commissioner-dies
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