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Jim and Dorothy Slocumb Celebrate 50th Wedding Anniversary
By Jeff | July 29, 2007
I spent this past weekend traveling across Texas so that I could attend one of the great examples of marital commitment that I know. My grandparents, Jim and Dorothy Slocumb, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. That’s 50 years! Julie and I recently celebrated our 5th anniversary on July 1st, so we only have 45 more years to go. May God help us!
While our family knows them as Meemaw and Pawpaw (thanks to me as apparently I was the one who christened their new names), there are countless others who see them as their family. Throughout their years in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, they have been a shelter to the homeless, a provider of food to the hungry, and a refuge for the needy. Stranger was neither a word they understood nor a label they allowed to infiltrate their vocabulary. There is no doubt that the same message resonates in the lives of their children (oldest to youngest: Glenda, Betty, Ray, Curtis, and Gina) as they all have warming hearts and open homes themselves.
In this same spirit, I feel the need that I must continue the legacy handed down to me. I have an obligation to them and to the ones before them to teach my son the same selfless acts that make this world a better place to live in. There is no doubt that this legacy did not start with my grandparents, but rather, it was passed down to them. Luckily, for the time being, my great grandmother, Pawpaw’s mother, is still alive and I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to spend many days with her in our home with stories that only my family would understand and are too long to explain here. “Grandmother,” as she is known, has a Faith that would put many-a-preacher to shame. Through it all, I have been blessed with joy in my heart because of the family I was born into.
Here are a few pictures of one of the greatest weekends I have had in years and I will follow that by a brief recreation of the speech I gave in their honor:
The following will be similar to what I spoke during my brief speech, but I also wanted to take this opportunity to say a few things that were intended but not mentioned.
Meemaw and Pawpaw have been a joy in my life. As their kids can attest to, you cannot get anything past Meemaw. One of my favorite stories involves a trip in a car. I don’t know where we were and I don’t remember where we were going. I do remember that I had some candy in my pocket that I didn’t really want to share with anyone. Unable to resist temptation, I decided to be discreet and open my candy bar as quietly as possible. I was being slow and careful and I got it open without as much as a sound. I was so proud. Then, within seconds of getting it unwrapped, I hear Meemaw’s voice from the front seat, “I smell chocolate.” Devastated that my quest had failed, I shared my candy bar with Meemaw.
As far as Pawpaw is concerned, as I borrow a line from Forrest Gump, “You never know what you’re gonna get.” There was Bro. Pawpaw the pastor, barber Pawpaw, Jamaican Pawpaw, semi-ventriloquist Pawpaw, keepin-it-real gangsta Pawpaw, cowboy Pawpaw, farmer Pawpaw, hoe-down Pawpaw, dancin-a-jig Pawpaw, and violinist Pawpaw. Above all, there was always the real Pawpaw who was loving and supportive regardless of what your situation. He is my hero and if I ever become half the man he is - I’ll be doing alright.
I have a legacy to pass on to my son and if I do my job well enough then he will want to do the same for his children. It may not have started with my grandparents, but I refuse to let it stop with me. I love you both very much and I lift my head high when I say that I’m a part of Jim and Dorothy’s legacy.
Topics: Dorothy Slocumb, Jim Slocumb, anniversary, grandparents, relationships, wedding |
April 12th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Thank you jeffry that was so sweet.
It brought tears as me and Memaw read it for the first time. Guess I missed it when it came out.
We have Our latest Great on our desktop.
Can’t wait to see him.
Hope all is well with you and your great family.you got it going Man. Only three more to go. LOL
Love Ya’ll
Memaw & Pawpaw
April 13th, 2008 at 1:00 am