The generation Earl belongs to has been called the greatest generation. Greatness is a sliding scale. Not all who are or were his age were great. I knew many in his generation who were not…. Great. There were some however who were truly great. In every way. Earl is one of those who deserves that appellation.
His accomplishments are not what makes him great.... though there are many.
Government service. State Senator, Councilman, Board Member, State Commander of the American Legion in ND, as Mayor the man who saw Trinity Bible College become fact by his intervention, and in his later years as a Dickey county commissioner.
All this after his service to our country in the US Army in World War II. On the beaches of Italy. On the mountaintop overlooking Bologna Italy. As Mussolini fell. As victory came, he carried out his duty beside others of his greatest generation with the threat of instant death all around him. All this while his wife and child prayed for his return -- which he did.
It get's personal now. He and Ruth did the greatest think any family ever does... for another. Provided continuity that many see broken when the Death of our Mom and Dad, Ruby and Ralph left a question hanging in the air....WHO? When the dust settled, the question was answered with... “Here am I”. Just as his public and military life was answered with a yes, they said yes when it mattered to my brother, sister and ... to me. There is no way to say thank you. I did. A thousand times. Yet... once more. Thank you to Greatness in a Great decision.
So many memories. Farming. Hunting. The building of the Church building that I grew up in, the one that he will receive his final salute in, it all seems very appropriate.
Once I was interviewed by a reporter who asked me who the three most influential men in my life had been. Earl H. Redlin was the FIRST name from my lips. There was never any doubt. His strong and tall stature never left my mind’s eye.
As years passed, the far too few times we had alone or in small groups were so valuable. Sitting on the concrete patio at the house in those chairs I worried would still hold me, shaded by a well watered willow tree, extinguishing adult beverages and adult smoke producing items, we would solve the world's problems. His humor, wisdom and good nature always made him an anticipated joy to be with. Now that's heaven's gain. I kinda hope they have a concrete patio there too. I look forward to the next time...
After his first falling down, one time, we went for a ride in his pickup. He had become frail. I never told anyone, but when we got out in the country, I let him drive. I figured, what could possibly happen? He did real well. We drove around for an hour or so. Then he needed a pit stop. Painfully stepping out of that pickup truck, pulling himself up and then standing erect he was able to do what men do better than women... a wide smile blossomed. I knew the he was feeling. Once more with the cool Dakota wind caressing his face --- he was a MAN... in every way.
His role as a businessman, as a farmer, as a father, as a lover, as a friend, as a grandpa... all the many faces of Earl adds up to the one thing those of us who know him can say with confidence, we hold him as GREAT.
I speak of him not in a past tense, but in a present changed now. He is not gone.. Except from us. He still is. As will we all be. I have a vision of heaven. Something of which I know a bit about. People who have had a visit to heaven and reported back in popular books report one of the things common is being greeted upon entrance by those they knew and loved on this side of the veil. I have little doubt that the first face he saw was his Oldest, that boy who had hoped for his return from the war, that one HE had supported during many difficult and dark days of difficulty until his death... John.. Or as he called him here and now as he called him there… already.... JOHNNY. That reunion has erased any tear, any pain, and any remembrance of these days and years past.
He has now come face to face to HIM in a NOW that has fullness of all Joy.
Years ago I asked him how he deals with the loss of so many of his contemporaries, those he loved. Friends, neighbors, relatives. He said, “it's a matter of perspective. I simply say, if it's to a grieving widow, You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a dear Friend". It seemed right to him. I have followed his lead…as I have so often.
So, I now say to Ruth Redlin who partnered with him in so many adventures, and the one that means the world to me, "You have lost a dear husband, and I have lost a father, a friend, a GREAT influence on my life. One I will be eternally thankful for". The GREATEST will be when Reunion comes for me. I have so many who I look forward to seeing again.
So, I won't say rest in Peace SIR, that much is certain. I will say, May your JOY be made FULL NOW..., until I see you again on the other side of the veil.
The prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon ... said of these times of life’s passages: "We wept when we were born though all around us smiled; so shall we smile when we die while all around us weep."
I can see his smile… even now… Can’t you?
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