When
you start worrying about the hardships life has thrown at you, consider the plight
of the Clyde Thurman Owens family of Henderson County.
Clyde was a good
‘ol hardworking East Texas road builder
who had to travel where the jobs were available.
In 1936, he met and married
the love of his life, Anna Louise Schuyler.
While in Little Rock, Arkansas,
in 1940, Clyde took his family to see “Boomtown Annie,” when his wife went into
labor and was rushed to a hospital. That’s where Linda Ann was born even though
her Uncle Speck wanted to name her Boomtown Annie. Clyde nicknamed her Punkin.
The Owens finally wound up in Waco,
three years later, where Larry Elton Owens was born. But when he was a year old,
he became sick with scarlet fever and doctors found out he had Cystic Fibrosis
as well.
Larry’s parents found out they were carriers of Cystic Fibrosis
and told the couple if they had any more children, they would likely have Cystic
Fibrosis as well.
It was a hard blow because Mrs. Owens was already expecting.
When Barbara Sue arrived, she, too, had Cystic Fibrosis. But the family tried
to make the best of the bad luck.
In 1947, life became more complicated
for Clyde. An accident took the life of his beloved wife and Linda Ann was unconscious
for a month. When she awoke she could not walk, feed herself or see. It didn’t
take long for her to relearn how to walk and feed herself.
Clyde moved
his family to Henderson County where he had grown up. His parents helped him take
care of his kids while he worked.
In 1947, Linda was accepted at the School
for the Blind in Austin where she learned
to read and write in Braille.
Larry lost his battle with Cystic Fibrosis
in 1955 and his sister Barbara succumbed to the disease in 1963.
Clyde
lived until November 12, 1976, when he died from a Brain aneurism. He tried to
fight it, but was not strong enough to pull through the operation.
“I
miss him very much,” said Linda Ann Phillips. “He raised me and I give him the
credit for how I turned out. I didn’t give up when I became blind, I just kept
trying,” she recalled.
She
adds: “I love you, Clyde Thurman Owens, and thank you for everything you did for
me and for standing by me all of the time. I know you’re with God. I hope you’re
watching over me and my family. I really think you would love all of them. I’m
proud you’re my Dad. I miss you. Love, Punkin. “
Bob
Bowman's East Texas May 9, 2010 Column
A weekly column syndicated in
70 East Texas newspapers
Copyright Bob Bowman |
