Don Newbury

His smile said much and his words said even more, but good deeds during his “three score and 10” life trumped them both.

Alzheimer’s finally had it’s way with Hal Rowe recently, but during the seven-year ordeal, he was talked out of little — and had his way with much — in a life that inspired, delighted and encouraged.

More than 500 people gathered at his beloved Bacon Heights Baptist Church in Lubbock for a memorial service bathed in rich memories of one who did all he could for as many as he could for as long as he could.

The sanctuary was awash in “Hal Rowe stories,” none richer, though, than one of his final acts of kindness that tied a ribbon around an exemplary life. Nearly four years ago, he gave away a kidney to an acquaintance.

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When Hal learned that Randy Parsons faced a bleak future of blindness and dialysis without a kidney transplant, he offered “a perfectly good kidney.”

Family members agreed after medical professionals assured them that it was “Hal talking ­— not Alzheimer’s.”

He wanted the world to know that having Alzheimer’s didn’t rob him of his ability to help, and that Jesus’ “doing unto others” instructions didn’t stipulate “unless you get sick.”

He urged doctors to take a portion of his liver while they were “in there.” Friends believe he would have given the other kidney away, too, had he known of a need.

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At the funeral, laughs and tears got equal time. Words, music and videos provided warm remembrances. His admission of nervousness during his marriage proposal to Joyce — his wife of almost 50 years — was recalled.

Under a tree at Howard Payne University, their alma mater, he jammed an engagement ring onto her finger without saying a word.

“Hal, I’ll marry you, but please put the ring on my other hand,” Joyce said.

“I’ve never done this before,” Hal stammered. “Besides, do you want a proposal from a 210-pound football tackle or a 130-pound poet?”

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A deacon for several decades, he taught fifth-graders in Sunday school for more than 40 years.

“Mr. Fix-It” was the “who-you-gonna-call guy” for hundreds of widows and widowers. Whatever was broken or needed replacement, he was the man, relentlessly taking on all projects.  Some of ’em even a former football tackle shouldn’t tackle.

He was immersed in work — even as a pre-schooler — at his dad’s service station in Temple, where he and Joyce were high school sweethearts.

A natural salesman, he sold Bibles during summers of his college years. Some earnings went for that engagement ring.

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He worked in retail for many years, and with a school-teaching wife, invested steadily in rental properties, all kept up by “Mr. Fix-It.”

Rowe always had time for others. Someone recalled the day he misdialed a church widow. The respondent was not to be spared Hal’s warm spirit.

“How’re you doing?” he asked. She expressed frustration about failure to sell her house.

If you figure that Hal bought it over the phone, you’d be right.

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An outstanding college football player, Hal passed on a chance to play professionally with the Dallas Cowboys. Instead, he opted to teach in Comanche during Joyce’s final college year.  

Soon, they were off to Lubbock, where she was an oft-honored teacher and Hal spent most days — and many nights — giving his life away.

A member of the church orchestra, he “saxophoned” birthday greetings by phone to widows and widowers for many years.

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A couple of years ago, as his memory started to fail, he told Joyce he wanted folks at his funeral to be fed. He had a full meal in mind, but settled for Blue Bell ice cream cups at the exits.

Pudgy during his adult life, the ice cream lover claimed to be a “recovering anorexic.”

What a model for others. Beloved by his wife, family and friends, he was an unwavering Christian stalwart. Even when his 20-year-old son was killed in an auto crash caused by a drunken driver, his faith was strong.

Hal personified Corrie Ten Boom’s quote: “The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation.”

When he died Feb. 19, that’s really all he needed to do that day.



Dr. Newbury is a speaker in the Metroplex. Inquiries/comments: newbury@speakerdoc.com. Phone: 817-447-3872. Web: www.speakerdoc.com.

Burleson High School student John Carter, left, and Saginaw High School student Harley Wright push themselves mentally and physically to best the other across the finish line. Cater beat Wright by almost half a second. The two runners competed in Burleson’s first 5K event on Saturday along with about 115 other runners. John D. Harden/BCC

Burleson High student John Carter, 15, and Saginaw High School student Harley Wright, 15, began Saturday morning as strangers. They were unaware that for 22.34 minutes, they would be each other’s biggest competitors and motivation.  

Wright was dressed in a fitted bright orange athletic T-shirt, purple orange-trimmed running shorts and Nike running shoes with hints of more orange. She was clearly a runner.

However, Carter, a football and basketball player, was dressed in more subtle attire. He wore a large white T-shirt, black shorts and red Nike running shoes. He looked athletic, but he wasn’t the typical runner. 

The two students stretched and prepared more than other runners, appearing more focused. 

When the announcer asked runners to take their marks, Wright maneuvered her way toward the front of the crowd, with Carter close behind.

With a “ready, set, go,” Wright and Carter jumped with a quick start, leaving the majority of other runners behind.

The two students joined about 115 other people running in the Get Going With Glenn Community 5K and Fun Walk last weekend.

This was the city’s inaugural 5K and fun run was in honor of Glenn Keller, a resident who was picked for the CNN Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge. Fifty-one-year-old Keller is one of seven CNN viewers selected to be part of Fit Nation. They will compete in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon in September. Keller is a truck driver and pastor of Making A Difference Ministry.

The run started at Bartlett Park Sports Complex and runners ran along Summercrest Boulevard, Rand Street, Newton Street and Murphy Street, as well as connecting neighborhood streets.

The 5K run was USA Track and Field certified and was professionally timed. The event was part of the city and Huguley Memorial Medical Center’s Be Healthy Initiative.

Huguley and Burleson plan monthly events that address a broad range of wellness issues. Other organizations and businesses may join their efforts to promote the month’s planned program.

“What we have planned is a yearlong events and activities for the community,” said Victoria Sykes, Huguley community development coordinator. “We’re trying to keep the healthy, healthy.”

Other sponsors include City Market, Honda, United Cooperative Services, McClendon Construction and First National Bank.

“Our goal was 100 participants and we surpassed that so for next year it may be 200 or more. It’s just getting the word out,” she said. “This is the first one, so we’re going to use this one to make the next one better.”

As the race dragged on, runners were guided through the streets by Burleson’s Citizens on Patrol and Burleson Rotary Club members.

Many of the runners remained spread apart, but Wright and Carter never left each other’s side. They remained neck and neck the entire run. When one would pull in front, the other would push a little harder to keep up.

The two runners would push until the very end.

In the final minute of the run, there was no clear winner. In the final stretch, Wright and Carter were in the same position they were when they began the race ­— side-by-side.

The two runners, who hate defeat, began to grimace.

The perfect running forms they began with were replaced by an image of two runners thrashing toward the finish line.

As they crossed the line, it was unclear to spectators who had won the race. But Wright knew.

She didn’t have to look at the photos.

It was Carter.

“He beat me by less than a second,” she said. “I was there until the very end, and I just didn’t have enough to pull ahead.”

 Wright said it wasn’t her best time, but it was a great race.

Carter, who doused himself in water, took a minute to catch his breath. It was his first professional 5K run and he did not expect to win.

“After about a mile into the race I thought to myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’” he said with a laugh. “But then I looked over at her and told myself that I could not let her beat me.”

Carter and Wright both acknowledged that it was the other that gave them motivation to keep moving.

As Carter laid down on the ground to rest, Wright approached him and gave him a congratulatory high-five. 

Before parting ways, Carter asked for her name and she asked for his.

“See you next year,” he said.

Burleson’s first water park, Pirate’s Cove, opened Friday. The park is next to the North Texas Jellystone Park Camp-Resort. (John D. Harden/BCC)

Pirate’s Cove, Burleson’s first water park, opened Friday next to the North Texas Jellystone Park Camp-Resort, just in time to meet the rising Texas heat.

Jennifer Garza and her 2-year-old son, Jack, checked out the park on opening day. They said it’s a perfect fit for Burleson, which doesn’t have anything like it.

“So far we like it,” Jennifer said. “He enjoys playing in the water and it beats having to go deep into Fort Worth to go to an outdoor water park.”

Many people young and old checked out the water park on Friday, which was a good sign, officials said.

“We’re pretty excited about it,” said Steve Stafford, general manager of North Texas Jellystone, which developed the 4-acre family entertainment center, which includes both wet and dry play areas, as well as a food court with varied menu options.

Pirate’s Cove features a 26,000-square-foot, 36-foot high interactive water play park with seven waterslides plus interactive features, including a pirate-themed structure, a floating lily pad, a ropewalk, 28 cabanas and an activity pool.

“We’re expecting a Texas boatload of people to visit us,” Stafford said.

The entertainment complex also has a 13,500-square-foot family entertainment center called Pirate’s Cove Fun Zone. It includes a 28-foot climbing structure, mini bowling, laser tag, a froghopper ride and more than 40 interactive and arcade games.

The Pirate’s Cove water park is open to the public for a nominal admission price, while the Pirate’s Cove Fun Zone and food court can be visited without an admission charge.

“We want to be able to cater to the needs of water park enthusiasts as well as people who simply want to drop by and have a place for their children to play or enjoy a meal without getting wet,” Stafford said.

The Pirate’s Cove entertainment complex will also provide special rates for organized activities for birthday parties, schools, churches and clubs.

Pirate’s Cove is also expected to provide a boost to the local economy. Stafford said the park employees 70 full- and part-time positions, including lifeguards, cooks, food servers, security and maintenance personnel.

“We have jobs for everyone,” he said. “For some people working, this is their first job and for others it helps put them to work.”

Stafford said he’s going to use the first week to fix any problems that may come up during the park’s initial run.

“Anyone who has ever run a business will tell you that there are always problems,” he said.

For information on Pirate’s Cove or on Jellystone Park Camp-Resort, visit their respective websites at www.PiratesCoveFunZone.com and www.NorthTexasJellystone.com or call 817-386-8000.