Ervil Austin

Gramps and Grandma with 2 of the grandkids and all 3 great-grandkids.  

This was Gramps taking Abi to pet one of the baby cows that she named.

Clay loved his Gramps (and his empty coffee cups!)

     Around eleven years ago I was introduced to Amanda's grandpa as I attended my first Austin family dinner.  I was captivated immediately by his enthusiasm for life, his passion for his farm, his fervent work ethic, and most of all, his love for his family; especially his grandkids, and later, his great-grand kids.  Over the years, I was more and more fascinated with "Gramps" as he invited me to work around the farm, take fishing trips to the farm by Competition, and I even had a chance to work on some construction projects with him.  There are many stories about Gramps that I could tell, but I'll just share a few:

Fishing:

On one trip to the farm by Competition, Ervil and I decided to go fishing.  I always take a 5 gallon bucket with me to fish ponds.  I am not a fish eater, I just like to count how many fish I catch.  (I also have a sneaky suspicion that if you catch and release immediately, the "released" fish tell the "yet to be caught" fish what not to eat!)  So on this particular day, Ervil and I must have caught 60 rather large bluegill.  When we were out of worms and about out of daylight, I began the "count" to see how many we had caught.  As I began tossing the fish back, Ervil caught me and said, "How come you're throwing my supper back when it took me all day to catch them?"  I thought he was just kidding, because I wasn't going to spend the rest of the night cleaning these fish.  So I just laughed and soon found out that he really wanted to keep all of those fish!  He cleaned them and gave some to Amanda's aunt Jeanette and kept the rest for his dinner.  For the next several months Ervil would tell everyone at the family dinners how I tried to throw all his fish that he caught back.

Farming:

I have never been an official farmer but I have always wanted to be one.  There were days that I could get my farm fix in by going to the Austin Farm.  One late Spring afternoon, Amanda, Abi, and I joined Gramps at the Farm.  Right away I was put in the big blue tractor and was taught how to rake the hay before it got bailed.  On another day, Ervil was having issues with his bailer.  Something on it was broke and he was bound to fix it before we left.  After spending 3-4 hours trying to make a replacement for the part that was broke, Ervil decided that it just wasn't going to happen.  We drove into town and picked up the replacement part for 75 cents at Vernon and Sons.  

Construction:

I was able to help Ervil with a few projects but the ones I remember the most are the deck and overhang on the Competition house that Amanda's uncle Neil and his family live in and the concrete sidewalk and porch at the Lebanon house.  For the porch and sidewalk, Ervil had recruited Amanda's dad Mark, myself, and a neighbor.   When the concrete truck showed up we went to work pouring and finishing.  We were about an hour into the project when the truck driver started complaining that we were taking too long.  Ervil, always with a smile on his face, never got angry with the pressure from the concrete company he just kept telling him that we were going as fast as we could.  Then he would turn to me so the driver couldn't hear him and say, "I don't know what they are complaining about, I paid for this concrete and they never gave me a time limit to pour it when I ordered it."  We continued at the same pace for at least 2 more hours.  I have never seen a driver so upset but Ervil never lost his cool with that driver.  

Family:

Last year we celebrated Gramps' 80th birthday.  I was always intrigued over the years hearing his stories of how he was able to provide for his family by owning and operating a bulldozer.  He was always interested in and attentive to every family member that walked through the doors of his house.  He knew that God had blessed him immeasurably.  One of the most proud moments for Gramps came at Mark's house last summer when Clay gave his now famous "campaign speech".

Ervil showed this video to anyone and everyone who would watch it.  Last December when Ervil learned that he had cancer, he went right into family mode making sure that everything was in order and ready for him to go.  Last week we had a chance to go visit for homemade ice-cream and visiting on the porch for the final time with Gramps.  He enjoyed watching Abi learning how to ride a bike without training wheels.  He glowed at watching Lennon hit every pitch that Evan threw him.  He laughed at watching Clay try to keep up with the big kids.  

I'm so thankful for the time I was able to spend with Ervil.  I had a chance to learn so much from him while we talked over many cups of coffee and while watching him love his family.  His many years and life experiences made him one of the wisest men I've ever known.  Yesterday, Ervil passed from this life to the next.  He was more than Amanda's grandpa.  He was more than Clay and Abi's "Gramps".  He was my friend, mentor, and the man I want to grow up to be.