Marvin E. Loyd:Celebration of a Life Well-Lived

"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction,

 and do not forsake your mother's teaching."

My father, Marvin Ellis Loyd, took those words

from Proverbs to heart.  He may have never quoted

those words to me, but he lived it out, and I strive to

 do the same.  As many of you know, Daddy went to

 be with the Lord on November 1, 2012, All Saints Day.

In this post and others to follow, I want to share a 

glimpse of the blessed and varied life my father led.

Young Marvin is seated between his parents on their
way to church in about 1918.  His Christian life was
always important to him.

His parents, my Mama and Papa Loyd,
were hardworking but simple folks who
instilled in Daddy the values he would pass on
to his children.

According to a brief autobiography  Daddy once
composed, he sometimes hated school.  But he
persevered, because he loved learning, and he
came to like school better in future years.

I believe Daddy is 7th from the left or 6th from the
right in this lineup of cousins.  His mother was the
youngest in a large family, and numerous cousins
lived not far away.

Daddy is seated at the right (holding his kitten)
with his siblings and their race car.  Daddy told me
how his father once hired a blacksmith to build a
wagon for him and his brothers.

Daddy is on the far left, again with his kitten.  Next
are his mother, Mama Loyd, Herman, Terry, and sister
Frances, the babe in arms.

Maybe Daddy was liking school a  little
better by this time.  In fact, he would admire
many of his teachers and earn some accolades
as the years passed.

In 1932 Daddy graduated from Chamblee High School.
He's in the middle of the second row from the top.

He had a wonderful opportunity to study
agriculture at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural
College in Tifton, Georgia.  He was the first
male student to enroll in the new state school.

During the pre-war years of the 30's, Daddy
found plenty of time for adventure along with
hard work on his family's Sunrise Dairy.  He
and his brother Raymond bought a small airplane
along with a friend.  Thanks to sister Frances, we
know that the brothers would fly over the Loyd cow
 pastures to "buzz" their sister.  In this one-of-a-kind
photo, it appears one of the brothers is looking out at
his admirers below.

Daddy spent a lot of time on a motorcycle in the

1930's, especially with his friend Morris Pierce,

shown with Daddy at right.  The picture at left

is a classic: Daddy and a friend at Stone Mountain,

Georgia.  Daddy had ridden his cycle to the top!

World War II called Daddy and
his brothers into our country's service.

Daddy, at right, with some of his crew.
He worked his way from crew chief to
flight chief, to line chief with the famed
P-47 Thunderbolt Orange Tails.

Something tells me from this big smile
that Daddy was on his way home, not
headed for Europe.  He was aboard the
Queen Mary.

He met my mother, Anne Black of Cartersville, GA
at a Red Cross Christmas dance.  They danced the
evening away, had a nice meal at the nearby Varsity
drive-in, and the rest is history.  They married in 1948
and had a wonderful 60 years together until my mother's
death in 2009.

My brother Ellis, "Buddy," was the first
addition to the family.  And his pet bull
Pedro was not far behind.  (I honestly don't
know if either of these is Pedro).

Buddy kept Mama and Daddy pretty busy,
I'm sure.  But Ken was on the way by the
time they had moved to this house on Candler
Road (now Dresden Drive).  It was directly
across from the Naval Air Station, which would
later become Peachtree DeKalb Airport.

Here I am.  I'm not sure Daddy knew what
to do with me.  And I'm certain I didn't
know what to do!

We grew and grew.  And our lives
were happy.  I wasn't in school yet!

And then came sister Caryn!  Then and now,
she has made all of our lives better and more fun.

Our Loyd stairsteps in the mid 1960's.

This family picture in our church directory was about
the time Buddy would start college.

Daddy had 98 storied years, beloved by his family, friends,
and neighbors.  What he shared with us cannot be compiled
in a blog or summarized in an article.  But what he shared
can be put into practice daily, if we were attentive to his
life lessons.  I think some more words from Proverbs express
the sum of what Daddy gave me:

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands
within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your
heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and
cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for
hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the
Lord and find the knowledge of God.