Hanibal Wolfgang Mowery

Hanibal Wolfgang Mowery was born December 5th, 1994, seven and one half weeks early – he was determined not to miss Christmas! At a whopping four pounds and thirteen ounces he had a really big name to fill. Unique right from the start.

Hanibal’s childhood was typical, not unique. We were very blessed that Hanibal was able to go to Nanny and Grandpa’s house and not daycare. He was the apple of their eyes. For them, Hanibal could do no wrong. The earth he walked on was revered. Nanny and Grandpa loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved them.

Then he met The Girls! Carey and Sissy were the best at everything! Carey taught Hanibal the finer techniques of burping and farting while Sissy taught him how to pee on tires. Carey showed him how to squirt whipping cream in your mouth so full that you could not shut your mouth. Sissy made it okay to play out in the rain (when it was not thunder and lightning of course). In later years Carey taught him how to drive stick shift and Sissy taught him how to hold a baby in his arms. Fine knowledge and skills that made Hanibal Hanibal. The Girls loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved The Girls.

Uncle Scotty became a great playmate too! They taught each other many things. Uncle Scotty learned that little Hanibal was an oven which was great on cold early spring camp outs in Ocala National Forest. Hanibal would learn that Uncle Scotty was a great adversary in any video game, but in particular Mario Kart. Uncle Scotty learned that Hanibal was a chick magnet as he drove his Camaro on Daytona Beach. And Hanibal learned that Uncle Scotty loved Halloween Horror Nights almost as much as he did. Uncle Scotty loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved Uncle Scotty.

Hanibal went to work with me often. He grew up taking naps on the couch in my office. That is how my work family knew him and how they watched him grow. My office was (and still is) Hanibal Central – from pictures of him to drawings to “I Love You Mom” on post it notes. I have had many meetings, conversations, chats, and talks in my office and most of them always began or ended (or both) around Hanibal. My work family loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved them.

BTW – Hanibal never outgrew taking naps on that couch!

Mr. Nick and Miss Sandy were special. Hanibal was the only child they would go out to dinner with. He would sit with them and join in the conversation. Hanibal loved going to their house to watch TV or movies on the gigantic screen! Hanibal enjoyed even more the each vacations we took. As a youngster he would walk the beach with them looking for shells and discovering weird animals like the horseshoe crabs that were “stuck together”. As Hanibal got older he got to imbibe with them – margaritas, beer, and Proctor’s Punch. Mr. Nick and Miss Sandy loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved them.

Aunt Sandi was larger than life. She taught Hanibal that a garbage bag full of love is the best present in the world. She tried to convince him that there were other foods to eat besides chicken and fries and mac and cheese. I say tried to convince him. She was not successful in that venture. They relentlessly teased and picked at each other trying to never let the other get the upper hand. Aunt Sandi loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved Aunt Sandi.

School was pretty typical for Hanibal. He participated in Science Fair and won several times! He took easy classes like chorus and hard classes like AP Environmental Science – you know that was hard for me to remember it! After he graduated high school, he attended Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC) and earned is AA. Hanibal was not certain what he wanted to do. One day an email came across my desk about pharmacy technicians. This piqued his interest. Pretty soon Hanibal enrolled in the Pharmacy Tech program at PHSC. As part of this program he interned at AdventHealth Tampa. When Hanibal completed the program, AdventHealth hired him. His AdventHealth family welcomed him immediately. During his tenure he worked at some point on all three shifts: Days, Nights, and Overnights. His most recent stint was on Overnights where he worked for seven days and was off for seven days. Hanibal loved his work. He loved the challenge of learning new things. His AdventHealth Family loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved his AdventHealth Family.

At home, Hanibal was just Hanibal. A procrastinator about everything – it could be put off and finished tomorrow. His routine was to leave any object where he used it last and then complain when he could not find said item.

Hanibal and my brother Matt grew up together. They spent endless hours playing the latest XBOX of

PS__ (insert any number up to 5) game. Or watching the latest video/DVD/Blu Ray movie that was just released. Or conning me into taking them to the neighborhood Blockbuster to rent a game or movie or both. What they really wanted was to look at all the cool toys. We would be there for what seemed hours!!!! Hanibal and Matt both grew to be fine young men who cared for each other and also for others. They taught each other patience, sharing, and kindness. Matt loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved Matt.

And I cannot forget Hanibal’s four-legged pals Cowboy and Duke. Both were rescue fur babies. Hanibal was young when we got Cowboy so others got most of the puppy and dog chores. Duke was different. Hanibal would “save” him at night from his crate when he cried. Hanibal would carry Duke around the house. If Duke put his front paws on the bed or couch, Hanibal would lift his back end and help him up. Hanibal could lay all over Duke and Duke would never move or try to get up – Duke did this with no one else. When Hanibal got his Stinger this year, Duke quickly learned the sound of that engine and would sit barking at the front door waiting for Hanibal to walk in after his shift. Hanibal and Duke shared a love for Vienna Sausages. Duke loved it when Hanibal would share them with him. Duke loved Hanibal and Hanibal loved Duke.

As for us, Hanibal was THE BEST THING WE EVER DID. Did we spoil him? Probably. But we also taught him the golden rules: to treat others the way you want to be treated; to respect others and to respect yourself; to not judge; and to not lie. He learned these and tried to live by them every day. He is ours, but I think we did a pretty good job. Did we argue? Yes. Did we fuss and fight? Yes. But we always worked it out. Did we have fun? Absolutely! Hanibal was fun to be with. We enjoyed each other’s company whether it was going to dinner or to the Brass Tap, or to Halloween Horror Nights, or to the UK, or on business trips with my husband to Arizona or with me to Massachusetts and National Harbor. As he became a young man our family times got fewer because he had his friends and his life. We understood. It was how it was supposed to be. We raised him to live his own life. WE LOVE HANIBAL. HANIBAL LOVES US.

Hanibal was tragically taken from us – ALL OF US – on Sunday November 8th, 2020.

Hanibal was a good kid.

A good man.

Hanibal was taken far too soon.

For me, Hanibal will be Forever Young!

We love you Son!

MeMaw and Padre

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Children’s Mental Health Network Scholarship fund at the University of South Florida at this link https://giving.usf.edu/online/gift/f/530062/

This scholarship supports students completing their field experience as the culminating work to their Master of Science degree in Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health.