Possessing a gracious soul with an equally impressive work ethic, there was never any doubt that our family’s foundational values, centered on an “honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay,” were shaped in large part by a man who grew up in the wind-swept plains of far West Texas with not much more than the shirt on his back. Born in Gainesville, Texas on November 18, 1940 to D.C. and Violet Padgett, dad was incredibly proud of his siblings that included an older sister (Wanda) and two younger brothers (Bobby and Rickey). His early years were ones of constant change and struggle that took him and his family from West Texas to California and – for him – back again as his father bounced between jobs in the oil field services industry and the railroad. These early experiences helped forge an incredible spirit of resilience, independence, love of family, and strong work ethic that was reflected in our dad’s life mission of providing for his family and affording us opportunities and experiences that he only dreamed of while growing up.
A proud graduate of Happy High School (Happy, Texas) in 1960, reading his senior yearbook would give little insight into just how much dad had to overcome to graduate…those stories were left for mom to tell. By the time dad started his junior year, his mother had passed from diabetes, his two younger brothers had been adopted by relatives in California, and he found himself back in Happy living with distant relatives that had offered room and board in exchange for work. Growing up, mom would tell us stories about dad working from well before sunrise until late after sunset doing his chores and having only two shirts to wear throughout his senior year – one he washed and the other he wore. Mom’s stories helped fill in the blanks of how a man of few words drove his kids with an unmistakable and ever-present expectation of success…there was no question in our family that if you said you were going to do something, you dang sure better do it.
Dad’s enduring ethos of resiliency, coupled with a strong sense of “there’s got to be something better in life than milking cows and tending chickens,” led him to join the U.S. Army after graduation. As dad told it, he did everything he could to get out of serving in the infantry – figuring that his life growing up had been hard enough. Based on his entry test scores, he enlisted as a finance specialist where served in a number of assignments between France (back when France liked NATO) and Washington, DC. Following his three years of service in the military, he would take all the money he had saved up and a Volkswagen Beetle he bought overseas and move to California to be close to his younger brothers. That plan and the California road trip lasted until he arrived in Fort Worth and was talked into investing in a service station by a cousin. Years later, dad reflected that he was a decent mechanic but a horrible bookkeeper, resulting in his dreams of gas station entrepreneurship lasting all of about six months. However, as fate would have it, he decided to moonlight as a dance instructor in Fort Worth which led to the fateful meeting with a woman – who professed at the time to have two left feet – that changed the trajectory of his life forever. “Don and Maurine” became the foundational members of a family that grew to include a son (Clay) and daughter (Stacey). An amazing marriage that lasted 54 years, mom and dad worked to build a family where the sum of the whole was always greater than the sum of the parts.
There are so many stories that we’d like to share about a resilient and hard-working man, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a loyal friend but we’ll leave you with just a few, knowing that there’s a small hole in the goodness of the world that will be hard to replace.
Loyal and hard-working, dad spent 43 years working as a change control specialist at Bell Helicopter. A proud member of the United Auto Workers Local 317, he would never let us forget how fortunate our family was for him to have a job that he loved with a company he equally loved working for. His job allowed our family to travel across the western United States every summer – visiting almost every state and iconic tourist attraction west of the Missouri River. Wanting to give his family things he could only dream of as a child; we were truly blessed to have Christmases filled with love and presents – while never allowing us to forget the real reason why we celebrated the holiday.
An avid bird hunter, dad took extraordinary pride in training and hunting over his Brittany spaniels. The memories of crisp winter mornings in the fields and brush of West Texas as coveys of quail rose over the pointed noses of well-trained bird dogs are forever etched in our memories. He had an equal passion for fishing, filling summer days and nights with the anticipation of chasing and – most of the time – the realization of catching stripers and sand bass on Lakes Texoma and Grapevine. A man grounded by a strong sense of right and wrong, dad was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan until Tom Landry was unceremoniously fired during a transition of ownership. As much as we tried to talk him into watching and celebrating the Cowboys’ success in the 1990s, dad steadfastly refused to support a team he believed – fervently at times – had done an unspeakable wrong to a very good man. Ultimately a man of few words, he never passed up an opportunity to provide his measured opinion as to what his kids should do with our lives growing up under his roof. While he would allow us strike out on our own, the guardrails, oftentimes unbeknownst to us, and advice, grounded in his perseverance through personal hardships, never let us fail. Even though he didn’t say it often, the pride he had in his children’s chosen professions and the families they grew into was unmistakable.
As with our mom, who preceded our dad’s passing by two weeks, our parents’ combined focus on raising and supporting their family did not leave much room for a large group of social friends. However, if you made it into mom and dad’s circle of close friends, you were there for life. Unfortunately, just as the seasons pass with time, so did many of their close personal friends before the end of their lives. And while the opportunity to enjoy lake trips, church picnics, camping adventures, and reunions of all kinds had long since passed, the memories and joy they brought to our dad remained until the very end.
Dad’s passing closes the book on the foundational members of what we knew as the Padgett Family. Dad leaves behind two kids – and their families – that he loved unconditionally and a little white dog that he and mom paid too much for but remained a loyal companion to both of them until the very end. While we are heartbroken that dad’s mortal journey has ended, we are comforted by his faith and ours that we’ll see him again. Without question, our world is filled with a little less love, a lot less fatherly advice, and one less person tinkering on small engines and home improvement projects.
In lieu of flowers, our dad’s last request would have been for others to contribute to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation or other related organization to help find a cure for an insidious disease that steals the minds and memories of far too many loved ones far too soon.
Dad, you were an amazing person and we’re eternally grateful for the example you set in your life, the love you gave to our family, and for your service to our country. May your soul rest in peace…
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