My life began October 27, 1935 in Bain, Minnesota, as the 10th child of William Bryan and Ariel Susannah Baty. I enjoyed my childhood, being raised in a small country town. There I was free to roam the countryside with my slingshot and dog by my side and that is one of my favorite childhood memories.
When I was 22 months old, a sister, Rachel Ann was born and we became constant companions. With such a large family we even shared a bedroom at one time.
My family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, when I was a teenager. It was there that I met Virginia M. Wilson born February 27, 1936 at a Jack Schuller citywide revival crusade in February 1953. We sang in the choir together and my sister, Grace, introduced us. We quickly fell in love and were married November 6, 1953.
We moved to Marion, Indiana following our marriage, so I could attend the Wesleyan College there. While in school, I worked at the RCA factory, TV bulb division. However, in 1959 our family moved back to Lincoln, NE.
We became parents of five children, three boys and two girls, Duane, Robert, Dale, Barbara and Opal.
Our children all got married and have their own families. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of them all. We currently have 13 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren, there’s more on the way.
When we moved back to Lincoln, I tried several avenues of employment, including selling cookware, Rainbow vacuum cleaners, laying brick, and selling insurance. However, after some time I became a carpenter and did that line of work for most of my life. Due to a job lay-off in Lincoln, a friend offered me a job framing houses in Olathe, Kansas and we moved there in 1977.
In 1982 I was injured in a construction accident that severed the artery to my right lower leg. After two years and 10 surgeries, I was given a 50 percent disability in that leg. At that time, other work was hard to find. I had sharpened circular saw blades for my boss, so decided to pursue that field. I attended the Belsaw Sharpening School in Kansas City, MO and workman’s compensation put me into business. David Baty Sharpening Service has been my source of income ever since.
Virginia and I are active members of College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe, KS. I sang in the choir and served as a secretary in our Sunday School class. I also “minister” to several elderly gentlemen in a coffee group that meets regularly. My hobbies are fishing and hunting and watching any type of sporting event. I also loved to go bowling in my younger years (I had to quit at 70).
God has been good to us. Recently, I told my son, Duane, that I did not know why God loved us so much. He replied; “that is the mystery of God’s grace.”
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