Celebration of Life

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I recently attended a service at Clay City which was a bit out of the ordinary for me, but I must say, it was very mean­ingful and refreshing. Some might say it was a funeral service, but no, it was much more. It was a Celebration of Life. The life of a young man who served his coun­try in theViet Nam War with the Marine Corps, and who paid a high price for this service.

The young man was James W. Patridge, formerly of Sailor Springs. At the age of 18, while serving in Viet Nam, a land mine exploded and this brought about the amputation of both his legs and also damaged his eyesight.

Now one would have thought these very serious injuries would have left James with resentment and maybe even self pity. But no, according to his family and many friends who expressed their thoughts and accounts of their memories involving James, it was just the oppo­site.

It was so uplifting to hear all those who loved him talking about his unfailing love of others, giving little thought to himself and to what some called his mis­fortune.

Testimonies were given about his life by Marine Corps buddies, friends and family members. After hearing all their stories, I came to the conclusion that James, perhaps, didn't even consider himself handicapped.

He once decided to take up karate. Why, you might ask, would someone with no legs even consider this? Why? Because he was reportedly told he couldn't do it. He earned a Black Belt.

In 1986, James Patridge saved the life of a baby girl who had fallen into a fam­ily swimming pool. The story told about the accident relates how James reacted when hearing the mother's screams for help.

James maneuvered his wheelchair more than 80 yards toward the screams and when trees and brush blocked his way in the wheelchair, he crawled the remaining distance, about 20 yards, to the lifeless baby.

Most of you know the rest. James saved the baby's life. Well, that baby is now about 26 years of age and living in Effingham. Her name is Jennifer Kroll and through much effort she was located and agreed to attend the celebration Sat­urday at Clay City. Seeing and hearing her expression of thanks for what this remarkable man had done, made the whole story come to life.

For around two hours we heard fam­ily and friends tell their stories about this selfless, loving and remarkable man.

One had to hold back tears on occa­sion as some tales were related, but James also had a sense of humor and delighted in practical jokes, so laughter was also present.

A truly outstanding human. A true Celebration of Life. James W. Patridge, dead at the age of 63. He was buried at Diliman Cemetery with full military rites attended by Marine Color Guard and several Clay County Veterans in addi­tion to many friends and family mem­bers.

Until Next Time... Rena Lents Thomas