In Memory of My Dad
Winford Amyx

October 10, 1918 to July 6, 1967

Time spent with Daddy remain my happiest memories. Daddy was very much a self-made man. He overcame the most humble of backgrounds and became one of the happiest men who ever lived.

He came to Ohio when he was around fifteen. It was in a church in Cincinnati, Ohio, that he met his future wife, my Mom Lucille Noe. After a whirlwind romance, they were married on September 10, 1935. The first three children arrived ... Frances ("Frankie") in 1936, Jimmy in 1940 and Gary in 1942.

    Then came World War II. Daddy was sent to Camp Perry for training as a United States Seabee under the Navy Engineer Corps. From there he was sent to Camp Parks in Stockton, California to await orders. Soon he was sent by Dutch trooper ship, The Brastagi, to Samar in the Phillippines, as a member of the 61 US Navy batt. (To see photos of The Brastagi, CLICK HERE).

It was the job of the Seabees to build airstrips, bridges and roads in these jungle areas, thus the Seabee slogan "We Build, We Fight".

When the war was over, Daddy returned home to the family who had waiting for him and prayed for him. He never talked much about these years. I think when the War was finally over, he was just happy to be home and would rather not dwell on the horrors he witnessed in the Pacific Theater.

But he was never allowed to forget, because while working in the swampy islands, he had developed a fungus-type skin condition known as "Jungle Rot" (soldier in Viet Nam often experienced the same condition). For the remainder of his life, his usually kept his fingers bandaged and suffered through this unpleasant condition.      

     

With friends in the Phillippines: (L-R) Paul Gossilin (Miami, FL), Paul Bieller (St. Louis, MO), Daddy, Curtis Andrews (Pamar, NC), Hugh Allen (Tallapossa, GA)
If you know how to contact any of these men, PLEASE E-Mail me!

Two more children arrived post-war: Linda in 1947 and me (Nancy) in 1956. Daddy loved his wife and children more than any man I've ever known. I think because his own childhood had been so turbulent, he was determined to make certain his children had everything in the world to make us happy. And it was not only material possessions. He brought love, joy and experiences to our lives. Every day was an adventure, simply because he made it so. To his children, he was truly our hero.

The whole family together, 1966:
Jimmy, Frankie, Nancy, Mom, Linda, Daddy, Gary)

Some of the things I remember about Daddy are funny. He called people by nicknames -- Skimp, Skamp, Squire. And he never knew a stranger. He'd walk right up to anyone and start a conversation. And within minutes, they'd think they had been life-long friends. Another funny thing I remember about Daddy was that he was a man of a million little expressions. For example, if he was telling something and Mom corrected him ("No, Winford. Jimmy said that, not Gary"), he'd just stop his story, look right at you and say, "Well, I'm the biggest liar in shoe-leather!" That always made us laugh, as only he could.

Daddy loved to drive, and every trip was an adventure. We would often go to visit Gary at collge. Sometimes at a moments notice! Daddy'd just come in from work and say "Pack a bag, Lou. We're going to Greenville". They'd take me and Linda out of school the next day, and off we'd go! One of our favorite things when we went to visit Gary was to go to the St. Louis Zoo. We also spent every summer in Florida. But even the small drives were made exciting as long as Daddy was at the wheel of the car. I remember going to the icecream shop on Friday nights and getting his favorite ... black walnut icecream.

Around the house, he loved working on some "home improvement" project, or working on his lovely rose trellis, which became well-known around our town. And he took us to the drive-in just about every week ... or at least whenever there was a new Elvis movie or a new western!

And every weekend, we'd go to the then-little-known restaurant in Kenwood called McDonald's and take them to a little park down the road to eat.

Fishing in our second home, Florida

And how he did love to eat! Mom never had to worry about what to fix for him, because Daddy loved everything she put in front of him. And best of all, he was very complimentary. He wold wasw always telling her how much he enjoyed a meal or how pretty she looked. The were so well-matched in so many ways, but especially with their giving nature and loving hearts. Whenever my parents heard of a child who needed something, they were right there. I can't count the number of Christmases when they would hear about a family who had fallen on hard times or had maybe lost the husband in the family, and they would go out and buy gifts and toys and food for the family. Once again, living up to his old Seabee motto ... "Can Do".

And most importantly, my parents were very loving with each other, and they let us kids see that. He would kiss her, and she would laugh, and they always seemed to be having fun. They were the best inspiration for wanting my own loving home. And their love, to me, was legend. Since his death in 1967 to now, Mom has not only never remarried ... she has never even dated anyone. As she always says, "For some, there's only one".

 

Christmas on Bacon Street, 1961 and The Last Christmas With Daddy, 1966

I had just turned eleven years old when Daddy died so suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 48. But I remember details about him as clearly as if they had just happened yesterday. I guess that's because we speak of him so often that his memory is kept alive always. Because I was so young and don't remember many of the things my brothers and sisters remember, I have been blessed that Mom has always kept Daddy an active part of our family still. And she is the BEST at sharing old memories in a way that has you believing you actually remember them yourself! Thank you, Mom! You don't know how important this has been to me especially.

My favorite picture of Daddy 'n me,
taken in the side yard at Lady Lake, Florida - 1963

I miss Daddy every day. But never more than on my wedding day. How I wished he could have been there (and that Steve had been able to know him). The morning of my wedding, I went to the cemetery and sat there at his grave for a couple hours just so I could feel that Daddy was a part of                                       my big day.

Daddy loved to build and work on houses. And I've seen a lot of his work around town. But I really feel that his family (Mom and us kids) remain his best monument. We are the legacy he would be most proud of because we are what he loved more than anything on earth.

"We love you, Daddy.
We miss you every day of our lives."