REVEREND: Andy Heffner of Ormsby always called the Rev. Glenn Hamilton a “country riding preacher.”
While saddened by the news that his longtime neighbor died on June 4, he enjoyed an article about Rev. Hamilton’s career in Thursday’s edition.
Andy explained the nickname, recalling that the reverend stopped at the house to welcome Andy and his wife when they first moved to Ormsby many years ago. He found out it was part of Rev. Hamilton’s routine — stopping at his neighbors’ homes every once in awhile to check on them.
Rev. Hamilton left an open invitation to attend his church, but, “He never put on fresh air on going to his church in Cyclone,” said Andy.
“He would say, ‘If you don’t have a church to go to, you can go to ours.’ That is all he’d say.”
Andy always appreciated that about the “country riding preacher.”
“Rev. Hamilton was a real great guy,” Andy said, adding that it’s too bad people wait for someone to die to talk about how great they are.
When Andy appreciates someone, he makes it a habit to “tell them what a great job they’re doing. To me, I think that they appreciate you telling them when they’re alive.”
He shared a funny tale of Rev. Hamilton.
The Greener family in Ormsby had a parakeet, and the reverend stopped in to visit Kyle Greener one day.
Suddenly, Rev. Hamilton heard “Want a beer? Want a beer?” in a female voice — but the only person he could see was Kyle. The bird then said, “Don’t fart around.”
“You just had to see his face,” said Andy. “He was shocked.” Rev. Hamilton took the incident in good humor.
“All the stuff that man did, it’s beyond me how he had time to do it.”
He remembers Rev. Hamilton would even carry a notebook around with him to write down prayer requests.
Rev. Hamilton truly cared for the people in the community, too, according to Andy.
He told the story of the day he stopped at Andy’s house after holding his first funeral for a child — a 10-year-old boy who died in a dirt bike accident. He told Andy to promise never to buy a dirt bike for his children, which Andy never did.
“He was very sensitive,” Andy said. “We always had a lot of respect for him.”
