"Old Man" Helps Church

I made a similar post the other day in honor of my paternal grandmother, but this one is about my paternal grandfather. He was the only grandfather I knew, as my mother's father passed away several years before I was born. The following article was printed in a local newspaper in 1967 and was found by my brother while cleaning-out our late-parents' house. The article is very tattered, so I carefully typed the text of the article here as a way to preserve it as well as share it.

Old Man J, that's what W.J.J. likes to call himself, has been a member of the local Methodist Church for about 42 years.

During this time he has served as Sunday school superintendent, treasurer, a member of the official board, and "dishonorable janitor," he said.

In his 42 years as a church member the 80-year-old man has helped build an addition to the church, supervised the construction of another addition, and "made something in nearly every room" of the church.

Last Sunday the members of the Methodist Church turned out in force, along with members of his family, to honor Old Man J.

The service was a "This Is Your Life" type program of his near half century of church work. And it was all a complete surprise to him.

The service had been arranged to coincide with the family's annual reunion. Ten of the 12 children were here along with some of the 22 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Everybody knew about the service, except Papa, as he was called by his family.

"That was a complete surprise, a complete surprise. I've never been more surprised in my life. They mentioned my name, and I like to fell off my seat," he said.

"I've seen some folks taken down on TV but I never dreamed it would happen to me."

Though he's served in almost every position in the church, Mr. J.'s biggest contribution has come from his first love — woodworking.

"I like shop work better than anything," said Mr. J., a retired railroad worker. And in his shop he has made cabinets, tables, book cases, and a choir robe rack for the church.

But now that the church has been remodeled, "They've put fine touches on it and kicked some of my stuff out."

He plans to keep on building things for the church, something he does without being asked. "When I see what they have to have, then I just build it."

"Now I've got to build a fancy closet out back of the church to put tables in. The ladies have got so fancy they can't have the tables out in the dining hall when there's a wedding or anything."

Though he has been treasurer of the church for 13 years, Mr. J. said he likes his janitorial work the best of all.

"I really get a kick out of keeping the church clean. I've tried hiring people to keep it up, but they just wouldn't keep it up good. I had to fire them."

He gets paid a little something for being the "dishonorable janitor," but Mr. J. does his work as church treasurer for free.

"I can't give as much as some of the well-to-do folks, but I can give my time," he said.