He was employed by his grandfather at Joe C. Hall Concrete as an equipment operator. (from obit article)
gainfully employed, but apparently that was not enough
My guess is that he was only “gainfully employed” because he worked for a family member who felt obligated to him. He was probably unemployable to anyone else.
I worked in a plywood mill, long ago. Some of the guys were putting in forty hour weeks, but doing meth.