Posted on 09/26/2006 9:08:06 PM PDT by TexasNative2000
A friend died today.
To much of the world, Byron Nelson was "Lord Byron", record-holding golfer, philanthropist, and gentle soul. To me, he was my friend, Mr. Nelson.
Mr. Nelson and I attended the same church for a number of years. It was a large congregation in Fort Worth and it held a special place in his heart. He was particularly fond of beautiful singing and that is what brought us together.
His lovely wife Peggy sang in the chorus of our Christmas show each year - my wife sang on our Praise Team. Sometimes we would be at the church building waiting for our wives to finish rehearsals and we would have a few moments to chat.
He was the most humble man I have ever known. He spoke of his history in golf readily, but only when asked. What he most wanted to talk about was his love for his wife Peggy and his devotion to the Lord.
Mr. Nelson devoted thousands of hours and donated millions of dollars worth of publicity to worthy causes in the Dallas - Fort Worth area. Everyone knows about the Byron Nelson Gold Tournament held each year to benefit the Salesmanship Club of Dallas. What you may not know is that Mr. Nelson donated his endorsement and often times his attendance to dozens of local charity golf tournaments throughout the year. He was a great ambassador of the game and an even greater ambassador for his Lord.
Byron Nelson played golf professionally so he could earn enough money to buy a ranch. Once he had earned enough, he retired - at age 34. His focus was golf, but his goal was his ranch.
One evening, as we were leaving the church building, I asked him if he had enjoyed that evenings singing. He replied, "I did enjoy the singing. Don't we have a great God?" What a great summation of his life. He focused on enjoying life and blessing others, but his goal was to know the Lord.
Welcome home, Mr. Nelson.
Tiger Woods calls Arnold Palmer "Arnie", Jack Nicklaus "Jack", but has always called Byron Nelson "Mister Nelson." I think there was a reason for that.
Mr. Nelson has had some discussions with young Mr. Woods regarding his language on the course.
To FlyVet's post above, I believe many are beginning to call him Mr. Woods.
Wonderful gentleman, great American, and a stunning golfer.
Won ( 11 ? ) 13 in a row in one season with 18 total wins ?
"I don't know very much. I know a little bit about golf. I know how to make a good stew. And I know how to be a decent man."
-Byron Nelson, 1997
Thanks for your personal tribute.
Thank you for your personal testament about Byron Nelson. Glad you posted it.
Also, thanks for this post about Tiger's "humanity." I am apparently the only person on the planet who gets aggravated with him, so it's good to know he has a flaw.
My kind of people. : )
Thank you for the wonderful tribute.
Thanks for your kind words.
Bump
Several years ago, on a Sunday evening, I visited a small church in Roanoke, TX. After the worship service, an elderly gentleman who was sitting in front of me turned around to introduce himself to my family and me. Byron, who extended his right hand and simply said "Hi, I'm Byron". For his age, he had a rigid grip. He asked the typical questions, "How are you doing" and "where are you from?". He was genuinely interested in our well being and if we had need he or the congregation could fulfill.
Several years later I was doing volunteer work at a children's home in Keller, TX. I learned that he was involved and contributed to their work.
Those that I've know who have had one to one relationship hold him in the highest regard for his righteousness, generosity, sincerity and compassion. Coincidentally, he was a great golfer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.