Steve Hamlyn's Funeral

I got news of the death of an old client that I considered to be a friend even though I hadn’t see him in awhile or even very often. The news has troubled me ever since and even after the funeral I still think of him. I think about him a lot. I guess you could say that I’m a little surprised about those feelings.

Steve Hamlyn typified a lot of what I like about South Texas. He worked in the oil field all his life and on the side he had a place where he raised Santa Gertrudis cattle and that’s how I got to know Steve… helping him “work” his cattle from time to time. I had forgotten that I had taken my son with me to help but Steve would routinely ask me how Walker was doing.

Anytime you saw Steve he would be wearing his cowboy hat and cowboy boots and wearing a khaki long sleeved field shirt with a skoal can in the pocket and taking a dip from time to time. Steve talked kind of slow and was quick to laugh at a joke. He also wrote poetry… he was a cowboy poet.

Once we quit doing large animal work I didn’t see Steve that much. Most of the time when we ran into each other it was at one of the local BBQ joints. I was always glad to see Steve and it seemed like he was always glad to see me.

Steve and I both liked Texas history. His great great grandfather was a Texas Ranger and my great great grandfather served under a famous Texas Ranger during the Civil War. We could talk Texas history.

When I attended the funeral at one of the local Baptist churches it was about what I had expected… a parking lot full of pickup trucks and attendees wearing hats, boots and blue jeans. There were also four Veterinarians in the audience of about 300. Dennis Denman, Pancho Hubert, Tobin Pennington and myself.

I had known Steve for a long time but always wished I had known him a little better and after the funeral I thought I did. His daughter got up to speak and she reminded me of my daughter… she was articulate and spoke well and was at ease with the audience and put the audience at ease and just did a fine all around job of describing her daddy. It made me wish that I knew her a little better too.

I don’t know what God’s judgment day is going to look like but if God asked me to sit next to him (maybe on his left side) and when Steve Hamlyn’s turn came up that maybe Jehovah God would turn to me and ask… Rob what do you think about Steve Hamlyn? I guess I would respond… Lord God Almighty… if we can’t let Steve in who can we let in?