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Mopick - Posted - 07/11/2012: 05:08:29
You all have heard me talk about him on here from time to time but I never really went in to it much. His name was Gaylon, and he was a captain of industry, agriculture and finance.
I've known him since I was about 10 years old. My mom was a book keeper and she met Gaylon at a time when he needed help with his business. She became his secretary / assistant. Gaylon used to take me riding around with him during planting season and we would get out and dig down into the dirt to see if the seeds were deep enough to be in the moisture, or too deep.
When I got old enough, Gaylon put me to work as a bean boy, keeping the planter hoppers filled with seed beans, as a rice boy, walking the rice levees and making sure they didn't breech while pumping water in them. I fueled tractors and cleaned barns. I eventually drove a tractor.
Mom and Gaylon almost got married at one time but it didn't work out. Gaylon was always like a father and mentor to me. He was a true entrepreneur. I was blessed to have known him.
He had been suffering from congestive heart failure and other ailments for the past several months. He's been in the ICU at Cleveland Clinic for 11 or 12 weeks. He passed away last night at 77 years of age.
The last time I saw Gaylon. I went to my 30th class reunion in Poplar Bluff in 2007. Gaylon was in town and we met for lunch.
When I was driving a tractor for Gaylon in the 70's he was a big farmer. At that time he owned 32,500 acres and was the biggest rice farmer in Missouri. He grew some since then.
He was a big farmer and big man at 6 ft. 5 inches. He was a Korea and Vietnam Veteran, a fighter pilot.
Recently Gaylon and his son Gaylon Jr. were in a bidding war against Governor Charlie Crist in Florida to buy 181,000 acres of sugar land from U.S. Sugar. Crist wanted the state to buy the land and return it back to Everglades. Gaylon wanted to buy the land, keep people employed and return part of it back to natural wet lands. The deal never went through, but if you live in Florida you probably remember it a couple of years ago.
Here is an excerpt from the Palm Beach Post, Dec. 2008
The Lawrence Group represents the holdings of Gaylon Lawrence Jr., of Nashville and Gaylon Lawrence Sr., of Vero Beach. The father-and-son team made a third bid for U.S. Sugar Corp. in November. Here's a look at their holdings:
Florida citrus: 30,000 acres of citrus, primarily in St. Lucie and Indian River counties. Corporations include Premier Citrus Packers LLC, Premier Citrus Marketing LLC, Premier Citrus Management LL, Premier Land Acquisitions LLC.
In less than 10 years, Premier has become the state's largest producer of fresh fruit.
Farmland: 150,000 acres of farmland in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi. They grow cotton, soybeans, rice, wheat and corn.
U.S. Airconditioning Distributors, City of Industry, Calif.: The world's largest privately owned heating, ventilation and air conditioning distributor with $600 million in sales. It operates in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Florida.
Banking: The Lawrences' first bank was founded in 1988; they now own five community banks with 15 offices in northeast Arkansas, southeast Missouri and Tennessee.
Sources: The Lawrence Group; U.S. Air-conditioning Distributors; Farmers Bank and Trust.
Edited by - Mopick on 07/25/2012 04:34:52
banjoy - Posted - 07/11/2012: 05:28:31
Wow. Gaylon sounds like he was a wonderful person to know and have in your life. I'm glad and appreciate you are able to share this story of this big man here. I'm sorry for your loss.
It sounds to me like he was truly loved. My condolences to you, and Gaylon's family and friends.
Edited by - banjoy on 07/11/2012 05:29:23
roxygrl - Posted - 07/11/2012: 05:30:38
It’s so good of you to write of your friend, you know, I and many folks here can sense your sadness, he by your account was a good fellow and will be missed very much, my sympathy to you at this time, I think that’s great picture of you both.
Mopick - Posted - 07/11/2012: 05:50:35
I worked for Gaylon to earn the money that I bought the motorcycle that I lost my leg on. He insisted that we get a good helmet and he bought me a Bell helmet. I was working I bought the motorcycle in Indiana and we hauled it to Illinois on a rack on the back bumper of mom's car. Gaylon was in Illinois at one of his farms and I put the motorcycle in the back of his pickup truck and we brought it to my grandparent's house in Missouri.
Later after my accident Gaylon drove me to Columbia Missouri in his Cadillac and put me in Howard A.Rusk Rehabilitation Center at the University of Missouri Medical Center where I went through physical rehab and was fitted for my first prosthetic leg. At the time of my accident they didn't really think I was going to pull through and Gaylon bought my best friend an airplane ticket to come from Texas.
Buzzsaw - Posted - 07/11/2012: 05:53:43
Sorry to hear of your Loss, thanks for sharing your story.
We All Need BIG PEOPLE in Our Lives, People We Can Look Up To and aspire to be like.
dingo - Posted - 07/11/2012: 05:54:26
Sounds like the world lost a really great guy.
pandjlocke - Posted - 07/11/2012: 06:06:35
Please allow Joyce and I to offer our condolences. Be well, my friend.
Mopick - Posted - 07/11/2012: 06:16:00
I was 14 or 15 years old and working on one of the farms wading rice levees. It was hard work, wading through knee deep water and ankle deep mud, fighting off snakes and mosquitoes. I had to make sure the water didn't go over the top of the rice levees and cause a breech. One of the tractor drivers had walked off the job and they needed a driver so the forman, Johnny Morgan (RIP) waved me to come over. He asked me if I had ever drove a tractor and I lied a told him I had. Well technically I didn't lie, I had driven small tractors and Gaylon had let me ride on the fender of a 4020 a couple of times when I was younger and watch how they were doing it, but this was a BIG tractor a 4630 John Deere with a cab and air conditioning. Johnny told me to jump on. I was going to pull a culti-multure which is kind of like a do-all. I came along behind the disc and broke up the big clods to prepare a good seed bed for the planter who who come along behind me.
So I climb up in the big tractor and closed the door and figured out how to start the engine. I turned the AC on cold and said, "Oh yeah!" I saw a red lever with a bunny rabbit and a turtle...ah hah. The throttle. I figured out how to raise and lower the implement (which lever was the hydraulics). The little tractor I was used to driving had a three point lift that was mechanical but the principle was the same.
A few rounds and I had it figured out. I was going pretty good when I saw a black pickup truck coming across the field flashing his lights at me. It was Gaylon. "Oh man, back to the rice levee," I thought to myself. I stopped the tractor and climbed down to learn my fate.
Gaylon stood there and looked at the field and said, "Looks like you're doing a good job. Climb back up there."
I was a tractor driver. Yes! And with air conditioning.
Mopick - Posted - 07/11/2012: 06:27:21
Gaylon was a prime example of the American Dream. He served in the Air Force in Korea and Vietnam. He got a small loan to buy his first farm after he got out of the service and went on to be a very successful business man.
His favorite thing to do when he came over was to kick off his muddy boots and put on the record of the soundtrack to the movie "Giant." That was his favorite movie and his source of drive and determination.
He used to give me 5 bucks to clean and shine his muddy boots.
Edited by - banjomikey on 07/25/2012 14:13:41
Ev - Posted - 07/11/2012: 06:28:47
Sorry for your loss. Sounds like you have a lifetime of memories to cherish.
Mopick - Posted - 07/11/2012: 06:41:02
Gaylon had one of the first true mobile phones. This was in the late 60's. I guess it was really more like a marine band radio. It looked like a telephone handset but it had a button you would have to press to key the mic to talk. When you were calling him you would dial 0 and ask for the mobile operator then give the telephone number. Gaylon's was YK8-9500.
Calling from the truck you would just lift up the handset and when the operator came on you told her the number you wanted to reach.
fivebranch - Posted - 07/11/2012: 07:52:02
My condolences Randy. Gaylon seems like a straight up kinda a fellow. From what you've posted it sure looked like he thought a lot about you.
Mopick - Posted - 07/11/2012: 07:56:52
I owe him so much. I moved to Florida in 1985, him and my mother went separate ways and I didn't have much contact with him. In the picture above I saw him in 2007, he told me he was proud of me. That meant a lot.
banjoy - Posted - 07/11/2012: 08:03:02
As funny as it may sound to you ... it means a lot to me that you are sharing this here. It is very moving to get to know this fellow, just a little bit, through you. Thanks for that.
KE - Posted - 07/11/2012: 08:06:02
It seems the man left a good part of himself behind in you. That's as close as you can get to being immortal.
Banjo - Posted - 07/11/2012: 08:40:52
Sorry
Keith Madison - Posted - 07/11/2012: 08:51:51
sorry for your loss/best
Frisco Fred - Posted - 07/11/2012: 09:06:05
...beautiful tribute Randy
Gaylon was lucky to have known you
dawgdoc - Posted - 07/11/2012: 09:18:28
Randy,
My deepest sympathies. Sounds like he brought you a lot of joy and that can never be lost. Be well.
Mopick - Posted - 07/11/2012: 10:13:09
I'm waiting for his obit to come out. Here's the first news blurb I've seen.
dddnews.com/story/1869320.html
Edited by - Mopick on 07/11/2012 10:27:16
Sheldon - Posted - 07/11/2012: 11:09:47
From inferences in another thread, it sounds as though Gaylon was a member of the class of the hated rich !?!?!?!?!
I'm sorry you didn't have more time with him.
Sheldon
Mopick - Posted - 07/11/2012: 11:15:59
quote:
Originally posted by Sheldon
From inferences in another thread, it sounds as though Gaylon was a member of the class of the hated rich !?!?!?!?!
I'm sorry you didn't have more time with him.
Sheldon
I was restraining myself from jumping in that other thread. Gaylon employed so many people and / or directly affected people's livelihood. I'm not sure he could be counted as the "hated rich" though since he did the hard way by working and making it himself. He wasn't born with it or didn't marry into it.
mbuk06 - Posted - 07/11/2012: 11:58:58
You have my condolences at this difficult time. Losing the people that guided us and taught us what it is to live is the hardest thing we ever go through. Go easy.
country frank - Posted - 07/25/2012: 04:52:34
Sad times Randy but happy memories. Hold on tight to those and deepest condolences to his family.
rinemb - Posted - 07/25/2012: 04:54:38
We are now at that age where we expect to lose those friends and family older than us, but it is still a sad occasion. I am really getting fed up with the number of family and friends my age or younger that are passing.
Randy, its the measure of a man to have left the impression behind that you share with us.
Brad
figmo59 - Posted - 07/25/2012: 14:03:47
Sorry fer ya Randy...
Loosin sumone ...sucks....
