Gary Burch
Dear Mary Lee,
Luther always loomed largely in my mind. After we lost our dad Brenda and I always looked forward to our summer trips to Texas. One of the highlights for me was the time I spent with Bertha and Earl, and interacting with them, and Harold, Nell, and Luther. Luther was the most exciting to me as a kid. He drove the fastest cars, played sports, and alway had the most pleasurable laughter in his voice. One of my favorite memories was sitting next to him in a car as we made a harrowing trip from Grandpa and Grandma Burch's Gainesville house straitening all the curves on that old gravel topped dirt road to Uncle Buck's farm near Tioga.
Another fond memory was when galley repairs on my first duty station in Sasebo, Japan forced us to eat at mess hall on the base. Luther's ship, unbeknownst to me, was anchored in the harbor. He was on the base being held for transportation to the States for discharge at the end of his enlistment. At the entrance of the mess hall there was a table just inside the door. As I walked in there sat Luther looking right up at me. We couldn't spend much time together because he was finishing breakfast, and required to return to the station for his transportation home. I don't remember a word we said, but I remember the joy I felt just seeing him. It was one of the loneliest times of my life, and I will always be grateful that the Lord arranged for our paths to cross at that remote corner of the planet and that particular time.
I loved Luther, and will always treasure the memories I have of him.
Sincerely,
Gary Burch (Luther's cousin}
