Dr. William Lynn Weaver (WW) and Kimberly Weaver (KW)

WW: My father was everything to me. And it’s actually kind of difficult talking about him without becoming very emotional. Up until, you know, he died, every decision I made, I’d always call him. And he would never tell me what to do, but he would always listen and say, ’Well, what do you want to do?’ And he made me feel that I could do anything that I wanted to do.

I can remember when we integrated the schools, that, there were many times when I was just scared, and I didn’t think that I would survive, and I’d look up and he’d be there. And whenever I saw him I knew that I was safe. You know, I always tell you that your momma is the smartest person I’ve ever met, but I think my father ranks right up there as brilliant.

When I was in high school, I was taking algebra, and I was sitting at the kitchen table trying to do my homework. And, I got frustrated, said I just can’t figure this out, I’m just, so my father said, ’What’s the problem?’ He came by and said, ’What’s the problem?’ And I said, ’It’s just algebra.’ And he said, ’Well, let me look at it.’ And I said, ’Dad, they didn’t even have algebra in your day.’ And I went to sleep, and around 4 o’clock that morning he woke me up and he said, ’C’mon son, get up.’ He sat me at the kitchen table and he taught me algebra. What he had done is sit up all night and read the algebra book, and then he explained the problems to me, so I could do them, and understand them.

And to this day, I live my life trying to be half the man my father was. Just half the man. And I would be a success if my children loved me half as much as I love my father.