J. D. Briggs

J.D. Briggs, 92, passed away, Sept. 19, at a hospital in Clifton, Texas, after a brief, and unexpected illness. J.D., was born August 5, 1913, in Pickton Texas, far in the ?sticks? of East Texas, at the time, among a throng of seven brothers and sisters. The family lost their parents to illness, just a year apart, when J.D. was a young teen, and unto his own death, he mourned their passing. With no social services at the time, to provide for so many orphans that far removed from the city, the group provided for one another, oldest to youngest, surviving on squirrels, rabbits, and water gravy. And survive, they did. Briggs rose from such severe beginnings through faith and family, but his first official ?cause?? in life was duty to his country, where he served in the U.S. Army, as a corporal with medical teams in the European Theatre, during World War II. He served as a member of ?The Greatest Generation,?? but his ultimate servitude was to Jesus Christ. He was a quiet-spoken man most of the time , but his convictions were always clear, from the Bible that lay open atop his kitchen table, unto the day he left for the hospital with severe abdominal pain, to his service to the Church. He never made much of it. Even his closest relatives didn?t know, that for 50 years, in any church he had ever attended, from Grand Prairie to Arlington to the Whitney area, he was the director of Christian Education --- not just one department, but directed Sunday School curriculum for the entire church. This remained the case, at age 92, where even recently, his typical, delightful whistle could be heard as he walked down the halls of Abiding Life Assembly of God Church in Clifton. He and his late wife, Sarah Lilly, worked for 45 years at Better Monkey Grip Rubber Company in Dallas, where their diligence was a constant inspiration to those around them, including his surviving brother, Ralph, whom they gave a place to live, so he could complete high school after ?the war,?? and who worked there as well. He had an affinity for all creatures, from stray dogs that crossed his lakeside property, to the cats that ran among his tomato vines, to his best pal, Buddy, a dog spoiled to the point of a bologna-only diet. J.D. was quiet, and spiritual, but his life was marked by a ?wicked?? sense of clean humor, juxtaposed with a constant pall over his parents? untimely death so long ago. Though he had no children, he had many in Sunday School in 50 years, to whom he offered the teachings of Christ, and his nieces, whom he taught the fundamentals of baiting hooks, scaling fish, watching for snakes, and swimming with caution. And every year on Mother?s Day, he would stand before the church, as the mothers and children stood for the annual appreciation before the congregation, and in his humble East Texas, accent, tell any child, young or old, among the assembled, to ?always appreciate your mothers, because you never know when you might lose them.?? His message and his ministry will be missed this Mother?s Day ___ and always. He is preceded in death by wife, Sarah Lilly, and seven brothers and sisters. J.D. is survived by one sibling, Ralph Briggs, of Arlington wife, Faye, several nieces and nephews, and his beloved best pal, dog, Buddy. Memorials: Abiding Life Assembly of God Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 361, Whitney, Texas, 76692.