One Of My Heroes Has Died
I have mentioned before that when I first started out preaching, I was dumb as a rock—and that’s a compliment. Hopefully, I have grown to at least be a pebble.
I was blessed to have four men in my life that became my mentors, teachers, and heroes. They were special with their own individual gifts. The third one has just passed away. His name is Joe Fitch. The men who were instrumental in my development are my dad, Dee Bowman, Joe Fitch, and Dan Shipley. Dee and Dan have passed away and on Tuesday, April 16th, Joe Fitch joined them. He had fallen and hit his head. It was a life ending injury. Now, only dad remains (my hero of heroes).
Joe came into my life very early in my preaching, within the first two years. He was at Twin Cities in Bryan/College Station, and I was in Oakwood. I would often drive and study with him. He moved to San Antonio. Shortly after, we moved to Del Rio and I continued to travel so that I could study with him. He taught me how to study and how to work through a text.
When we first moved to Del Rio, upon arriving I was told I would be teaching the adult class Sunday morning. It was the Friday before and I had no idea how to do it. In my first two years, I had only taught an adult class one time covering Acts 7 (you’d have to work hard to mess up Acts 7). In an anxious state, I called Joe and told him I didn’t know what to do. I managed to get by that Sunday, then went to San Antonio to study with him. I returned home more at ease. Three weeks later, I would study with him again. And one more, three weeks after that. That turned into visiting him every three months. I would go, take my cassette recorder, and hit record as we studied together. Then I’d take the recording home and study through what we talked about. Over the years I would intermittently see him and study with him. It was rich.
Fast forward to the past few years, he and his lovely wife, Laverne, have lived in an apartment in Little Elm. Time, busyness, and life got in the way of that continued time together. A few years ago, I was able to start visiting them again. This time we talked more about memories and life. One day he asked me if I would like his library and all his notes that come with that. “Of course!” I jumped at that. Gratefully, I had the opportunity to tell him multiple times how thankful I was for him and how much I loved him. Joe wasn’t the gushy type, but he would tell me, “I love you, Rick.”
Joe had the ability to see through a text and also see through the problems of people. He never stopped being a student of God’s word. He was wise, kind, and served God’s people. He was very longsuffering with me and I am beyond grateful God brought him into my life.
Dee, Joe, and Dan were all a great influence on me. I believe I have a little of all of them in me. I’m grateful for everything they’ve done for me or taught me. I miss them dearly.
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