Today, May 28, 2015, I drove to Natchitoches, Louisiana, to meet with my brother and the attorney who is working on my mother's succession. As I reviewed the summary, I was amazed at what these two humble people had accomplished with so little and I was simultaneously saddened that their lives were being summarized with four pieces of paper.
Since Mother's death in October, I have missed her while also having a growing sense of responsibility about what is done with their resources. Today, I realized that the world would not be impressed with their worth -- I didn't say "net worth" as they never had any debt -- but I knew their true worth, and I was aware of the frugality and discipline of their entire lives.
In the meeting, I cried and felt the weight of those incredible residuals of their labors. The sadness was lifted as my brother and I began telling stories about our parents. Each of us remembered the same events in the context of different life experiences but we laughed and loved and remembered.
In the end, I was grateful that Carolyn and I had completed endowments in San Antonio for our fathers and in Natchitoches for our mothers. It is a joy to know that their names and legacies will survive through ten generations and more.
I smiled as I remembered the Wirt Bellue and Billy Dick Holly Distinguished Annual Lectureship in Patient-Centered Medical Home in San Antonio and the Marie Cobb Bellue and the Irene Woodruff Holly Distinguished Scholarships at NSU. I remembered Carolyn's face when she, in total surprise, saw her mother arrive for the presentation of the Carolyn Bellue Holly Distinguished Professorship in Teaching and Learning at NSU, and that face was and is worth the world to me.
Tonight, my heart soars with joy and gratitude. My memories are filled with peace and love for my Mother and Father, and for my Wife, and for her Father and Mother. I thank God for my brother and his wife. We completed a succession with giving and gratitude and without a selfish thought.
God has blessed us all and we thank Him. Our parents have taught us how to live and how to die with dignity and goodness. Now, it is our turn.
Larry Holly
James (Larry) Holly, M.D.
C.E.O. SETMA
www.jameslhollymd.com
Adjunct Professor
Family & Community Medicine
University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio School of Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Internal Medicine
School of Medicine
Texas A&M Health Science Center
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