from THE EDITOR: It Was Good for My Dear Father

DWIGHT FLOYD
THE EDITOR
http://sportsedit.org/?p=1849

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- When he was born the midwife attempted to name him Willow, after the tree, but somehow the spelling became Willer. Such a unique name it was, perhaps even backwards by way of intent, yet in his life Willer Aldrich Floyd brought dignity to the name. One of nine children, son of a sharecropper, he married the girl of his dreams, served in the military, graduated from college, and taught life skills throughout his professional career.

Willer was blessed to have others in his corner from childhood forward. As he told the story his teacher went out into the field and asked his father if Willer could go to school full time and skip tending to the family farm. Willer was a little guy and his younger brother, K.P., who would grow to be much bigger than him, told their dad that in exchange he’d skip school and carry my father’s load. It was a tremendous sacrifice by K.P., but truth is even without a primary education the younger brother was able to own and run a successful automobile towing and mechanics business.

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