Community Blog Series

Reflections for Father’s Day 2018

June 11, 2018 by Dawn Lee Wakefield

I must admit, when Father’s Day rolls around, I’m reminded that my dad is not here for me to honor him in person, a situation that many of friends my age now encounter. I lost my father in 2004 but it feels like yesterday. He was only 48 and I’d been around for half of his lifetime. Rather than reflect on his loss, I prefer to remember him often, especially Continue Reading…

Graduation is a Time for Making Memories

May 21, 2018 by Dawn Lee Wakefield

Right between high school proms and summer break, there is an important rite of passage for our community’s young adults to mark their transition into adulthood. High School graduation is often one of the most exciting times in a twelfth grader’s life. Not everyone fits the mold, though, of when life moves on. Some high school students graduate early, turning 18 as a junior as they’re anxious to move on Continue Reading…

Mother’s Day Celebrates All Kinds of Mothers & Unconditional Love

May 7, 2018 by Dawn Lee Wakefield

Hallmark Cards doesn’t make a Mother’s Day card for some mothers who I believe deserve special recognition and celebration. Most of the commercials we see on TV for Mother’s Day show the stereotypical happy home of Mother, Father, and children. They’re in a restaurant, or they surprise Mom with breakfast in bed, the usual delightful displays of respect. The child makes a drawing or handprint or clay object as their Continue Reading…

Softly Call the Muster — Aggie Traditions Runs Deep

April 24, 2018 by Cody Jones

Although not the first meeting, by 1922, those who love Texas Aggies began gathering each April 21 to remember fellow Aggies who’d died in the preceding year. Names are read aloud; the answer: “Here.” Gone, but never forgotten. That’s one of our prized traditions. This past weekend at Reed Arena, the Brazos County A&M Club honored our local residents among the total 1612 Aggies who passed away this past year. Continue Reading…

As School Semester Draws to an End, Spring is in the Air

April 10, 2018 by Cody Jones

We’ve had an amazing start to 2018 in the Brazos Valley. Progress is around us everywhere you look. The long-term construction project to improve Bryan’s College Avenue is giving all of us a welcome facelift. Bryan is about to celebrate the newly restored Queen Theatre downtown and everywhere we look our neighbors are sprucing up their homes for Spring. Recently, the Texas Aggie student body likely beat last year’s record Continue Reading…

Bright Future Ahead: Inquiring Young Minds Ask Great Questions

March 12, 2018 by Cody Jones

Is it hard to deal with death every day? What do you find rewarding about your profession? How much do funerals cost? Do you bring your own clothes? These and about 30 more questions were offered by close to 450 of Montgomery High School’s students last week in their Health Science Symposium. I’d been invited as a guest speaker to talk on what a funeral director does, and I was Continue Reading…

Sharing Our Bryan College Station Success Story with NFDA in Florida

February 26, 2018 by Cody Jones

Last week, I was invited to St. Petersburg, Florida, to present “A Funeral Home Facelift for Today’s Family,” at the 2018 National Funeral Directors Association Cremation Conference. As one of seven speakers from Massachusetts, Utah, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin, I spoke with pride about our Bryan-College Station location, with others in small- to mid-sized firms. We discussed design changes that can be made outside, as well what mastering modern-day technology Continue Reading…

Thoughts of Martin Luther King Today

January 15, 2018 by Cody Jones

As a nation, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day on the third Monday in January, just as we celebrate the birth of George Washington every third Monday in February. Celebrating on a predictable annual Monday of a month allows civil service workers to have a true three-day holiday, but this year, our holiday coincides with Dr. King’s actual birthday. Recently I read the full transcript of Dr. King’s “I Have Continue Reading…

Reflections On This Very Special Year

December 18, 2017 by Cody Jones

You have officially one week before Christmas is in officially your memories category, stored in the “windmills of your mind,” the way one of my grandfather’s favorite old songs went. Almost as quickly as it comes every year, I am amazed at how quickly the evidence of Christmas gets stuffed back into boxes, swept up, and stored again until next year. When I was a child, Christmas seemed to last Continue Reading…

How to Get That Christmas Spirit, Even If You’re Not Ready

December 4, 2017 by Cody Jones

I know. We’re barely past Thanksgiving and all of a sudden, we’re supposed to forget that and now prepare for Christmas. There’s an entire checklist ready to follow. Holiday cleaning, decorations, tree up, lights up, photos taken for holiday cards, stamps bought, and the list of what to purchase for whom. Check. TV commercials pelt you hourly with sales. Ready to run away from it all? You wouldn’t be alone. Continue Reading…