Gerry (Paul) Mccormic
To my only Sister Judy: Today is a day of remembering for us all. There are no words to express the loss we all share, but we are a strong family and can climb high mountains. Love overcomes sorrow, and we have lots of love.
Growing up with "Gene Paul" and always being known as "Gene Paul's" sister was a trip. Sometimes I would be mistaken for Gene and he for Gerry since we both had boy names. We were always blessed by our childhood friends and their families. I think we spent more time at the Banning home than we did our own. We had hard working parents who supported us in everything, from school plays, football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, school projects....and on and on...even though they worked long hard hours at the LRPA they managed to NEVER miss a basketball or football game.
We always had a dog of one kind or another, but there was one very special one. He was an old white one named "Teddy" that was our best friend when Mama would get the switch after us for a number of most undeserving incidents. The front door steps were the best place to sit and hug Teddy and tell him of the injustices we faced. Of course when we crawled up under the side of the house and Aunt Susan caught us with matches just as we lit the fire, we were really taken to task. Then there was the old Mulberry tree in the back yard that yielded a delicious berry from which Mama created a juicy berry pie. However, shoes were not a necessity of life for me, and when I walked bare footed over the fallen berries it was not a pretty sight. Then there was the large chinaberry tree that stood majestically about three feet off the back corner of our house. It proved to be a refuge for us since we were the only ones brave enough to tackle it. It was very easy to climb to the top and see the top of the Old Courthouse across town thus out of reach for those who might wonder what we were going to do next. However, the year we had a bad hurricane the wind blew and blew, and then all of a sudden we heard a slight increase in the wind and looked out the window just in time to see it gently and swiftly fall to its demise. Of course I would be remiss if I didn't convey one last event that could have prevented me from being here to write this little dissertation. Gene and I were just little fellers staying with our Aunt Jenny while Mama and Daddy went grocery shopping on Main Street in Tavares. A family friend came to see our parents and Aunt Jenny let us go with him to see if they were still at the grocery. He took us to town to meet them, and left us in the his car while he went in to see if they were still in the store. Meantime, Chief Messer, the local policeman, was approaching us on his official bicycle. Gene had just discovered a toy pistol under the front seat of the car and was pointing it at the Chief to shoot him. Then his little mind changed directions and he pointed it at the window in the old Grocery store and told me to duck....luckily I did and the bullet grazed my shoulder...that was when we realized it was not a toy.
These were just a few of the things that make for memories. However, the best memory of my brother is that he was a loving, caring man who really didn't want anyone to know it. He liked to play the hard parts, but inside he was very kind and generous, especially anyone who needed help in any way. He and my husband, Paul, were the very best of friends all through school and we both will miss him terribly. To anyone who reads this I would like to say that if you have a brother like mine, cherish it and don't forget to tell him you love him.
