Delbert "Bo" and Bertha Gunn Gainer and their family ...
... came together at St. Paul on a Pine Creek hillside for a goodbye
By Bob Weaver 2007
It seems fitting, for many folks, to return to the earth in a place close to where they sprung.
So it was with Bo Gainer this Saturday, on the hill above Pine Creek where he spent his youth, and at at a place with which his family has been connected these past 100 years - St. Paul Church and cemetery.
While there is a social-economic trend toward not being rooted or connected to a place, some would find it comforting to gather on a hill with friends and family.
Surely, that was true in this case.
The old vets and some new soldiers came to honor their fellow soldier
Delbert "Bo" Gainer was born 73 years ago down on the creek, son of Crede and Phelma Hathaway Gainer. While he wandered away from Sunny Cal to be in the US Marine Corps and be a free-spirited bike rider traveling across the landscape, he always came back.
His son said "He could fix anything with a piece of baling wire. If it wouldn't run, dad would have it going." Rev. Donzel Wease quoted an old state road worker, saying "He was the best mechanic who ever worked here."
"We learned a lot from him. He was a good father," Bo's son told the gathering.
The "old soldiers" of Grantsville and Spencer's VFW came to give Bo a final salute, with his grandsons who have followed in his military footsteps.
We recognize in the current scheme, some people's lives seem detached as they move ahead in this world of opportunity and obstacle.
On the St. Paul hilltop, Saturday's gathering was far more meaningful.
Denver Gandee of Spencer gives final salute
Rev. Donzel Wease commits remains
Grandsons and old vets give honor
Readying for committal - flag is presented to Mrs. Gainer
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