Ammon Titus Memorial Dedication

Commemorative Tree and Chair
Originally uploaded by Sally Ann.

The Lindley-Presho Elementary School presented a Memorial Dedication for Ammon Titus today.

For the last few days the weather had been very un-Spring like, cold and rainy, but today, the day of the Ammon Titus Memorial Dedication, a late warm May Spring had returned. When I pulled into Lindley-Presho I could see that the Dedication service was well attended. And why shouldn’t it be? We were there to honor a man who represented the best of us.

During the ceremony several people who knew Ammon gave tributes to a man they all knew well and admired; Harold Semple, Town Supervisor, Pete Watson, Director of Transportation for the district and Matt McGarrity presently the Director of Personnel but who had been the principal at Lindley-Presho and had gotten to know Ammon, but one local fellow, David Ballard, who’s been the school’s custodian for years, gave a speech that spoke of who Ammon was. David’s words truly captured the content of Ammon’s character.

David started by saying that “Yes, Ammon was truly loved by all of us,” and then he looked out at the crowd sitting and standing in a semi-circle and said, “And Ammon loved all of you. Ammon was a man who loved people.”

David went on and said: “As I was unlocking the building one morning, I looked up at a banner that said, ‘Character Counts’. I thought of Ammon and how he fulfilled all the traits that exemplify a man with good character. Ammon was highly respected and he respected others. No matter who you were or what your views might be. You could count on Ammon because he took his responsibilities seriously when he farmed and especially when he drove a bus. Maybe some mornings it was cold and miserable and his old bones ached, but he always met the challenges of the day. Ammon was fair. He was definitely one of the fairest men I knew. He would never cheat you of anything. He would cheat himself first. He often did things for others for free, whether it was helping someone with his truck, his time or plowing out driveways. He never turned anyone down.

Honesty. Ammon was a very honest man. You could trust him with anything you had. Citizenship. Ammon showed good citizenship. He served his town as a councilman for years. He cared about his town and he cared about the people in his town. And Ammon was a tolerant man. Nothing seemed to worry or upset him. And then I thought he must have been a tolerant man. He drove bus for years, and everyone knows the kind of tolerance you need to drive a bus with all those kids.

This last character trait seems to sum up who Ammon Titus was inside. Ammon truly cared about people. He was a very caring person. A man who would do anything for you. He was always putting others before himself. And he never wanted to hurt anybodies feelings. Ammon would often say, can’t we figure out how everybody can be happy.

These are just a few of the great character traits that Ammon had. That’s the reason we’re here today to honor Ammon. He will always live on in our hearts and minds. And today May 26, 2005, we would like to officially dedicate this tree and chair in memory of Ammon Titus. Shall we take a moment of silence as we reflect and remember Ammon.”

At the end of David’s speech, he asked how we could best remember Ammon. He answered by saying that we could sing the song, For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow, along with the Lindley-Presho Choir.

One of the finest moments during David’s speech was when he recited the following poem:

Love lives on forever
In each memory and thought
Of the special ones
Who meant so much
And the happiness they brought.

Love lives on forever
It will never fade away
For, in our hearts,
Our loved ones
Are with us every day.

We would all like to thank the staff at Lindley-Presho Elementary School where Ammon spent the better part of his life for putting on the Memorial Dedication.

Click on the photo in this post and go to Sallyann’s photostream for more pictures of the event. Other’s took pictures as well and when they are developed I’ll post them.