Mr. Truman S

Truman Lawson Laminack Sr., our Dad, was born July 23, 1918 in Heflin, Alabama and joined the Lord Jesus on March 1, 2014. He was preceded in death by, his wife Mildred E. (Smith) Laminack, and 5 brothers and 4 sisters. Mom and Dad were married for 55 years. As a young boy his family left Alabama and moved to Randlett, Oklahoma. Presently he has a younger sister, Helen, and brother, LeRoy, still living. Dad was a hard worker with a vast amount of knowledge about most anything one could do with their hands. He instilled in us the value of work and making an honest living. He set the example for us to follow. As a farm boy he grew up working in the fields. He joined Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corp as a young teenager. The young men that joined that program worked 40 hours a week and got paid $30 monthly. $25 of the $30 was sent home to help support the family. He was the third eldest of 10 so there were still 7 children at home to be cared for. He later joined the Navy and ended up in a Blimp Squadron that provided Submarine patrol for departing ships. While serving in this capacity he flew in and out of Hitchcock, Texas and would party in downtown Houston. Dad met Mom on one of those party trips at a place where she worked and the rest is History. He married her and was faithful to her for 55 years. She passed away in December of 1998. Truman Jr. was born while Dad was out of the country and dad did not see him until he was almost nine months old, such was the life of military personnel back then and even today. We like to think of him as an iron man. He had been through so much like falling off the Red River Bridge as a teenager and the tractor he was driving falling on him, logs rolling on his ankle and crushing it, two hip implants, a stroke, a cracked vertebrae in his neck and we could go on. He walked on a knee that was basically worn out. He refused to have it replaced, nor would he use a walker. The cane was his support and an occasional shot in the knee, pain medications and muscle rub would keep him going. He survived and flourished after all that. He loved his independence and the ability to get in his truck and go to town sometimes 3 or 4 times a day. Even while in the hospital and hospice he frequently wanted to go outside and look for his truck. The cracked vertebrae from the car wreck in November, 2013, sent him into this most recent downward spiral. That wreck is ultimately what took him down. Dad, as we said before, was a very knowledgeable person when it came to working with his hands. He built two homes, one the family lived in until 1955 and then the home he lived in after retirement and until just recently. Dad was a very resourceful man; he once owned a paving business, resale shop business, body shop, 2 service stations/mechanic shops, and a wrecker service. His retirement was moving to Kenny and purchasing a short order café, service station, and mechanic shop. Mom and Dad enjoyed the socialization of friends at the café and Dad loved playing pool and dominos with them. Some retirement, but he loved it, Mom not so much. Dad was a fun loving person and loved to laugh and make others laugh. Unfortunately for Mom she was the brunt of many of his pranks. That poor woman never knew what was coming next. He had a good heart and would help people that were less deserving just because they asked. Even toward the end he was helping neighbors when he was the one who needed help. Truthfully he did not have the means to do so, but he did it anyway. It made him feel needed. If one saw him lately he likely was wearing a straw hat with a police badge pinned to the crown. The badge was from the 1950's when he served as an auxiliary policeman in Houston. That was important to him and made him feel special. He also had a badge pinned in his wallet for the past 50+ years; it too was from the same source. While that badge made him feel important it will always be a remembrance to us of a man of courage, strength, determination, honesty, loyalty and many more positive attributes. Dad leaves behind three children and their spouses, Truman Jr. (Susan), Pat Krupala (Paul), Jim (Sheryl), 8 grandchildren, and 9 great grandchildren. Dad will be missed and remembered as a wonderful father, grandfather and great grandfather. His memory will be cherished. Rest in peace, Dad, you will be missed. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Service Information

March 6, 2014 2:00pm, VA Houston National Cemetery