The greater Rockbridge area lost two of its most stalwart citizens last week with the passing of Thelma Henson and J.D. Clemmer. These two humble individuals made a huge impact on their respective communities, touching the lives of innumerable people in a very positive way.

Thelma helped to raise generations of children in Buena Vista. The Rev. Scott Covington, pastor of Buena Vista Baptist Church who officiated at Thelma’s funeral, put the number at 250 for how many children Thelma had been a babysitter over the past several decades. The majority of those in attendance at the filled chapel of Bolling, Grose & Lotts Funeral Home Friday morning stood when asked by Covington to stand if they had been cared for as a child by Thelma or were a parent of someone who had.

One of 18 siblings in a close-knit family, Thelma never married or had children of her own but was considered family to those for whom she provided child care. A person of unwavering Christian faith, Thelma offered tender, loving care to and made a lasting impact on all of the children entrusted to her by so many families.

One of those children, Susan Gravatt, and her father Ron, offered testimonials of Thelma’s loving care during the funeral. “For our family,” said Ron, “Thelma was not just a babysitter, not just a friend, but an always-welcome member of our family.” Said Susan, “The scope of her love was so expansive that when I think about a world without Thelma, it actually does not make sense. A babysitter to so many people at one point in their lives, Thelma was like a family figure and permanent fixture, a grandparent who has existed before one’s own time and thus feels timeless.”

J.D. Clemmer, likewise, seemed timeless as he made a profound impact on the lives of all the folks he encountered through the years in the Buffalo, Collierstown and Effinger communities, as well as throughout the county. As Collierstown correspondent Deborah Potter McCormick writes in today’s newspaper, J.D. was truly a “community man” to those who knew him well. J.D. owned and operated the North Buffalo General Store and worked as a rural mail carrier for many years but he was best known for his service to the Effinger Volunteer Fire Department. A charter member of the department, he had served as its president and became its chief fundraiser and public relations man. As his obituary notes and folks here at the newspaper can attest, he was never without a book of raffle tickets, and few could refuse him.

McCormick recalls that the fire department became a “hub of community activity under J.D.’s leadership.” Every year around Memorial Day there was a twoweekend carnival and parade with chicken barbecues, midway rides and horse pulls. Other activities followed throughout the year, including hunters’ dinners, holiday dances, apple butter making and an annual Effinger School homecoming celebration. J.D. had a hand in all of these community activities.

His funeral over the weekend drew a large crowd, including fellow firefighters, from throughout the area.

“A devoted family man, J.D. was the catalyst for community service and good will,” McCormick writes. “We honor his example and will hold his memory close.”

Susan Gravatt noted that all of us would do well to follow Thelma’s example. “If we all lived just a little more like Thelma, the world would be a much kinder, gentler, loving place: her generosity and compassion were unmatched. May her memory remind us of the best of humanity and ourselves, encouraging all of us to love, give and do as Thelma would.”