Our Dad, Haynes Hart, passed away Monday, April 27 after a long battle with dementia and other issues. He hated being alive in his earthly body as he couldn’t walk or talk. He is now whole and pain free and most importantly, he is with Jesus, Mom and the rest of the family. He was a very proud and strong man, a loving husband and father.

He was born in 1929 and spent much of his youth in a coal mining town in West Virginia. He left home at the age of 14 and joined the Merchant Marines and sailed around the world. He was in a shipwreck during that journey. He joined the Air Force at age 20.

We moved to Port O’ Connor in 1956 where he was stationed with the Water Transportation unit on Matagorda AFB. He did two tours in Vietnam where he ran a gun/ammo boat up and down the DaNang River.

He retired from the Air Force with the rank of Chief Master Sgt. and went to work for Marine Drilling where he helped design and equip rigs with a/c and electric components. While with Marine Drilling, he made several trips to the United Arab Emirates.

He served as boat captain for Walter Fondren on “Tsunami” and traveled the coasts of North and South America entering fishing tournaments. He also was a diver and often dove on shrimp boats to untangle nets from props. He did electrical and A/C work for people in Port O’ Connor.

He was a kind and generous man who would help anyone in need. We will miss him dearly.

Hayne’s Children
Linda (Kirby) Williams of Arlington, TX; Kathy (Kevin) Moleski of Pennsylvania: Richard Hart of POC; Keith (Derri) Hart of POC; 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

Ricky Pierce Stafford of Seadrift, Texas passed away peacefully on April 27, 2020, at his home surrounded by his family following a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease).

To accommodate Ricky’s friends and family during this time of social restrictions, Calhoun County ISD graciously accommodated the Stafford family with the use of Calhoun Sandcrab Baseball Field. The service was held May 4th, Interment followed at the Seadrift Cemetery.

He was born February 10, 1965 in Sugarland, Texas to Franklin and Peggy Stafford. Ricky graduated from Calhoun High School. He married his love, Kim Maddux, on July 2nd of 1994. Ricky was an avid fan of all sports, but Notre Dame was the team he yelled for loudest and proudest. As a sports enthusiast, Ricky shared his love for baseball and basketball with many young athletes as he coached their league teams. He also fulfilled a dream when he earned employment at Faith Academy as the Head Girls’ Basketball coach, taking them into the deep rounds of the play-offs for the first time in school history. Ricky’s long-term employment of twenty-seven years was within the Texas Department of Transportation and Calhoun County Precinct 4.
Ricky is survived by his wife of 27 years, Kim; his parents, Franklin and Peggy Stafford; sons, McCullen and his wife, Jasmine and McCade; daughter, McCall; sisters, Lori Thomas and Becky Ripple and her husband, Tim; along with many nieces and nephews.

Serving as pallbearers were Austin Ripple, Justin Ripple, Steven Tschatchula, Christian Litsey, Ron Holsey, and Bobby Key. Honorary pallbearers were all Calhoun County Pct employees, all TX DOT employees, and the many young people that he has coached over the years
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In lieu of flowers, an account had been set up at https://www.plumfund.com/memorial-fund/ricky-stafford to assist the family with funeral and medical expenses, donations may also be made at Grace Funeral Home. Donations in memory of Ricky can also be made to Calhoun County Little League. Words of comfort and peace may be shared with the family at http://www.gracefuneralhome.net

Amy Campbell McInnis, 42, of Seadrift, passed away April 8, 2020. She was born December 12, 1977 in Victoria to Michael Shane Campbell and Judy Mazoch.
She is survived by her daughter, Meaghan McInnis; sons, Mason Lane McInnis and Miles Vegas Beachey; father and step-mother, Mike and Vickie Campbell; mother, Judy Mazoch; brother, Michael Shane Campbell Jr.,; half-sister, Carolyn Campbell; step-sister Kristi Birdsell, and step-brother, Eric Suggs.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Our lives today are a bit more scattered than they were say three or four months ago, due of course to the world being on lock down due to the novel corona-virus. I take it like most major events in history; everyone will have a different tale of how it came into our lives, be it as simple as being upset with the lock down and the state of affairs to losing a loved one.

No matter what it is we feel we have lost, there is always a path we must follow if we are to let it go and keep going, for anything that feels like an actual loss, the term grieving usually suffices. Be it a minor inconvenience or a major loss, the reason we have the feelings we do is because there is indeed a sense of something being missing, like that weird empty hole in our gum lines as kids when we would lose a tooth; it just feels wrong.

I also think ‘how’ we grieve is just as important as how we live, and ‘how’ we move forward from such times are how we continue to keep on living as well.

Recently the thoughts above have been on my mind as two people who are very dear to me stand the chance of not being here this time next year, and although the causes of this are not related to the ongoing pandemic, the fact there may not even be services for those I might lose means it still does rear its head in this situation and could possibly make a bad situation worse. That got me thinking about how we process grief and I think like many things it can be a matter of experience. Personally, I have seen quite a lot of grief in a short span of time. It never makes it easier but having faced it before does make it so you know what to expect in those kinds of situations.

I suppose the method is an old one, tried and true and sound, although it does not take way any of the hard steps you must take to come out the other side of the unpleasant event, but it does lessen the blow that you take the first time you face major adversity.

Either way the road is rough, ragged, and full of dust, but it is possible to walk along and find an exit, and you start turning by finding the best and brightest bits of what it is that you have lost and making sure it never dies for as long as you remain standing on any road, any path, no matter how dusty and ragged it may be.

All that matters is that we continue to walk that road, step after step, day after day, lest we stop walking completely and that is worse than any other loss, the sense of self that is all we truly are and that anyone we care for would want to survive no matter what.

Thank the Lord that April is history! We experienced the same as the rest of society, but our workload was greatly expanded. I have never wanted to be a television or radio preacher due to necessity, I have been forced to put our services on Facebook. I trust they have been a blessing to all who could not come to the Chapel, but I am ready to close this chapter and begin a new one with all our friends and Chapel family back together! WHEN?
In April, we fed more people than ever in one month from the Chapel’s Pantry. We are grateful to many friends who have sent in funds or brought them by so we can have the monies to purchase all the extra goods. We also have had the hunters and fishermen who have generously provided from their catches. We have had one family who cleaned out their freezer and shared it with us. What a blessing! We have a family that brings “yard eggs” and garden produce here so we can share it as well. We are indeed a greatly blessed congregation!
We also have been able to do more work on the “Trailer Retreat Center” now that so many people are not working elsewhere. The deck, cover, railing and handicap ramp have been almost finished at this writing, and we are looking to do the electrical and plumbing by month’s end. We should have the six additional rooms ready, which will be available for the handicapped who want to come to our Retreats. Thank the Lord for people like Tom, Jackie, and Garrett who have come and provided so much labor!
We enjoyed a great Mother’s Day service with Pastor Joane preaching and each mother present receiving a special handmade gift.
We have been and continue encouraging people to come to the Chapel, as we have taken great steps to “social distance” and keep people from getting sick. Those who do not feel safe are welcome to continue watching all the service on Facebook. We offer the Bible Sudy time at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays, the 11:00 a.m. Morning Service, and the 6:00 p.m. Evening Service. On Tuesdays, we provide the opportunity to get in on Pastor Joane’s teaching in our Fisherman’s Bible Institute beginning at 7:00 p.m. On Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m., we minister at the Midweek Service.
We have had some difficulties with Facebook sending out some of the music, but we always provide a message we believe will help all of us get through these difficult days. There are those who continue supporting the Chapel with their gifts by bringing them by the Office or mailing them to P.O. Box 638, Port O’Connor, TX 77982. The faithfulness of God’s people always humbles me and I never take it for granted! Several others have supported the Pantry with food and finances, which is greatly appreciated.
We have several Retreats scheduled for next month and Captain Robert is to return for another Captain’s Class, which will begin on June 12. Those interested in the Sea Academy Classes should contact Captain Robert at 361/758/6184.
The Chapel is an interdenominational congregation whose goals is to see people blessed into God’s Kingdom. Everyone will find a warm welcome and you are urged to, “Come, grow with us!”