An honor to the pharmacy profession

To the Editor:

Pharmacists as do most professions have an unwritten brotherhood because we all face or have faced the same problems. There were those long hours of study and poverty in a difficult school. Then there are difficult people we all have to deal with at times as well as the problems with modern technology, insurance companies and our government.

A few years ago we lost an older Pharmacist Brother named George Walker. I took notice that there was hardly any mention of him in our local paper. I felt the need to write to remind people of a wonderful man that was always kind and did much to help the people he served in his drug store. Unfortunately I failed to honor my friend.

I was just informed that another of my brothers in profession, and brother in Christ was taken from this life. Cecil Vincent Jr. (Puxico Drugs), who followed his beloved father into our profession, found life's slings and arrows to be perhaps insurmountable. All of us face a life that is unfair and have problems; however some of us suffer more than others. My friend Cecil defeated cancer twice in his young life and has had it to deal with in other loved one's lives. He continued on with an ever smiling face bringing God's love to others in his large group of friends and patients. I believe that God's grace through the Holy Spirit picks us up and carries us sometimes to the other side when we feel weakened by our enemies. We humans cannot see the enemies the other fellow is facing.

My friend taught me to keep smiling while trying to learn from mistakes and you always have a friend in Jesus if you will turn to him. However even our Lord accepted deliverance from this sometimes unfair world to be with God while leaving us a life to emulate.

I pray all those Cecil gave comfort to in this life to be present to greet him in the Promised Land.

Rest in peace old friend, may you be blessed for all of those nights you got out of bed to get medicine for your large clientele. You have honored our profession. May God comfort your loving family.

Jim Dille

Pharmacist

Poplar Bluff, Mo.