Paw Paw - Marion Haney

Obit

Marion Ned Haney 87, of Ardmore, AL died Thursday, June 18, 2020 at his home. Born Wednesday, February 22, 1933 in Limestone County, AL, he was the son of J.E. "Stump" Haney and Jessie Fainer Dildine Haney. He was a member and deacon of Wooley Springs Baptist Church. Marion retired after 20 years of service at Wolverine Pipe Co. He served in the US Army from 1953-1956, and was a member of the Optimism Club of Ardmore, AL.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and 5 brothers, Ronald, Hubert, Bobby, Dennis, and recently Nolan; and 2 sisters, Nadine and Sherry.

He is survived by his wife, Edna Durham Haney, my Nanny. A son, Joe his wife Darlene, and two sisters Diane and Donna and their husbands Barry and Jackie. And all of us grandkids. and a growing group of great grandkids.

He is also survived by 2 brothers, Cloyd and Jimmy, and four sister in laws Jean, Jean, Gwen, and MaryAnn.

A SON

I can’t tell you what kind of son my Paw Paw was. I haven’t heard too many stories about him getting into trouble when he was young. Maybe some of you could enlighten me later! But I did get to hear the love he had for his mom and dad. I may have never gotten to meet my great Grandparents on the Haney side, but I know that my Paw Paw thought the world of both of them because up until the last conversation I had with him, he was still telling stories from his childhood about them.

A Brother

I can’t tell you what kind of brother my Paw Paw was. Though I’ve heard stories about how hard it was back in the old days especially growing up with 10 kids in one house. He made sure and tell us every Christmas how when he was young one year all he got was a pocket comb. I don’t know how he treated his brothers and sisters, but I have seen the love he has had for each one as his heart has been broken with each sibling he has had to lay to rest.

A Husband

I can’t tell you fully what kind of husband my Paw Paw was. But I can say that he and Nanny have been married _____ years. I know those years haven’t always been easy. Being married to a Haney man is hard work! They have shared stories about when times were tough for them.

I haven’t been here for all _____ years, but I have gotten to witness the last 33. If you knew my Paw Paw, you know he wasn’t the most affectionate man. I don’t remember seeing him fawn over Nanny in front of us or sneaking a kiss from her before dinner. But we all knew that he had her back. At the end of the day, he loved you, Nanny and you know that.

My favorite recent story is from Mother’s Day. You may not know this, but Paw Paw refused to celebrate Nanny on Mother’s Day. He would remind her every year, “You’re not my mama. Why would I buy you a present?” But this mother’s day was different. I think Paw Paw knew his time was drawing close and he knew he couldn’t go out and buy Nanny a gift or a card, but he wanted her to know he loved her. This Mother’s Day he told Nanny: “Every year, I tell you the same thing on Mother’s Day: You’re not my mama. But… I guess you’ve done alright.” That may not sound that romantic to you, but that was Paw Paw’s way of saying I love you. You have been a great mom to our kids and have cared for me well in the last few years when I needed you. He loved you Nanny. We all know it.

A dad

I don’t know what kind of dad Paw Paw was. I didn’t get to see him playing with my dad and aunts when they were young. I didn’t get to hear the things he taught them and the way he loved them. But I saw the love he had for them now. He wanted to know what they had going on and, though he was getting older and more feeble, knew he could still help by shedding some wisdom on their situations from time to time.

And I see the kind of dad he was by seeing the way my dad has raised me. The legacy of good fatherhood was passed on to my dad. And I hope I carry that banner well in my life and pass it on to my son as well.

A granddad

I may not know what kind of son, brother, husband or dad my Paw Paw was, but I DO know what kind of granddad he was.

I remember watching him tinker with things that didn’t run right and working in the garden or in the yard. I remember seeing him as a pretty tough guy. As a kid I thought he was probably the strongest man alive!

But I also remember sitting in his lap when I got to spend the night and him teaching me words out of the dictionary that he kept by his chair, doing crosswords, word finds, and looking through the TV Guide. He was a tough man, but he always had time for us grandkids.

I remember watching him wittle. And I remember him getting frustrated trying to teach me cause I was butchering that good piece of cedar!

I remember him letting me and Matthew hook a trailer to the lawn mower and ride around in it long before our parents would have been OK with it.

I have a lot of memories, as we all do.

But the one memory I will treasure most about my Paw Paw happened just about a year ago. I went by randomly one day to see them and Nanny wasn’t home. She was shopping with Aunt Donna (shocker). I couldn’t remember the last time me and Paw Paw talked one on one. Usually Nanny was there too. But I stayed that day for at least an hour and a half or more. He talked the whole time.

He told stories from the Army. He told stories of his parents and grandparents. But we spent most of our time talking about Jesus. Paw Paw told me about how Christ had changed his life. He had tried to do things his own way for far too long, but he remembered surrendering to the Lord, being baptized, and beginning his walk with Jesus as a husband and dad.

Paw Paw didn’t doubt his standing with God. He knew that his life was radically different than it would have been had God not saved him. He was confident and knew that if he were to breathe his last, he would be in the presence of the Lord because Jesus was the Savior of his life.

He wasn’t without regrets though. He hated that he couldn’t go to church anymore. He missed so badly worshiping at Wooley Springs with family and friends. He missed being involved in ministry there and helping others in need.

He also felt somewhat unworthy of God’s grace because he hadn’t shared his faith with others as much as he wished he had. He even regretted that he didn’t talk about Jesus more with us as we were growing up and now to the great grand kids. I assured him that I felt the same way and many others were just like him in that! We all can look back at missed opportunities and wish we could have a do over.

Paw Paw’s time to share his story with others has come to an end. But I today get to be his do over. Because I know the regrets he had, I know that my Paw Paw would want you to know that the same Jesus who died for him died for you!

You see, God created mankind to be in perfect relationship with him. But our sin messed that up. And we, as humans can’t stop sinning so we can never have that perfect relationship on our own. We are always dirty sinners before a holy and perfect God. All the good deeds we think we can bring before him cannot fix our problem. We are hopeless on our own and deserve to be separated from God forever.

But God didn’t leave us there.

Romans 5:8 CSB

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus, the son of God was born and lived the perfect life that you and I couldn’t pull off in a million tries. And then he died the death that we deserved! God placed all the sin of man within his body. Jesus in that moment felt the guilt and shame of every sin! And he died.

But God didn’t leave him there either! God raised him up on the third day so that we too might have life.

Salvation can be thought of as the Great Exchange. All of our sinfulness is placed onto Jesus and God gives us the perfect life of Jesus. You see, my Paw Paw and I share something in common… We exchanged our sinfulness for the righteousness of Christ. When God looks at me, he doesn’t see my sin, he sees the perfection of Christ. When God looked at my Paw Paw early on Thursday morning as he breathed his last, he didn’t see all the regret and mistakes. He saw the perfection of Christ.

If my Paw Paw could tell you one thing before you leave it’s this… You can be changed by Jesus just like he was! He probably regretted not telling you himself. But I believe that’s what my job has been here today. If you have questions or want to talk about how to do that, I would love to share with you how!

This is something that changed my Paw Paw’s life and it can change yours too.