Dwight Orvin Teat

The Bible teaches us that life is a gift from God that is meant to be enjoyed. In Ecclesiastes we read, “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God” (Ecc. 5:18-19).

On March 22, 2007, our brother Dwight Teat lost a difficult battle to cancer and went home to be with his Lord. We remember Dwight as a person who did not take the life God gave him for granted. He lived every minute of it. The following is just a sample of some of the things he loved.

He loved canyons. Dwight was raised in a little community called Pine Hill, nestled in the Little River Canyon near Fort Payne, Alabama. He never lost touch with his people in the canyon. He went to every family reunion and stayed in touch with his classmates from school.

He loved cowboys. Everybody remembers Dwight’s bolo ties, cowboy hats, and Western wear. A little boy once asked Dwight, “Are you a real cowboy?” “No, I’m a wannabe cowboy,” he answered. Dwight probably loved cowboys because the best of them were the knights of the Old West, representing the kind of values he sought in his own life—hard work, chivalry, and honor.

He loved his country, devoting 20 years of his life to the Air Force and the Air National Guard. He also got involved in politics, and everyone remembers how he would stand by the interstate waving to cars as he ran for County Revenue Commissioner. Our nation has truly lost one of its patriots!

He loved his companion. When God made Adam he saw that it was not good for man to be alone. So the Lord vowed, “I will make him a helper fit for him” (Gen. 2:18). This is what Linda was to Dwight—a loving companion, an excellent wife for thirty years. He loved her very much.

He loved children. Dwight and Linda never had children of their own, but they enjoyed their nephews and nieces, attending ballgames, birthday parties, and concerts. Also, Dwight never missed Vacation Bible School. He would take a week off every year to be there. He even knew all the moves to the “Hippo Song.”

He loved Christ. Dwight loved his Lord ever since he put on Christ in baptism at the age of fourteen. He attended every service until he was no longer able; he lived by faith; he was washed in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason we rejoice through our tears. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Ps. 116:15).

However much Dwight loved this life, he will love the next one more. He was a Christian, holding in his heart the hope of “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4). God be thanked for giving us songs in the night! We grieve because Dwight is gone, but we rejoice that he is inheriting his reward!