2023 HOMETOWN HERO-MARVIN MITCHELL & ROBERT DEAN DILL

Thank you all for attending the East Liberty Memorial Day Ceremony this  morning. I want to thank the Wood-Rosebrook Post of the American  Legion and the Perry Township Trustees for hosting this important occasion. Before I begin in earnest, I want to acknowledge the passing of Kenneth  Peter, a longtime East Liberty resident and veteran of the US Army.  Kenny was an invaluable resource over the years for information on the  various Hometown Heroes we have honored here. He will be missed. What is it that draws us together each Memorial Day? Over the nearly 10  years that I have presented the Hometown Hero address, there has certainly been time to contemplate the question. Each year, I apprise and  remind you of accounts of patriotism and persistence…of dedication and  duty…and of the sacrifice and service of those heroes who walked the  side streets of East Liberty or lived beyond, in the fields of Perry  Township.  For many of us here though, those concepts from the accounts I just  mentioned will only ever be figments of our imaginations. My hope up  here has always been that of presenting an image of a life we will never  live and of places we will never go. In doing so, we can collectively thank  God we will never have to.  However, there certainly have been and are those who have served in this  nation’s armed forces without the funny story or the terrible sacrifice to  go along with it. These individuals have protected and served us citizens, nonetheless. For them, military service is just part of a whole, where  patriotism, devotion, and community become the definition of a life well  lived. This year we honor two of these who served this country and this area in  more ways than one.  The first was born October 18, 1921, in Colorado. But he found his way  to Ohio and was a graduate of the Rushsylvania High School. He served  his country in the U.S. Army during World War II after he was drafted at  the age of 20 in 1941. He was stationed in England with the Medical  Corps. After the war, he came back and settled in East Liberty, and on  July 31, 1948, he married the love of his life Flo Jean. They had two children, John and Janet.  While owning and operating Mitchell’s Service Station here in town,  Marvin Mitchell or “Mitch” as he was called by some, serviced numerous  of the town residents’ vehicles so that they could get to their jobs and  transport their children. Truly, while working at the station was his business, he also thought of it as his hobby. A devout man, Marvin was  a long-time member of the East Liberty Church of Christ. He retired at  the age of 73 to lovingly care for Flo Jean for the next 15 years before her  passing in 2009. Marvin Mitchell died on July 5, 2016.  Our second was born September 22, 1929, in East Liberty and was a 1947  graduate of East Liberty High School. After high school, Robert Dean Dill served his country in the Korean War, in the U.S. Air Force. On  January 2, 1953, in Richmond, Indiana, he married the former Evelyn  Yvonne Herford. “Bobby Dean” and “Eddie” as they were known, owned  and operated Bob’s Meat Market for 35 years here in East Liberty.  Together they had three daughters, Barbara, Belinda, and also Brenda,  who preceded him in death. In 1998, Bobby ventured into the realm of local politics and ran for Perry  Township Trustee. The citizens voted him in. Dill served as Trustee until  late June 2003 before his health prohibited him from continuing to serve.  Just two weeks later, Bobby Dean Dill died on July 8, 2003. These two men were the very manifestation of what the American Spirit ought to be. Exemplifying that Spirit, Mitch and Bobby Dean gave us  numerous gifts during their lives, but I am going to highlight three today for you that each of us can attempt to manifest in our own lives. The first is patriotism. Of course, these men served our country during  her time of need, that is why we honor them today. However, their fidelity to these United States continued after they stopped wearing the uniform.  Bobby Dean ran for office and, as I am sure our dutiful current  officeholders can attest, served in the thankless but critical local  government position of Township Trustee. In fact, Bobby Dean’s  obituary stated that he would “be remembered for his pride in Perry  Township.” Marvin always valued kept faith with his fellow veteran Don Johnston,  without whom, I would have never learned what chewing tobacco was. The second is devotion. Serving in this nation’s branches of the military  certainly is a prominent example of the devotion these men had to  America. But that devotion spilled over into other facets of the lives.  Combined, these two men were married to their respective spouses for  nearly 110 years. What an achievement and testament to the vows they  gave to their spouses! That is not to say all 110 of those years were easy.  Indeed, I am sure there were challenging days in those marriages, but the  unions persisted nonetheless. We all know that the institution of marriage  on the issue of longevity has suffered greatly in recent decades. Here were  two men whose dedication to their wives helped to weave the very fabric  of East Liberty and Perry Township as we know them today. Finally, is their sense of community and its importance. Each of these  men lived here for practically their entire adult life. They owned  businesses here. They raised their families here. They served and did  business with this area’s residents.  Marvin was an elder in the East Liberty Church of Christ and served in  that capacity for many years. This sense of community for Marvin meant going above and beyond to  assist customers when they needed it. A longtime current East Liberty  resident told us a story about when he was young newly-wed who had just  started a new job. He was waiting on that first paycheck when he found  his vehicle needed 4 new tires. The man went to Marvin who told the man could make payments on the tires until he got on his feet.  And for Bobby Dean, serving as one of the initial cogs in the veritable  machine that is our food production economy was a job that likely went  underappreciated. Think of how the last few years have changed what we  think about our food and where it comes from. Bobby Dean also  sponsored local ball teams that were quite competitive as I understand it.  While seemingly such a simple thing, sponsoring athletic teams gives kids  who, in some cases may not have, the opportunity to be a part of a team  working towards a common goal. If nothing else, it gets those kids out of  the house for a few hours. Our country’s old friend Prime Minister Winston Churchill said, “We  make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Marvin Mitchell and Bobby Dean Dill each gave to East Liberty more  than any 10 of us likely ever will. They started when they put the uniform  on and each of them continued to give and invest here to their very last  day. What have we given? Probably not enough. Perhaps a more palatable  question is what can we give? My friends, if we can give a fraction of  what Marvin and Bobby Dean gave, we will leave this community better  than we found it. We can run for office, we can start a business, we can renew in our hearts  the promises we made to our spouses, we can hire a veteran, we can  sponsor a ball team, we can help a neighbor out, we can go to church, we  can buy local, we can give without expecting anything back.  Pope John Paul II proclaimed, “The future starts today, not tomorrow.”  Let us endeavor to emulate the patriotism, devotion, and sense of  community of this year’s Hometown Heroes and let us start today. As we leave here, I hope you thank God our country and community had  such men as Marvin Mitchell and Bobby Dean Dill. We can all agree that  the likes of them are too few and far between in 2023.  Thank you all and may God bless you and these United States of America 

Speech by Tyler Hall