Wythe Prillaman

 Alton Wythe Prillaman

what many of us know as God

calls to us to be our better selves,

to release the Light within,

to help others know their own Light

and to help them when darkness swirls and blocks,

I only knew Wythe a bit,

though I know his daughter well,

and I can feel him live in the quality of the life

she gives to the world,

the quality of his life calmly, quietly, flowed from him,

usually with humor,

often with guitar and singing,

that quality of life obvious to me, 

even during the few minutes we visited together,

what a wonder he was to his devoted wife,

who completed him,

and made a partnership with him

that spread goodness to each other,

to their family,

to their friends,

to all with whom they came in contact,

Wythe lived the call to be good, to do good,

to reach out to others whenever and however he could,

to approach the world with love and openness,

openness to what nature could reveal, to the lift of mountains,

to the moments he could have with the mail person,

with his colleagues at work or from the Service,

with his grandchildren who echo him

in their gusto to do right,

to have fun, 

to be themselves,

Wythe knew the potential in people

and loved its revelation,

even the gifts offered after his passing

asked to go to encourage lives of service,

Wythe knew the potential in the situation for humor

and helped it arrive with a quick comment,

with a practical joke,

as the Great Beyond started calling to him

and decreased some of his connections of self with world,

Wythe got sweeter and sweeter,

making sure to tell family what he loved about them,

and what he appreciated about their becoming true to self,

those he touched loved him,

those they touched loved them,

calling them “adopted grandparents,”

appreciating the gift from them

of time, of love, 

sometimes of money when that was what was necessary,

that helped the other get through the day, the doubt,

and become again the better self that called to them

and that Wythe saw in them,

Wythe was of Light,

and though the body can no longer be with us,

his Light still shines bright

in the lives of all of us he touched.

by Henry H. Walker

January 31, ‘21