Organ music appeals to local reader

November 20, 2009

Anonymous The Laurel Leader-Call Fri Nov 20, 2009, 09:55 AM CST

To the editor:

An editorial titled Organ Music by Tom Purcell appeared in a recent edition of the Laurel Leader Call. While I don't generally read editorials, this one in particular caught my eye because my older brother excelled in playing organ music.

In 1965 when Robert was 12 years old, my parents provided organ lessons for him. He had been playing piano since he was 6 but he took an interest in the organ at our country church in rural Mississippi. His organ instructor made playing fun and his ability just seemed to come naturally.

Also, in 1965, my parents relocated to a larger community to open the local music store. Very soon, Robert became the "organ-playing sales representative" that you wrote about in the editorial. He literally had the God-given talent and salesmanship to convince anyone that they could make the organ sound just like he could. The music store never sold Hammond organs, but did carry Kimball, Lowrey & Baldwin. At the time, those in Mississippi Music felt that the Thomas line was not the same quality as the others.

As an adult, Robert played the keyboard (you know the instrument that replaced the home/church organ) at Highland Baptist Church. His last performance was on December 15, 2008 - the final performance for The Living Christmas Tree presented by the choir of Highland. The next morning, while deer hunting on family land with his oldest son, he was killed in a hunting accident.

Thank you for the printing the editorial about Organ Music. The article could very well have been written about him specifically for our family.

He was a wonderful son, brother, husband and father, but for just a little while, he was "an organ-playing sales representative".

— Judi Lightsey McQueen

Laurel

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