5 minute read
Happy 104th Birthday, Mr. Vickers, and Thank You for Your Service!
Resident Feature by Liz Burnett
Photos courtesy of The Vickers Family and also courtesy of Shannon Lynn Photography www.ShannonLynnPhotography.com
On November 11, 1915 (Armistice Day then; Veterans Day now), Henry Eugene Vickers was born at his family’s farmhouse in Oakmont, PA. He was the youngest of seven children born to Harry and Laura Vickers. When Eugene (the name his parents and siblings preferred for him) was a small boy, the family built and moved to a new home on Ellis and Darby Roads in Havertown.
Eugene attended Oakmont Elementary. In 1933, he graduated from Haverford High School, where he ran track and hurdles. He then attended Wheaton College in Illinois, where soccer was his sport, and History was his major.
Before attending Wheaton College in Illinois, and after he graduated from Wheaton in 1938, he attended Philadelphia School of the Bible (currently Cairn University). After World War II, Eugene was employed at the college for almost 45 years. He served in several different positions: Director of Admissions, Director of Alumni, Soccer Coach, and in his semi-retirement years, Director of Evening School. He greatly enjoyed interacting with the students and attending their sporting and social events. Many of those students are still in contact with him today. As you read on, you’ll understand why. But first, let’s return to the WWII years.
Lt. Henry Eugene Vickers and his wife Betty Dunn Vickers, May 1943
Photo courtesy of The Vickers Family
Eugene met the love of his life, Betty Dunn, when they were children and both attended Grace Chapel of Havertown. They got married at that church in October 1941. Eugene’s parents were charter members of Grace Chapel, and Eugene served there in several capacities including Youth Director and Sunday School Superintendent. Grace Chapel is still his beloved church today.
Eugene and Betty had been married only two months when Pearl Harbor was attacked in December 1941, and the United States entered WWII. Eugene enlisted and left his bride Betty so he could go serve his country. He entered the Navy as a Lieutenant, and was sent to Harvard for training required to serve as a Communications Officer. He was also assigned to serve as Chaplain when he arrived on the USS Ganymede AK-104, a troop ship that was part of General MacArthur’s fleet.
He later served as a Signal Officer on the USS Panamint AGC-13, performing assaults, capturing Okinawa and Le Shima Islands, and fighting in the battles of Iwo Jima and New Guiana. Their ship was under heavy attack from Japanese suicide bombers (Kamikazes), and torpedoes from enemy submarines, at one point for 35 straight days! Eugene’s ship was finally ordered to go ashore, to see if there were survivors from the devastating aftermath of the US atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that finally ended the war. The USS Panamint also escorted General MacArthur’s Second in Command to Alaska, to verify that the Japanese were surrendering and complying with the peace agreement there. When someone asked Eugene if his many near-death experiences caused him to panic, without hesitation he promptly answered, “It really didn’t disturb me that much because my confidence was in the Lord.”
Eugene and daughter Betty Jean at his end-of-war homecoming December 1946
Photo courtesy of The Vickers Family
In 1946, Eugene returned to the loving arms of his wife Betty and their then-3-year-old daughter Betty Jean. They all settled into a modest home in Oakmont, where two more daughters, Barbara and then Brenda, soon filled the house. In 1955, the Vickers family moved to a brand-new Cape Cod-style home in Newtown Square. Theirs was the first home on an unpaved, desolate street named Overbrook Drive, close to Delaware County Christian School, which Eugene and Betty and several other families had helped found in 1950 and which the Vickers girls would attend. Shortly after moving into their new home, Eugene and Betty welcomed their fourth daughter, Beverly, into the family.
Eugene was a hands-on Dad, spending time with his girls, always eating family dinner together, playing softball on the lawn, helping with homework, reading Bible stories and praying with them before tucking them in at night. Through his example, he taught his daughters that “The Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
Eugene has lived for 64 years in that same green Cape Cod where he and Betty raised their girls. He greatly misses his dear wife of 66 years since she went to Heaven almost 12 years ago. His large extended family is still growing: He has 11 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Eugene Vickers’ Family December 2016 (7 babies since!)
Photo courtesy of The Vickers Family
Every centenarian has seen a mind-boggling amount of social and technological change, and has probably experienced many of life’s “ups and downs.” Eugene, whom we Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors readers have come to admire and respectfully refer to as “Mr. Vickers,” has a perspective on life that’s well worth hearing about. When asked to tell us about one of the most fulfilling parts of his life, he said:
“Many facets of my life were very fulfilling: Serving my country, marrying my sweetheart, raising four wonderful daughters, and last but most importantly, imparting the Biblical philosophy that has been a constant in my long life: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your life” (Proverbs 3:5,6).
Remember the Bible college students who still keep in touch with Mr. Vickers? We think they’d say their loyalty started when they met and discovered him to be a man of integrity, honesty, morality, humility, and a sense of humor. Mr. Vickers says if that’s how others see him, those qualities are simply a reflection of his lifelong faith in Jesus Christ as his Saviour.
Eugene Vickers (center), age 100 (Nov 11, 2015) with his four daughters (left to right): Brenda Aungst, Beverly Sparling, Betty Jean Park and Barbara Moore Vickers
Photo courtesy of The Vickers Family
After a fulfilling life of so much service to others, Mr. Vickers will celebrate his 104 th birthday, Monday, November 11 (the observed Veterans Day this year; how appropriate!) by riding with his family in a luxury bus to Washington, DC, where they’ll attend a ceremony to honor him, and a Navy Admiral will present Mr. Vickers with a plaque that will be placed inside the WWII Museum.
We ended our chat with Mr. Vickers by asking what advice he’d give young people who have their whole lives ahead of them. He eagerly shared words that have worked well for him his entire life:
Let's All Send Mr. Vickers a Happy 104th Birthday Card and Thank Him for His Service!
Mr. Vickers, Newtown Square’s oldest Veteran, will celebrate his 104 th birthday on Monday, November 11th. Let’s make this birthday extra-special for him: All Newtown Square residents are urged to mail him a birthday card by Thursday Nov 7 so it reaches him by Saturday Nov. 9 because Monday Nov. 11 is a postal mail holiday.
Mail Your Birthday Card to:
Mr. Eugene Vickers, 281 Overbrook Dr, Newtown Square, PA 19073
