IN MEMORIAM: David Allen Talley "Oh, take your time, don't live too fast Troubles will come and they will pass You'll find a woman and you'll find love And don't forget, son, there is someone up above And be a simple kind of man Big wheels keep on turning Carry me home to see my kin Singing songs about the Southland I miss Alabama once again And I think it's a sin, yes Would you still remember me? For I must be traveling on, now, 'Cause there's too many places I've got to see. But, if I stayed here with you, girl, Things just couldn't be the same. 'Cause I'm as free as a bird now. Sweet home Alabama Where the skies are so blue Sweet home Alabama Lord, I'm coming home to you" These are a few verses from songs that David Allen Talley listened to religiously. He enjoyed driving around town listening to "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird" while chain smoking and talking about the good old days. The good ol' days were the days with his Granddaddy Talley on the orchard farm in Locust Fork Alabama with his brother Don Talley, and his younger sisters: Dennis Rogers, Deborah Lewis, and Dianne Milam. This is where he labored in the hot sun picking peaches and apples with all of them, and hoping that Grandma Talley had made plenty of hamburgers for him once he was done. She would make a separate serving for him which was 10 burgers all to himself. Although he had a stable place to go to in the summers his home life was constantly on the move. His father, Allen Jerry Talley, was in the Air Force for 20 years as a Medical Laboratory Technician. His job had him travelling to various locations and every time he was reassigned his family had to come with him. David's journey started in Clearwater Florida where he was born on March 23, 1958. From there he was bounced around state to state. Learning new customs and places, and meeting many people along the way. I think that's the reason why it was so easy for him to make friends. He was never a stranger to anyone. He could strike up a conversation and then become your best friend within an hour if he felt like it. In his junior year of high school, David moved from Nobnoster, Missouri to Warner Robins Georgia where he attended Northside High school. He tried out for a weight training program and the coaches were very impressed with my dad's strength. They told him to go to summer football camp. That's where he became the best of friends with Larry Supik, David Edwards, Tony Davezan, and Steve Mitchell. When telling me this story David Edwards recalled seeing my dad for the first time. He was sitting in a recliner with both of his big arms on each arm rest stretched out. They were black and blue from the shoulders down. Even for a man as strong as my dad summer football camp was no joke. He started out on the Defensive line and the coaches switched him to offensive line. He played left guard and Larry Supik played right guard, so he my dad got to know each other a lot play by play in that hot summer in Georgia. David Edwards would switch off with them as he played defensive line and Tony Davezan would start the game off in special teams or as a running back. One Friday after football camp, Larry invited my dad out to his house where they would hang out in the field in their backyard. My dad was unusually quiet when he first moved to Georgia and his friends at the time didn't really know what to think of him. So to see what the "Missouri Mule" was all about, they decided to play a joke on him. He was naturally southern but had lived in Missouri for a while so he wasn't used to the usual southern pranks that these guys played. Keep in mind that Deliverance had just come out right before this had happened. The guys all started to talk so southern that the drawl was strong enough to give you the sinking feeling that banjos would start playing distantly in the dark of the night. Then one of them turns to look at my silent father and said, "Alright boy, since you're new to our little group we are gonna initiate you into our club. That means we gonna have our way with ya." My father was so afraid of what they might do so he didn't hesitate to stand up and run like hell away from these crazy Georgia boys. Of course all of them chased after him, but the fear in my dad's heart gave him unbelievable speed. Eventually they lost him and laid down in the field rolling on the ground laughing about it. Later that night they were cruising around town when Larry saw a flash of white come up from a ditch on the side of the road. They slowed down and low and behold it was Talley, scared and cold hiding in a ditch. From that day on they were as thick as mud. Playing football and going to Shakey's Pizza joint to enjoy a few cold ones and try to find cleaver ways to score free pizza. The best way I have heard of them achieving this feat was one of them would run out to a pay phone and order a pizza to-go. Of course they wouldn't pick it up and they would wait until the owner was fed up with customer not showing up to claim their food. He would then auction the pizza off at a lower price since it was no longer fresh and the group of rowdy teenage boys would bid and succeed in getting their drastically reduced priced pizza and a pitcher of Old Milwaukee's Best to wash it down with. A year passed and Steve Mitchell graduated before the other 4 and moved on to college. The year 1976 was David's senior year, and it was biggest year for Northside High school's football team. It was the time of year where once again Warner Robins high school and Northside faced off. Northside had lost against Warner Robins for about 8 years in a row. The game started off and both teams fought very hard. Northside was ranked 8 that year and Warner Robins was ranked 2nd so everyone expected the underdogs to lose. My father's team set the bar that year and after that they won against Warner Robins for the next 34 years. My dad graduated in 76 and was left with a decision. His father, Jerry, told him he could either go to college or the Army. So off to Georgia University he went with hopes of walking onto the football team and earning a scholarship. Unfortunately he wasn't able to. One day he was talking with Steve Mitchell who told him to come down to Troy State University (now Troy University) in Alabama and to talk with the coaches there about a scholarship. He did and he was put on the offensive line as a right guard with Steve Mitchell as his left guard. A familiar face was on the field with them, Tony Davezan who played running back and special teams in high school with them and was with my dad when they won the game against Warner Robins in their senior year. Steve and David played for the scout team when it came time for the defensive line to play against the offensive line. This was to prepare the defense for the games to come. Steve told me that one time when they were practicing they had to go against two huge defensive linemen that were transferred from Alabama University. They were transferred to Coach Bradshaw from Coach Bear Bryant due to bad behavior. As my father got down in his stance the two linemen were laughing silently to themselves. They thought he would be an easy little Georgia boy that they could mow down without any effort on their part. They were dead wrong. My dad was so clever and quick that he figured out he could dodge their forearm block by ducking down as short has he was (for a football player 5 ' 11" was short) and take out their knees and ankles. Breaking the block and pushing through so the run could be complete for a 1st down every time. The two linemen, Willie "Crab" McCray and Calvin Richardson were very shocked by his tenacity and smarts. My dad was a very strong man but he often didn't want to use his strength. Instead he used his mind to get tasks accomplished; it was less work for him. Unfortunately through all of my father's hard work their last game against their college rival with Jacksonville was lost. In the locker room after the defeat everyone was sore and upset. During their pity party one player walked up to Steve and my dad. Calvin Richardson told them both, although they lost it was amazing to watch their progress throughout the year. The two of them had succeeded together in making the team as a whole better through it all. David left Troy and eventually moved to Greenville South Carolina where he got a job as an accountant at J.P. Stevens (WestPoint Stevens later) in Clemson South Carolina. His hour commute took him to a plant where he crunched numbers and worked hard to earn a living for several years. My mother was working at West Point also and a friend of my father's decided the two of them had a lot in common. What they had in common was they were both divorced and both smoked, it was a match made in heaven. One day Jacquelyn Smith, my dad's personal match maker, convinced my mom to stop by his house. They walked out back to see my dad on the back porch with his dog Redford, playing Frisbee and drinking beer. After that introduction, on my mom's birthday, my dad and Jacquelyn took her out bar hopping. I believe they wanted to see how many different shots they could make her take before she passed out. She hung in there and impressed my dad enough to where he asked her out again and again. They both enjoyed playing golf together and going to a local bar where they met a bartender named Tracy. They never remembered the actual bar name; they just called it Tracy's place. I think they might have drunk a little too much there together since they forgot the name of the bar. A year later one night my mom and dad were watching TV at his place. She was telling my dad that she had to find a new place to live, because Jacquelyn had to move in with her brother. My dad thought for a second and then looked into her eyes saying, "Well I guess we could get married if we have to". That is how my father proposed to her, and for some reason she said yes. If you knew my dad then you would know he was a very sincere man, except when it came to his emotions. He opened himself up after his joking proposal and said to my mother, "You know I really do love you". She said yes again. She understood my father better than anyone else could. Their marriage is one I aspire to have one day myself. They never had to be overly emotional with one another; they were simple with their love. Their relationship was always complex, but their love was simple and unconditional. That's the way a marriage should be. A year after they were married they had me, Beverly Elaine Talley, in February 1992. I was born a month early, and was so small that my little fanny would fit in the palm of his hand. As he held me the first time someone asked him, "what cha got there David?" and he said, "I got me a baby girl". My daddy was so in love with me. His job sometimes took him away from me and mom. He would have to travel and he would be gone several days in the week. But he never forgot to bring a present back to me to remind me that he was always thinking of me back at home, and wished he could be there. When I was 3 years old is when he had his car accident. He had wrecked his precious 300 ZX on his way to the post office for his work. If it had not been for 2 bystanders he would have died there on that road, crushed by his precious ZX. The two bystanders were able to roll the car over so that they could make sure he could breathe. The paramedics arrived and he was rushed to the hospital. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and this is where his struggle began. He could have given up back then. He could have not done the extensive rehab, the psychological work, and the emotional mending. But he had a family to be there for and he was given a chance to be there for them. Everything my father did, he did for my mother and me. He couldn't work anymore, but he was always at every school function, vacation, and special occasion that he could be there for me. He did the house work and yard work while my mom worked at West Point. Growing up my father and I didn't always have an understanding relationship. He was the type of person that if he didn't pick on you, he didn't like you. I used to ask him, "Dad why do you always pick on me so much?"and he would always respond, "I only pick on you because I love you." He persevered for many years. See, my father was a fighter, always has been and always will be. He never liked anything taking him down. He was stubborn that way. Much in the way of if he couldn't beat you at your own game then he would change the game itself to win. Very much like when he would go against Calvin and "Crab" when he was on the scout team. If he couldn't move them one way then he would duck down and move them his own way. He fought through many challenges. Memory loss, diabetes, and a decline in health were just a few of the obstacles that he overcame for many years after his accident. Eventually he lost his fight as his condition declined 22 years later. Thursday March 1st, 2018 at AnMed Health, my father died. What I will remember of my dad was not our disagreements, but our laughter. I will remember him as the strongest willed person I have ever met in my life. I will remember how much he cared and loved me. I will remember all of the times we spent together and all the wonderful memories I have I will cherish for the rest of my life. My father was an amazing man, and I am forever grateful for the sacrifices he had to make so that I could have the best life he could offer me. I love you daddy, thank you for fighting for me. It's time for you to rest in peace. We will all miss you very much. Won't you fly, fly high as a free bird. -Beverly Elaine Talley Memorials may be made to American Diabetes Association, 2434 Hudson Rd #154, Greer, SC 29650 or Troy Athletics, In Memory of David Tally, ATTN: Gary Wilbert, 5000 Veterans Stadium Dr., Troy, AL 36082 (memo Football on check). Events Visitation Sunday, March 4, 2018 1:00PM - 2:30PM The McDougald Funeral Home 2211 North Main Street Anderson, SC 29621 Email: Gail@mcdougaldfuneralhome.com,laurel@mcdougaldfuneralhome.com Phone: (864) 224-4343 Funeral Service Sunday, March 4, 2018 3:00PM The McDougald Funeral Home 2211 North Main Street Anderson, SC 29621 Email: Gail@mcdougaldfuneralhome.com,laurel@mcdougaldfuneralhome.com Phone: (864) 224-4343