Portland Magazine
Alumni
November 4, 2019
After chatting with retired fifth-grade teacher Neal Hook ’49, we at Portland magazine are finding that we have new life goals. A World War II army veteran and father of four, Hook is 95 years old and still gardens and plays tennis three times a week. He and his wife, Frances, just celebrated 70 years of marriage. Most mornings they read the funnies because they like to start the day with a laugh. Every day, Neal makes breakfast and coffee for Frances as an act of gratitude to her.
How he arrived at this morning routine is worth an explanation. He was inspired to start this routine by following the example of a former inmate he’d worked with in his prison ministry at Donovan Prison on the Mexican border near Tijuana. (Neal has been involved in Kairos Prison Ministry for 20 years.) After this man’s release, he and Neal kept in touch, and the man told Neal that he decided that making breakfast would be his small way of thanking his wife for standing by him during his darkest hour.
Neal found this act of gratitude to be a “revelation” (his word). He woke up the next morning and started making breakfast for Frances.
And one more thing: he deflected all our questions about his “secrets” for a long and happy life toward praise for his wife (which maybe is his secret).
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