72 years later - Brother Blotz

Persistence pays off for the Dillards
Doug at the Temple home where
at age 5 he first met his new
neighbor, JoAn, taken the day he
proposed -- again
Doug presents editorial cartoon
in which he has hidden JoAn’s
name in 1991 -- one of their many
encounters through the years
A fortunate pause at the Bell
County Museum in August 2007
led to a cup of coffee that led to a
date that weekend that led to ...
Sharing wedding cake after
sharing vows Sept. 15, 2007 in
Temple.
has been defined as a miracle in which God wishes to become anonymous.
It is obvious to this couple that the string of coincidences that led to their marriage has God’s
fingerprints all over them. Read this story that first appeared in The Belton Journal in September
2007 and we think you will agree.
COINCIDENCE
TEMPLE Sept. 15, 2007 - JoAn Pirtle Musick
Last week, Douglas took her to that
Flowers and Samuel Douglas Dillard
same spot under the pretense of taking a
exchanged vows of marriage at 10:30 AM
picture "for old times' sake." Between shots, he
Saturday, Sept. 15, at Wildflower Country Club
repeated the question. This time, she said yes.
in Temple.
After 72 years, he
The union
crossed the street and
comes to fruition 72
slipped an
years after she
engagement ring on
rejected his first
her finger.
proposal.
The recent
The couple first
reconnection and
met when the Dillard
whirlwind courtship -family moved to South
little more than a
13th around the
month -- may seem
corner from the Pirtle
breathtaking," Dillard
home. Both JoAn and
said. "But it is built on
JoAn and Doug as they looked when they met a lifetime friendship
Douglas were five
years old and neither
and mutual admiration.
had permission to cross the street.
Our lives intertwined often as we were involved
Aleene Dillard, 99-year-old mother of the
in common religious and philanthropic
groom, recounts that her son often stood on a
activities."
curb two doors from the house, babbling across
A call during an August refueling stop in
the street to JoAn. The neighbor in whose yard
Belton led to a series of intimate encounters
she stood told her that he shouted, "JoAn, will
including a shared coffee at the Heidenheimer
you marry me?"
Coffee Company, a romantic dinner at
She answered, "Douglas, you know I'm
Stagecoach Inn, a lunch at Cheeves Brothers,
too young to get married."
daily phone calls, and numerous visits. All of the
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Douglas and JoAn pose for a portrait by
his daughter, Donna Pool, with Rev.
Andy Davis, who officiated at the
ceremony.
above caused their decades-long friendship to
blossom quickly into love.
After a brief Hill Country honeymoon, the
couple will live in her home in Belton, where
JoAn has been a leader in various civic,
religious and service posts, as well as an
exemplary philanthropist and supporter of the
arts.
Dillard says he will also keep his
Garland town home as a base for frequent
business trips, while he pulls up roots a halfcentury deep in the Dallas area. Pulling those
roots will not be painful, he says. Taking JoAn
Musick-Flowers from Bell County would be
tougher.
With a record that includes eight years
on the city council, 12 years as trustee of the
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, member of
the boards of several charitable organizations
and having her name bronzed in numerous
places across the city, "I felt I would be tarred
and feathered if I tried to take her away," he
said.
Dillard is actually coming home. He
began his career as a minister while still in
Baylor University. He was both preacher and
gospel singer in the youth revival movement in
the 1940s.
In 1965, he began a specialty in the
fledgling field of religious public relations. After
more than 50 years in the field, he holds
numerous honors including two lifetime
achievement awards.
Dillard is still active as a creativity
consultant to religious and non-profit
organizations, but is best known as humorist
and religious cartoonist. For more than 30
years, he was the award-winning editorial
cartoonist for The Baptist Standard, a weekly
Texas Baptist newsmagazine.
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