Hershel Bingham also 'was example of sacrificial love'
Huntsville Times
Friday, February 10, 2006
By KENNETH KESNER
Times Staff Writer
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Hershel Bingham liked people. And he particularly liked his neighbors in Huntsville, whom he counted as friends, colleagues and customers his entire life. "He loved Huntsville and thought there was no better place in the world," said his son, Don Bingham of Conway, Ark. Hershel O. Bingham was 90 when he died Jan. 31. "He was extremely gregarious. He did not meet a stranger," his son said. It was a quality that served him well in more than 40 years with the local Coca-Cola bottling company. Bingham started off as a route driver and salesman and worked his way into management before retiring in 1980. He loved his job and Coke, Don said, and was a consultant for the company for years after officially retiring. Don said he and his late brother, Jerry, even used to leave cookies and a bottle of Coca-Cola for Santa every Christmas instead of milk. Hershel Bingham met Lila Bailey in high school - her family had ties to Bailey Cove - and they later married. They were partners in the truest sense, Don said. When his father entered the Army in World War II, Lila and the wife of one of the other Coca-Cola drivers took over their husbands' routes. "Mrs. Bingham and Mrs. Wilkinson, nattily dressed in the company uniforms, already have made a fine impression among their customers," The Huntsville Times reported. |
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Jerry's wife, Sandra Bingham of Huntsville, said her father-in-law's devotion to Lila was obvious. After she was disabled by strokes, he took over her daily care for years, until her death about 10 years ago. "He was just an incredible example to us of sacrificial love," Don said. His father traveled some after that, and maintained his friendships and ties to Huntsville until a few months ago. He was a former president of the Huntsville Optimist Club and was twice lieutenant governor of the Alabama-Mississippi Optimist District. And, until they ended a few years ago, he regularly attended the annual reunions of his Army unit, the 724th Railroad Battalion, which served in France. "That was our yearly pilgrimage, to Gatlinburg for the World War II reunion," Don said. Hershel Bingham also stayed active in his church. He was a charter member and superintendent of Huntsville Bible Church, where his voice was often heard. "He was a frustrated choir director," Don said. He remembers his dad was always whistling and would sometimes break into song, often one of his favorite hymns: "Victory in Jesus," "Amazing Grace" or "Farther Along." And his Dad remembered everything, Don said. In later years, he was even asked to speak before some groups about his life in Huntsville, and how he'd been an eyewitness to the tremendous change over the decades. It was something he was glad, to do. Don said, "The 'Walking History Book' is what my sister-in-law called him." |
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