Deep In The Heart of Texas

The design below is of a unique tombstone that I ran across while photographing some "Famous Texas Heroes" in Morton Cemetery in Richmond, Texas.  As my Texas heart filled with pride, I just knew I had to have a picture of it.  What a wonderful depiction of the Texas spirit as well as the well-known song, "Deep in the Heart of Texas."  [lyrics by June Hershey & music by Don Swander].  While many Texan elementary children are taught these lyrics every year, many Texans who attend the Astros and Rangers baseball games sing it after singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch.  It's what we proudly call, "a Texas thang."




This tombstone belongs to Russell Gardner Sharp, a long-time citizen of Sugar Land, Texas in Fort Bend County.  While Mr. Sharp cannot be found in any Texas history textbook, he is a wonderful representation of a Texan.  He was a pillar of his community, a graduate of the University of Texas [Sigh. The rival to the university that I graduated from...] and served as a First Lieutenant in the Air Force.  According to his online obituary, among the many things that Mr. Sharp is known for is being "a co-founder of Texas Medical Products in 1973, specializing in Open Heart Surgery Equipment."  [Ah.]  Indeed, this tombstone is quite befitting of this Texan.  May he rest in peace ~ deep in the heart of Texas.  [Russell Gardner Sharp's tombstone has also been posted to the findagrave.com website.]