Person:Homer Adkins (1)

End of an odyssey

Long-time Brookshire's grocery bagger Homer Adkins dies

By Janet Jacobs

He was a simple man in a humble job, but his dedication andsweetness of spirit elevated him to local legend.

Homer Adkins, 64, the Brookshire's bagger with the exaggeratedspeech patterns - emphasis on the long, soft vowels - diedTuesday, after succumbing to a diabetic coma in his home Friday.

Services are pending with Corley Funeral Home.

It is a clich‚ to say that everyone in Corsicana knew him, butafter 37 years of bagging and carrying groceries at Corsicanafood stores, it's unlikely Homer missed any but the newestresidents in town. And in uniquely Homeresque fashion, he likedeveryone he met.

"He was a fine character, I'll tell you," said the Rev. B. F.Risinger, former pastor of the First Baptist Church. "He's justone of the most genuine people I've ever met."

Away from his professional world of clanging buggies and ringingcash registers, Homer cared for his mother until her death, thenturned his dedication to making his tiny world perfect. He keptan immaculate house, enjoyed cooking and eating, watched onlywholesome television like "Touched by an Angel" and "Wheel ofFortune," tended a garden and practiced church hymns on thepiano.

Homer never married, never even dated to anyone's knowledge, buthe loved his family and friends, and was loved and admired bythem.

"He was a true gentleman," said Craig McCracken, who worked withHomer for nearly 20 years. "There was no pretension about him.You either liked him or you didn't, and he didn't care. He justwanted to be friends with everyone."

Perhaps recognizing his innocence, children in particular adoredHomer, and they gravitated to him like butterflies to sugar.

"He's the best person you could ever meet in your life," saidMike Malone, store director in Wills Point, who worked severalyears with Homer. "(My son's) first steps were to Homer. I putChase down, and he walked to Homer."

McCracken's son wanted Homer to teach him how to talk "Texan."

"I said, `Adam, he can't teach you that, that's just how Homertalks," McCracken recalled. "The way he talked will always be inmy mind."

Homer's signature walk, a series of quick, careful little stepssometimes interspersed with happy skips, was as recognizable ashis words.

Ken Green, district manager who worked with Homer for more thanthree decades, recalled for an in-house article on Homer thatthe already elderly bagger had walked to work one icy day ratherthan risk a car wreck, but was unwilling to miss serving hiscustomers.

"He really does not look at it like work," Green said of Homer'sattitude. "He is a legend in Corsicana because of his kind,compassionate and sincere heart."

In a 2003 Corsicana Daily Sun article, Homer said he had thoughtabout retiring, but that's as far as it got.

"I like my job; I like the Brookshire's Grocery Company," hesaid, emphasizing each cautious syllable. "That's my life."