Thursday, September 17, 2020
My name is Edward Preston and I am the son-in-law of Mr. Clayton Lainhart. I just wanted to share a few words about this man that I’ve known for about 25 years but I really have only known him for about 23 because I was scared to death to talk to him the first two years me and Amy started dating. At the beginning I felt like he was a very intimidating person and as I’ve grown to know him it’s almost the opposite. I think things in our relationship really changed when we had a cookout one summer afternoon and we realized that my uncle Benny Preston had been friends with Mr. Lainhart for about 45 years. It’s amazing how things work out in your life and I’m very grateful that he was part of mine. There are a lot of different memories that I will take with me but it is the little ones that are the best. One of my favorites that happened multiple times is when Amy and I would bring a dessert over to their house especially chocolate meringue pie and I would ask him while he’s eating a piece if it’s any good and his response was always “It’s alright “ But the pie was always gone in two days. Another one that might seem silly is during one of the ice storms and we lost power for about five days, I stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Lainhart at their house during that time while we ran electricity off a generator and cooked food on the grill in the garage while wearing noise canceling headphones while the smoke alarm was going off. It seems like a weird memory but it was a good one. There are a lot more to share but some of those I will just take with me. You may have noticed that during this I have always referred to Clayton and Dianne as Mr. and Mrs. Lainhart. I can count on one hand how many times I have called them by their first name while they are in my presence. I’ve always had tremendous respect for them and I always found it courteous to call them Mr. and Mrs. You often hear horror stories about people who get married and absolutely hate their in-laws but I can tell you I got tremendously lucky with my in-laws that I have and it’s just a sad moment that I will not be able to spend time with one of them the rest of this lifetime. Rest In Peace Mr. Lainhart
