Family and friends help local veteran celebrate 102nd birthday
Published 12:10 am Thursday, December 5, 2024
Jim Deal is surrounded by members of his family at his birthday celebration. They are, from left, daughters Melissa Waller and Paula Hill and granddaughter Jordan Dulaney. – Karen Kistler
The crowd watches as Jim Deal, left, looks at his birthday card which was signed by those who came to the veterans event. It was presented by veteran Troy Horton, right, who presided over the program. – Karen Kistler
Jim Deal stood for everyone to sing Happy Birthday to him after which he shared a few remarks with them and danced a little dance for them. – Karen Kistler
Jim Deal stands behind the table holding the three birthday cakes, each with a different message, which were provided for the big day. One said, “Happy Birthday Mr. Deal, 102 Years Young.” – Karen Kistler
Everyone was invited to sign Jim Deal’s birthday card when they arrived. — Karen Kistler
Jim Deal, center, laughs as he chats with famly and friends prior to the start of the program. — Karen Kistler
Melissa Waller screen shot this photo off the internet during the Normandy D-Day event. They sent the picture to Trump and he signed it and sent it back to Jim Deal, who is pictured two rows behind him in a blue jacket and green cap. – Submitted photo
This birthday cake notes Jim Deal’s birthday along with his military service and railroad career. – Karen Kistler
SALISBURY — The room and tables were filled at Christiana Lutheran Church in Salisbury on Nov. 19, and while that wasn’t unusual on a Tuesday morning, one table in particular was attracting some extra special attention.
Tuesdays are when veterans gather at the church to enjoy a meal and fellowship, and World War II veteran Jim Deal, a regular attendee, was there, but on this particular date, it wasn’t just a regular day for him. It was his 102nd birthday, and his friends at the luncheon were dropping by his table to wish him a happy birthday.
In addition to the veterans and spouses that attend the weekly event, members of Deal’s family, which included his daughters, Paula Hill and Melissa Waller, and granddaughter Jordan Dulaney, were there to help him celebrate this very special milestone event.
Waller said this veterans meeting is the largest in North Carolina, averaging approximately 150 veterans every week, and her dad attends each Tuesday, thanks to a special friend, Jerry Kanipe, who she said, picks him up, brings him to the meetings and then takes him back home. Kanipe’s wife, Linda, serves with Meals on Wheels, added Waller, which she said her dad gets, and both are great friends.
“He looks forward to coming to this meeting every Tuesday,” said Dulaney. “It’s nice, it’s like a big family.”
Born Nov. 19, 1922, to Charlie and Maggie Deal, he was raised on a farm in Woodleaf, and is the last remaining of 12 children, all of whom, including his parents, lived to their upper 90s and 100s, said Waller.
Deal was married to Polly Deal for 69 years, and died in 2015. They have three daughters, Reba Dremman, Hill and Waller. He currently lives in Faith with his granddaughter and her husband, Jeff and Jordan Dulaney.
Not only is Deal a regular attendee of the veterans lunches at the church, he is also an active member of Shiloh Reformed Church in Faith, where he has been attending since 1948. He is the oldest member of the church, said Waller, who takes him each Sunday.
Dulaney said that she and her mom “try to keep him very active and involved in things,” and he is eager to go and participate in different activities.
“Almost daily, he will ask myself or Jordan, now what’s going on tomorrow and what about the rest of the week,” said Waller. “We laugh,” and she added with a laugh, “I literally feel like I’m his event coordinator.”
The party and recognition for Deal was filled with lots of well-wishes for him and some special surprises. To start the meeting, Chaplain Dale Roth led in a prayer for the food and the events of the day. Remembering Deal, Roth said, “today we celebrate a man who has blessed us” and that feeling of love and appreciation for him was evident throughout the morning as he was celebrated.
Troy Horton, who presided over the meeting, asked Deal to stand as they sang Happy Birthday to him. Horton told the audience that Deal had told him that he hoped to make it to 104.
“So he’s only got two more years to go,” he said.
Following the singing, Deal wanted to say something to the group and he said, “I suppose everyone has seen that Trump has a little dance that he does,” after which he did the dance himself, which brought cheers from the crowd.
Horton then made his way to Deal and as he handed him a large birthday card on behalf of Frontier Coffee Shop, filled with many signatures of those in attendance, he told him that he had to know everyone there loves him, to which Deal replied with a big grin, “just about,” which brought lots of laughter.
Horton also told him that he was wished many, many more birthdays, and “we hope you’re right here with us when you have them.”
Being there with this group of friends is what Deal said is his favorite part of being at the veterans luncheons, noting that he has made so many friends there, and it’s what he comes for each Tuesday, “to be with them.”
He also said as he shared with the crowd that he was “so happy to be here with you all” and happy too that he “had gained 102 years old” and credited part of that to “being out here with such good people as you are,” which brought lots of applause and shouts from the group.
In addition to his time with friends, Dulaney added that “whenever anyone asks him how he has lived so long, he always says ‘clean living,’”
She did note with a grin that he eats lots of sweets these days and loves cookies and candy. Therefore, the three birthday cakes that were made especially for the event were sure to please his sweet tooth as well.
In addition to his being a fan of sweets, he is also a big fan of the Atlanta Braves, said Waller, noting that “he loves to watch them.”
At the party he was dressed in a Carolina blue shirt with 102 on the front, and when asked if there was any significance to that particular color, Waller said the family is a Tarheel fan family and he goes along with them.
He was also wearing a cap with WWII – The National WWII Museum, New Orleans cap with multiple pins on it, which came from his visit there in 2018, and he was accompanied there by granddaughter Jordan, said Waller.
The trip was sponsored by the Gary Sinise Foundation, which was searching for as many World War II veterans able to make the trip back to Normandy for the 75th D-Day Celebration in June 2019.
Deal was selected and he and his granddaughter went on the cruise on the English Channel with the various fun ports of call on the way to Normandy, she said.
Trump also attended this event, and the family has a photo of Deal, along with other veterans and Trump, during the celebration.
A veteran of the United States Army, Deal served from 1943 to 1945, and was a member of the 737th Tank Battalion, Patton’s Third Army. He was a gunner on a medium Sherman tank, Waller said.
Deal shared that he was at Normandy Beach on D-Day and also at the Battle of the Bulge.
Waller added that “his tank battalion, the 737, had 299 days of actual combat. They started at Normandy, went through the Battle of St. Lo, of Mortain and the Battle of the Bulge. He was a part of all that.”
She also said that he is the last survivor of that tank battalion, 750 men.
When he came home from the war, the one thing that Deal wanted to do is get a car.
“I wanted to get a car and start driving, going places that I couldn’t go,” he said.
Following his time in the service, Deal spent 34 years working at Southern Railway at Spencer Shops, repairing freight cars and inspecting them and has now been retired from there for 42 years.
Deal didn’t share a lot about the war with his daughters, Dulaney said, but at the age of seven, she began attending his Army reunions with him and met people and heard stories, which she said are “just incredible.”
And by going with him, she said that she grew up learning a lot about what happened in the war, and added that she has “a great appreciation for veterans and military.”
When asked if he had any advice or words of wisdom for today’s generation, he said with a big grin and a his sense of humor lighting up his eyes, that most people ask him how it feels to be his age and he said, “I told them all that it’s not the bad part of growing old, but it’s the side effects, it hurts. The side effects are what hurts.”
Being close to her grandfather, Dulaney said she thinks that one can learn lots of life lessons from the older generation.
“They are not going to be around forever,” she said, “so enjoy the time you have with them now.”
