My name is Gregory Shoemaker and William Gregory David Shoemaker was and is my only Son..I never had a thought or dream that I would ever be writing a life story as a memorial for my dear son..He was precious to me. Greg's Sisters, mother and children have also contributed to this short story of his life.
My son was born in 1974 and only weighed little better that 4lbs.. He had to stay in the Hospital better than a week before he could come home..He looked like a little old man he was so wrinkled up. He was so little his older sisters Sherry and Michelle would dress him up in doll clothes and push him around in the house in a doll carriage. He was the boy I had long wanted to carry on my Shoemaker Name.
As a little boy he was all boy. He would run the cats until they would stop and just pant. He was a scrapper from day one. He loved to wrestle and play hard..although he liked the Preachers daughter as a friend he got in a fight with her one day and knocked one of her front teeth loose..He got a whippin' over that when it was found out. He also got a whippin' for hitting his cousin Timmy Russell. Timmy and Greg were buddies for most of their lives, until the day Greg died. Timmy and Greg worked together that day.
As a young man, he never cared for sports much,.But he sure did love to run and play in the woods. When he was in the first grade I got him an old go cart He would drive his go cart so fast he would turn it over. He would get right back in and drive her again. His grandpa gave him an old green car to drive around the yard. It was a stick shift slant six cylinder. He would spin the wheels in the yard. I always thought he should have been in race car driver 'cause he liked to drive a car fast. His first on the road car was a mustang fast back.. He soon wrecked it and ended up with a small S-10 pick up with a smaller engine.
Since he was my son everyone called him "little Greg". As a young boy he never liked being called "little Greg". As he grew older the "Little" soon dropped from his name except for family and old friends..He was known by his friends as Greg or David. My son used to go everywhere with me, even to the doctor. He was my little buddy.
Greg attended Church with us at Emmanuel Baptist Church. During one of many children's events he asked the Lord to save him so as a little boy he received Christ as his Saviour. We cling to this event.
As a teenager he was very fond of girls and dated many a girl. I didn't think he would ever get serious about one girl. He met Erin one day and they got married and had two wonderful girls, Karlie and Katie Shoemaker. Greg and Erin were both proud of both of them and loved them very much. He and Erin separated from each other after a few years and later were divorced. They remained friends as much as possible. They both confessed they still loved each other.
My son loved boating and fishing more than anything. He loved to take his daughters with him out on the water and spend all day Saturdays just playing in the water. He would stay on the boat until darkness would run him off the water. When the boat running lights were functional he would stay out until 8 or 9 in the evening. He just could never get enough of just riding up and down the intercoastal water way and all the little side creeks and rivers He knew how to get around just about anywhere from Swansboro to Morehead City. He often took our big boat out in the ocean. He knew how to run both our boats alot better than I could. I often told him he should get his Captains licensed and take people fishing. But he never persued it..
I tried to get my Son to go take some schooling and learn a professional job. But he said he did not like school. Consequently, he followed me in the contracting business. He worked with some for other contractors as a young man. Over the years he had become a fairly good carpenter, glass installer and good painting contractor. There was not a task he was afraid to take on. He was very good on computer issues and automated things. He was patient and able to teach or share his knowledge in many areas. He was a better teacher than I ever was..He was multi-talented in other trades of the construction field. He just was able to learn things real quick. But, his favorite thing to do was to be out on a boat. He often called me by cell phone in the middle of the afternnoon and said he was at a stopping point on a job and was going out on the boat. He found many a reason to go out on the water.
My son was not perfect in any way. Like many a young man he strayed, but never was considered a bad man. Like all of us he had his faults but he was a good man and wonderful son and he had many friends. He loved to be in touch with some one all the time. He hated to be alone or be some where he could not talk anybody. He would call me about 20 times a day just to see where I was. He would always say "what you doin'? He spent more time on the cell phone that I did. He was a talker and never met a stranger. He had few enemies. He was able to make you mad as a wet hen and within a few minutes charm his way back into favor again. Greg was a good looking man and was easy to love. He has a smile that could charm the hardest heart. He was a good man, good father and good person overall. He was a special son the Lord loaned me for a short time.
He especially loved his girls Karlie and Katie. His girls really liked it when Greg would take them to work with him "for some one on one". Both girls loved and still love their Daddy. They would always defend him no matter what. He was "the man" as far as they were concerned. I remember them wrestling and playing and always laughing and play real loud. The girls were the love of his life. Every summer they would spend untold hours at the beach or on the water in a boat. He was a good loving Daddy to them. Lord only knows how much they miss him.
The last couple of years of his life were busy. He went to Missouri in December of 2006 to try out working in the mid west. He was not fond of the all the snow and soon came home again. After he returned he and I worked together on a few jobs his last year on this old earth. He and I both wanted to spend more time on the boats together but just were so busy we never went out on the water together at all in 2007. December 13, 2007 was the last time I saw my son alive. The best the doctors determine he died from a heart attack. This was the toughest day of my family's life. He was a Loved son, Loved Daddy, Loved Brother and Loved Friend by many. He will be missed in this life. We all look forward to seeing Greg again in Heaven. He had as a young boy asked Jesus for forgiveness of his sins and ask the Lord to save him and take him to heaven someday. The Lord did that very thing the evening of 13 December 2007. I am thankful for the 33 years the Lord loaned me this boy.
