Senator Jay Paul Gumm's "Senate Minute"

As I write this week’s “Senate Minute,” the echoes have barely faded from the memorial service for my friend and colleague, Rep. Terry Hyman.

Representative Hyman tragically lost his life last week in an accident on the farm he loved. For the past four years, Terry and I shared the honor and responsibility of representing Marshall County in the Oklahoma Legislature.

I could not have asked for a better partner; the citizens of House District 49 could not have been served by a more dedicated, harder working or kinder man than Terry Hyman. His is a loss that will resonate in the days, months and years ahead.

His humor, wisdom, strength and quiet courage are examples of the very best in all of us. Every life he touched was better because of the compassion he exhibited every day of his all-to-brief life.

Whenever I saw Terry Hyman, I knew my day was about to get better. Often, he and Rep. Paul Roan – with whom I share much of my Senate district – would come to my office to talk about ways to improve our area.

Terry had an educator’s way about him. Whenever we would discuss some issue, he always began with a question. I always had the feeling that when Terry asked those questions, he already knew the answer; the question was simply a way to kick my brain into gear.

From there, the three of us – sometimes four, when Rep. John Carey (the third representative with whom I share my district) would join us – made plans and encouraged one another. Invariably, my day improved from there. Terry’s was the kind of gentle guidance and encouragement I always imagined a little brother would get from a big brother.

The task for all of us will be more difficult without Terry’s wisdom. Whether it was to strengthen rural fire protection, improve tourism, or simply stand up for the values we in southern Oklahoma share, Terry Hyman made a difference. He did more for his constituents than they will ever know because he was not one to toot his own horn – a rarity in politics.

Terry’s work on Earth is done, and lives are better for it. As we pick up the torch he carried so well, the light from his life will continue to inspire and guide us. His work will live on; for me, I owe my friend nothing less.

I ask we all lift up prayers for Terry’s family. Both his wife Linda and daughter Ann have shown amazing strength and courage this week, and they will bear the burden of his loss most of all. They know their husband and father made this world a better place, and there is no greater legacy than that.

We will miss our friend, Terry Hyman. We will never forget him, and we are all better because we knew him. May God comfort his family – and may God bless us all.