Clovis mourns loss of two men worth emulating

link David Stevens: Staff photo

Foxy Drive In was closed on Thursday in honor of its founder.

Together, they gave us two centuries worth of good examples to follow. Individually, they inspired us to be better people.

Clovis is a sadder place today with this month’s deaths of Herbert Bergstrom and A.C. Bryant.

Bergstrom, a minister for more than 70 years in churches at Ranchvale, Clovis and Portales, died Aug. 1 in Lubbock at age 97.

Bryant, the founder of the iconic Foxy Drive In who was active in DeMolay, Masonic Lodge and other service organizations for most of his life, died Tuesday at age 99.

It would be difficult to find a longtime Clovis resident who did not know both men; harder still to find anyone with a negative view of them.

“Dr. B. was a true great and wonderful man,” Curry County Commissioner Ben McDaniel wrote in a Facebook post about Bergstrom.

“He really did walk the talk he taught. He was so close and caring to many people and families in this area. (He) touched so many. He was always just a phone call away when needed.”

“A.C. set the bar at the top. His memory and impact is an incredible benefit to countless individuals from many generations,” Clovis Mayor David Lansford wrote in an online tribute to Bryant.

Both men set standards the rest of us can strive to reach some day.

May they rest in peace.

Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Clovis News Journal’s editorial board, which consists of Publisher Robert Arrowsmith and Editor David Stevens. All other views expressed on this page are those of their authors.