Remembering Tom Powell

Texans are often thought of as friendly and approachable people, and Tom Powell certainly fit that kind stereotype.  Linda and I had many visits with Tom and his wife, Mary, and other members of the Powell clan starting around 1972. Tom had a broad smile he always wore, especially when he greeted someone at his door.  Mary might follow close behind.  And then, for a time, there was the howler monkey screeching from its cage, it long arms stretched out of the bars to greet visitors. Tom jokingly said that his pet monkey could tell if someone was a good Bahá’í by how excited it was.

Tom was a bold teacher, especially direct with his fundamentalist Christian friends, like the dentist he had.  They were good friends, it seemed, though Tom would challenge the dentist’s literal interpretation of Bible prophecies, such as the one in Revelation 16:20 that spoke of the time of the end when “every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled.” “You mean all those mountains up in Colorado are going to be flat?” Tom would ask the dentist while waiting for his teeth to be cleaned.  Even when he challenged Christians’ understanding of their own Book, Tom’s face shown with love for them.  He told me that his boldness in teaching even brought high level members of the Jehovah Witnesses from Brooklyn, NY one time and they sat sharing their respective knowledge of the Bible. Tom might tell them that the new Name of Christ referred to in Revelation is Bahá’u’lláh, The Glory of God. Outwardly, his forthright way of teaching may not have drawn fundamentalists to the Faith, but there surely must have been a lasting impression upon their souls.

Tom and Mary ran a catering truck that served the power plant and other areas every day for the workers. Tom liked to joke with his customers, sometimes calling himself Tom Yazzie.  If a customer asked Tom for credit on a meal until payday, he would give the person the meal and tell them that they know what they owe.  And, certainly on pay day, the customer would bring what was owed to Mary and get a warm thank you for being honest and trustworthy.  The food truck was a hard way to make a living, needing to rise early to finish preparing the meals before driving out to the mine. Tom also made sure his customers knew about Bahá’u’lláh and the New Message from God.  This led to an invitation to visit the customer and his family at their home, where many of the clan members might attend.  Tom also suggested that, if a Bahá’í visiting the Reservation needed permission to teach the Faith, it would be better to go to the tribal police chief, because he has first-hand knowledge of the problems.  If the police chief understands the Bahá’í message is to be shared without proselytizing, oftentimes the Baha’is visiting the Reservation would be given permission.

Tom had a camper truck.  In June 1973 Tom offered to take some of us youth to the Oklahoma Bahá’í youth conference in Oklahoma City. I don’t recall all who we travelled with, except for Harry Duran, a new Bahá’í from Aztec.

The first night we stopped at a campground in Dumas, Texas.  A big sign greeted us as we came to the town: Welcome to Dumas, the home of the Ding Dong Daddy.  None of us had a clue what that meant, and we rested in the pleasant night air. *  

In addition to youth from all over the country, special guests included the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, Seals and Croft (and their friend, the singer, Cher).  Mr. Sears always had a way to convey serious and lofty spiritual messages from the Writings with a touch of humor.  For example, Mr. Sears spoke of being at the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel and thinking of the radiant countenance of the Báb. He said he closed his eyes to reflect on the Báb’s life and as he did a pleasant fragrance of orange blossoms drifted around him.  He knew that the Báb had planted an orange tree outside his home in Shiraz, and seeds from the trees had been shared with friends in other parts of the globe. After inhaling the fragrance for a few minutes, Mr. Sears opened his eyes and nearby sat one of the caretakers peeling an orange.  https://www.bahai.us/orange-tree-is-a-living-reminder-of-the-bab/

At the Conference, each of us who came with Tom mingled in the gathering mostly in separate ways.  The air was pleasantly warm, yet the chiggers were a nuisance.

Filled with the spirit and overflowing with fresh knowledge about the wondrous Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, we rejoined Tom for the journey home to New Mexico.

We made it all the way to Cuba, New Mexico in the early hours before dawn and parked near a restaurant that was still closed.  As the sky lighted slowly for the day, one by one those of us in the back of the camper woke up.  Harry started sharing the dream he just had: He was sitting at a counter in a restaurant and in his head was a distinct message that he must teach the Faith to whoever sits next to him.  Harry was eager for the restaurant to open, and, when it did, Harry saw several empty seats at the counter. The rest of us decided to sit in a booth where we could see who the fortunate soul might be to hear of the new Divine Teacher from God. We ordered breakfast while waiting.  We could tell that Harry was eager, but a bit nervous at the same time.  And then, the café door opened and in came a very large man in working attire, who was Dine (Navajo). He strolled right up to the counter and sat next to the small build Harry. The shared greetings and the man ordered breakfast.  Harry became very still and quiet. Meanwhile, those of us in the booth silently prayed for Harry.  Finally, Harry turned to the man, as they both had finished their meals, and told him that had just come from a wonderful Bahá’í gathering in Oklahoma. The man looked interested, and Harry explained that the conference was for Bahá’í youth. Harry had the man’s full attention. With that Harry showed the man a Bahá’í pamphlet that explained who Baha’u’llah was and the Teachings He had brought to mankind for unity. The man was silent and then asked Harry if he could have some pamphlets, because he knew a lot of people in the area who would like to know about the new religion. Harry reached into his teaching bag and pulled out a stack of pamphlets and handed them to the man who graciously thanked Harry.  With that the man rose left the café with the pamphlets in his hand. Surprised by what had just happened, Harry came to our booth to relay the story, full of joy as he shared it with us.

As some of Tom and Mary’s family members joined the Faith, including (Doris Cook), we consulted on having a family “new believers” conference to learn together more about the Faith.  This was before the Ruhi Institute was established.  They asked me to facilitate it, and I suggested we each take a Bahá’í topic and study it, then we could come back together, taking turns give a brief presentation on our topic.  I don’t remember all of the topics, but they included the Local Spiritual Assembly, Prayer, the Central Figures of the Faith, etc.  When we came together a week or two later, each one shared something about their topic and we would clap and add a comment or two. Then each person would take their turn and present their topic. The family new believers conference was very intimate and uplifting. I could feel the confidence each family member gained from being involved.

When my family moved to southern New Mexico and later to Vieques, Puerto Rico, we lost contact with the friends in the Four Corners.  A few years later, I heard from Harold Seibel that Tom and Mary had moved to a small town north of Cuba. Harold said that he went to be with them and help with some carpentry once or twice. 

It is difficult to leave the friends you have when you move.  Richard Gurinsky, who was a homefront pioneer to the Mescalero Apache Reservation for awhile with his family, once told me that he spoken with House of Justice member Amos Gibson about this often-emotional separating from dear friends.  He said Mr. Gibson knew well the feeling from his years of pioneering in the Navajo (Dine) Reservation. Mr. Gibson told Richard that you always carry the memory with you of those you knew.

*"I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas" is a song written and sung by Phil Baxter, accompanied by Phil Harris and his orchestra in 1928. 

 From The American Bahá’í circa 2008: Thomas H. Powell,83, San Juan County, NM The Bahá’ís of this locality were stunned to hear that Thomas Powell was found dead of a gunshot wound at his Farmington-area home on November 29, 2007, "While deploring the senseless and premature manner of their end, we join you in celebrating Tom's more than eight decades of this life, well over three of which were spent in enthusiastic efforts to disseminate the unifying teachings of Bahá’u’lláh a letter of tribute from the National Spiritual Assembly said in part, "A dedicated Bahá’í teacher," the letter continued, "Tom is warmly remembered for his faithful endeavors - together with his first wife, Mary - to pioneer the Faith on the home front, among them his settling under the open skies of Otero County, Colorado. We will also be ever grateful for Tom's services on two Northern New Mexico District Teaching Committees appointed by this institution." Thomas H. Powell Aug. 26, 1924 - Nov. 26, 2007

From the New Mexico Obituary and Death Notice Archive: Thomas H. Powell, 83, of Farmington, was born Aug. 26, 1924, and was taken from this earth Monday, Nov. 26, 2007.

A faithful servant of Bahá’u’lláh and the Bahá’í Faith, we pray that he has a swift journey to the next world to join all his preceding family members. Originally a furniture salesman from Houston, Texas, Tom made a living with his wife, Mary, in Colorado, with a unique sign-making business, then in San Juan County with a catering truck business that served the power plant and other areas. Each of these jobs afforded Tom and Mary abundant teaching opportunities. He especially admired his American Indian customers.

After retiring from work, Tom spent the majority of his free time at the Bonnie Dallas Senior Citizen Center in Farmington. He delighted in playing pool, dancing and eating the food. In 1978, Tom wrote a self-published book, "The Hammer of Truth." The book is about a sailor who found the Bahá’í Faith. Tom kept teaching the Bahá’í faith to all he met. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í of the U.S. has lauded him for his more than three decades of steadfast teaching of the Bahá’í Faith. Local Bahá’í members will miss him as a valuable resource, a bible scholar and a teacher of the Bahá’í Faith to Christians.

Tom was preceded in death by his third wife, Pauline; his second wife, Mary; and by his first wife, Grace, and their sons, Donald and Thomas III.

He is survived by his grandchildren, Mary, Steven, Julie and Charles and their children; step-grandchildren, Vicki Branch, Donette Searcy and Les Searcy; step-great-grandchildren, Jason Blackwell and wife, Jami, Tahirih (Terri) Branch, Amanda Montgomery, Derrick Killen, Billy Killen and wife, Carean, Donny Montgomery, D.C. Chapman and Kody Chapman; 14 step-great-great-grandchildren that loved him dearly; and also by his half-sister, Dorothy James, and half-brother, Raymond Cook.

We'll miss you, Grandpa!