I know your presence here means the
world to this family today . So we're
so grateful that you're here .
Carol and Joe Elaine and David Ken and
Rhonda . I look out on this crowd and I
think to myself , you know , this is
just the kind of crowd that would
inspire a great speech from your dad .
He would love this moment . I mean , he
would step up here and he would regale
us with stories and he would
charm us with his wit and his
wisdom and that ,
that special , trademark warmth that we
all love so much . Well , I should tell
you as we planned this day , our , our
first thought was to invite
everyone all , all air force members
past and present who loved your dad
and who were inspired by him .
That was our plan , but the Alamo Dome
wasn't available . And so we scaled
it back to those present
in this room who are just a small
representation of all the thousands
whose lives were touched by Chief Bob
Gaylor . And how
appropriate , how appropriate to
celebrate his life here
in the spiritual home of America's
airmen . I love that and to all of you
Welcome home . It's good to have you
here . Chief Gaylor
called me several years ago with an
unusual request after
he explained to me that he was not
dying . He asked me if I would conduct
his funeral . Well ,
hm , besides being one of the greatest
honors of my life , I , I didn't
want to be the first person who said no
to Chief Gaylor . I , I didn't want
that on my record . You know , I think
he must have anticipated this moment
when he sat down with a tablet of paper
and a pen and he wrote out exactly
what he wanted this day to be and he
wrote out his own obituary
and I'd like to share that with you .
Now you realize when he wrote it , he
didn't know the date . And so he put a
blank in there for us to fill in the
appropriate date in the blank and I'm
going to do that . So here it is in the
chief's own words . You'll recognize
these words
on January 17th , 2024 Chief Master
Sergeant of the Air Force number five ,
accepted God's personal invitation
to be the featured speaker at Heaven's
annual Award banquet
that had Chief Gaylor all over it ,
didn't it in attendance will be Bob's
parents , Lester and Alberta and sister
Shirley brother Lynn , his wife of 59
year Selma son , Michael Edward , and
thousands of relatives , dear friends
and fellow airmen . As always , the
chief's comments will be humorous ,
inspirational entertaining
and possibly too long .
He goes on , Bob was born in Bellevue ,
Iowa and moved with his family to
Mulberry Indiana where he completed
high school with 17 classmates in
1947 . During world
war two years , Bob was active in boy
scouts , achieving the life rank . He
entered the Air Force on 8 September
1948 on a three year enlistment
and remained on active duty . 31 years ,
retiring on 31 August
1979 .
I want to share just a brief passage of
scripture with you . Now , they are
Jesus words to his
disciples , to his friends just before
he was going to leave them and they
were upset that he was leaving .
And I thought to myself , those are the
perfect words for today . They fit so
well for us today . Listen to them .
Here's what Jesus said . Do not let
your hearts be troubled . You
believe in God believe also in me .
And I love this part the best in my
father's house or many
rooms . And I'm going there to prepare
a place for you . And if I go and
prepare a place for you , I will come
back and take you to be with me
so that you may be where I am .
Would you pray with me ?
Lord ? We've come to say thank you for
the amazing gift that your servant Bob
Gaylor was to his family , to his
friends and to our nation ,
help us today , Lord , to comfort his
family , even as we celebrate his life
and lift up the faith that he had in
you be with this family who are
grieving the loss of a beloved father ,
brother , grandfather and uncle
Lord . I pray that your promise of a
great reunion . Someday , we comfort
each one of them and give them your
peace in Jesus name . We pray
a man Chief Gaylor ,
ask that we sing the Air Force hymn .
And so to honor that request , our own
senior airman , Emily Marshall will
come and lead us . She'll be
accompanied by staff sergeant , Adam
Walker on piano . You'll find the words
in your program . Now , after the Air
Force hymn , I'll ask that you would
please be seated and then direct your
attention to the screens for a
beautiful memorial video that was
produced by the Robert D Gaylor NCO
Academy right here at Lackland Air
Force Base . And so now would you
please stand as we sing together ?
Chairman Marshall ?
And you may be seated .
I think the highlight of this service
is getting to hear from some of the
people who knew Chief Gaylor the best .
First , the current Chief Master
Sergeant of the Air Force , Joan Bass
will come and speak . And then
representing the former Chief Master
Sergeant number 12 , Eric Bin will come
and speak . Thank you , Chief Bass and
Chief Benken for coming . And what an
honor to have you here today .
And then finally , representing the
Gaylor family . Chief Gay's son ,
Lieutenant Colonel , retired Ken Gaylor
or is his daddy called in Kenny .
And after Ken speaks , we're going to
hear Chief Gay's favorite hymn
sung by senior airman Marshall .
But first Chief bass
hot fries . Name on the
mailbox , attitude ,
aptitude and opportunity . Name
another airman . You can identify with
a single phrase or a collection of
words that has left a lasting impact
on this air force . Our airmen both
past and present . There is only one
chief master sergeant of the Air Force ,
Bob Gaylor . Our beloved number
five , we've heard his stories , we've
learned from them and we've been
inspired by his words on his Wednesday
with the chief shared just four weeks
ago , Chief Master in the Air Force
Gaylor made it a point to talk about
and emphasize the importance of
character . He was always teaching , he
was always sharing and most certainly
always inspiring . So today , as we all
gather , may we reflect on the
character of Sims , a Gaylor
and the fact that we are all so much
richer because of him ? And may we
celebrate a life well lived
for me personally . I know we
are not supposed to have favorites ,
but he was mine . Number five was my go
to trusted advisor and wise
counsel . He embraced me like family as
did Elaine Carol and Kenny
when I needed perspective . In true
number five fashion , he would share a
story and his stories were lessons that
I needed to hear . So simple , yet , so
true . His stories were also
incredibly detailed .
He remembered
everything I remember a time when we
visited and he shared a story about
when he met Selma . He shared about
when they got married , the details of
their honeymoon to include the exact
hotel that he stayed at . He remembered
the room number and hit the exact cost
of the hotel that night .
I don't know about you , but I get
excited when I remember my anniversary .
He even remembered the dates of when we
vi he visited bases across the globe .
It didn't matter if it was 50 years ago ,
he knew the dates and
he often remembered the names of the
people whom he had a privilege to meet ,
who else was amazed at his uncanny
memory . In any case , he had a gift .
He certainly had a gift of a great
memory , but he also had a gift that
many of us in this room and across the
world have felt he had a special gift
to make us all feel so very special .
Like we were the only people in the
room and certainly like we were part of
the Gaylor family . I'm certain that
his upbringing and growing up as a
second of eight Children in Indiana
helped shape and set the character of
the man . We would be privileged to
call our chief . In fact , if I can
just share with you a very brief
timeline of number five's time in our
air force chaplain . I'll fill in some
blanks as you mentioned . I'll start
from the beginning of his airman
journey where Bob Gay's character stood
out amongst the rest . It started when
he showed up for basic military
training in September 1948 a
year after the birth of our great Air
Force and in true Bob Gaylor fashion ,
he said , what ? Probably nobody else
on earth has said that our basic
training experience made him feel like
a kid at Christmas said no one ever
but Bob Gaylor . After 13 weeks of
basic training in a short return home
from leave . Private first class Gaylor
arrived at his first duty station ,
Waco airbase Texas . When he
arrived , he was offered three choices
to be a cook , a firefighter or a
military policeman . He
chose military police .
After eight months in Waco , the
motivated PFC Gaylor was promoted to
corporal and he was finally selected to
attend MP school . Upon his return , he
was promoted to buck sergeant . And
just a few months later , Buck Sergeant
Gaylor volunteered to be a permanent
gate guard even after his buddy shared
with him . You don't want to do that ,
Bob , you have to be sharp , you have
to shine your boots . And again in Bob
Gaylor fashion , he replied , if I'm
going to be a cop , I want to be top of
the line . And that he was one day
while Buck Sergeant Gaylor was working
the front gate . Secretary of the Air
Force . Symington happened to be
visiting the base . He had the
opportunity to open the door of the
secretary . And from that one
simple act , he called his mom and he
said , mom , I opened the door
number five , shared with me that very
particular experience opening the door
for the secretary and how it made him
feel like the greatest cop on earth .
And he never forgot that feeling . In
fact , that experience and how he felt
is one of the reasons why he never
turned down an opportunity to take a
photo to do an autograph and to chat
with airman across the globe . That is
a character of Bob Gaylor . Now coming
on the third , on the end of his third
year enlistment Sergeant Gaylor had a
choice to make reenlist or be
involuntarily extended . Today , we
would call that stop loss . However ,
he chose to reenlist . And in 1942 a
small contingent of air police from
Waco were reassigned to reopen Laredo
Airbase . It was during this assignment
at Laredo where Bob met Selma . They
married in 1953 they had Carol in
January of 1954 and Eddie in January of
1955 . And in 1956 he
was promoted to Master Sergeant . They
promoted people pretty fast back then .
And at that time , Master Sergeant was
the highest enlisted rank in the Air
force . So he decided he was going to
apply to be a warrant officer , but his
application was returned . He's
mentioned something to me about
bureaucracy , but in any case , it
didn't happen because we were waiting
for the two new super grades that would
start two years later . And in July
1956 Elaine was born .
Number five , often joked that the Air
Force came to their rescue and sent him
on a tour to Korea after Elaine was
born . Because at that point , he and
Selma were averaging a child a year .
So off to Korea , he went , he served
well , he served honorably . And as his
time in Korea was coming to an end .
Master Sergeant Gaylor told the clerk
he wanted to go to Lackland
to which the clerk told him he can
guarantee that he will get him to
Lackland . Number five asked how and
the clerk simply said in personnel
fashion , trust me .
Sure enough , he gives orders to
Lackland . He reports to the cop
squadron and the first sergeant said he
wasn't on their roster . So he directed
him to the air police school . The air
police school said you're not on our
books either , but they took a closer
look on his orders and they pointed out
you have a T next to your name . Little ,
did he know that that t meant he was
going to be A T I and
that he volunteered for it . It
turns out that personnel is in Korea
volunteered him for it . So again , in
Bob Gaylor fashion , while others might
have tried to get out of an assignment ,
his positive attitude , his character
led him to simply say forward
March . His time at BMT proved to be
even more special . When the youngest
in the Gaylor clan was born Kenny
in August 1959 . A few years later ,
Master sergeant , Gaylor was ready to
be a cop again and was assigned to
Tachikawa Airfield in Japan and
promoted to senior master sergeant in
1963 . After leaving Japan , he went to
Columbus Air Force Base . And it was
during that assignment when senior
Master Sergeant Gaylor was selected to
attend his first PM E experience the NC
Academy at Barksdale Air Force Base .
He earned the honor graduate and the
academic award . And because the cadre
was so impressed with Senior Master
Sergeant Gaylor . Three days after
returning to Columbus , he received a
call to come and fill a role at the
Academy . Of course , he took the
position and he moved his family to
Barksdale . However , after teaching
just two classes , the escalation of
the Vietnam war caused all of the
academies to close . And senior Master
Sergeant Gaylor transitioned back to
being a military policeman . This is
often how Chief Master Sergeant of the
Air Force Gaylor began sharing his
lesson on attitude , aptitude and
opportunity , specifically on how a
setback can often lead to unexpected
opportunities . It was in 1967 that
he received orders to karate Thailand .
And while there , he was promoted to
Chief master sergeant . And in Thailand ,
Chief Gaylor would shake the hands with
the first chief master sergeant of the
Air Force . Paul Ey , Chief Gaylor left
Thailand with orders to Grand Forks .
However , when he came back to the
States , he found out from Selma that
they were not going to Grand Forks .
Instead , he was going to be an
instructor at the newly reopened Sack
Academy at Barksdale , the spouse
network even back then was alive and
well , number five credits the
late Sims a number six James mccoy for
the instructor opportunity because
mccoy was the one who filled the
positions for the newly opened academy .
I have no doubt that Chief Master
Sergeant of the Air Force mccoy knew
then what we all know now that the
incredible character of Chief Master
Sergeant of the Air Force Gaylor would
make him the perfect fit to teach and
develop a generation of airmen
following that in 1970 . At the request
of then Lieutenant General David Jones ,
Chief Gaylor became the first senior
enlisted advisor to second Air Force
after receiving his fourth star in
becoming the UAE commander . General
Jones would once again request Chief
Gaylor to join him . And in July ,
1971 Chief Gaylor and his family moved
to Germany . Chief Gaylor established
the UAE Command Management and
Leadership Center a 60 hour course of
instruction for non commissioned
officers . He hired three people on his
staff and they traveled throughout
Europe , teaching effective speaking ,
equal opportunity and leadership
management . He continued those duties
until his selection as the UAE senior
enlisted advisor . In 1973 . A
year later , Chief Gaylor received a
phone call from the Pentagon informing
him that the now chief of staff of the
Air Force , Jones wanted to move him
again this time to travel around the
Air Force , talking about leadership ,
a unique position that had never
existed before and does not exist now .
So Chief Gaylor and his family moved to
Randolph where he was given blanket
orders to go anywhere in the Air Force
to talk about leadership . In fact , in
1975 Chief Gaylor traveled 265
days talking about leadership at base
theaters as his reputation would build
on a base . He'd go from talking to
about 100 airmen to hundreds of airmen
two times a day for three days straight
at all of our installations . And
somehow during those busy visits , he
managed to find time for a round of
golf with the late S ISA F mccoy .
And during one particular round of golf ,
a runner came out to the golf course to
find Chief master sergeant of the Air
Force number six and let him know he
had a phone call for some of our
younger folks in here . Back then , we
did not have cell phones . Number six ,
took the phone call and returned back
to the court and he told Chief Gaylor
they want them both to interview to be
the Chief master Sergeant of the Air
Force . We aren't sure who the they is .
I got a phone call one day from they as
well . So I can only imagine how the
rest of that round of golf played out .
And it was on 17 July , 1977 that
Chief Gaylor was notified of his
selection as 1/5 chief master Sergeant
of the Air Force . He served in that
position as power Chief master Sergeant
of the Air force from 1 August 1977 to
31 August 1979 .
And during his tenure as a Chief master
sergeant in the Air Force , Chief
Gaylor shared his knowledge and he
shared his love of leadership to airmen
across the globe . The Air Force also
happened to open 70 leadership schools
during his time , secured overseas
sponsorship for dependence of airmen of
all ranks and he championed the Air
Force's first maternity uniform .
Even postretirement Chief Gaylor never
stopped taking care of airman
development care and commitment were in
his blood even during the height of
COVID . And in his nineties , Chief
master in the Air Force , Gaylor was
determined to still reach airmen . He
did it with his weekly Facebook series
Wednesdays with the Chief Chief Gaylor
served our airmen and our air force for
over 75 years . He wore this
uniform for 31 and continued for
another 44 . No doubt , still
feeling like a kid at Christmas , our
Air Force is better because of Chief
Master Sergeant of the Air Force . Bob
Gaylor . He is a national treasure . He
is a legend . He is an American airman
and his legacy will live on in all of
us . His name and legacy will also
live on in the Robert D
Gayler NCO Academy , the
Robert D Gaylor Airman Leadership
School , the Gaylor Flight at Basic
military training , the Gaylor Dining
Facility at joint base Charleston , the
Robert DG Gaylor Afsa Chap
chapter at Lackland , the S ISA F ,
Robert D Gaylor Air Force Aid Society
Grant and lodging suites across the
globe to include one of his favorites ,
Gaylor Gulch at Elmendorf .
But in good Bob Gyler fashion number
five told us at the last AFSA , it's
not bragging if you actually did it and
he has done it . So number five , until
we meet again , I know where I'll find
you . Your name is on
the mailbox . Thank you .
Well , I told Kenny Gaylor the other
day , this is kind of a surreal moment
and it really is to be here and , and
doing this . But uh I'm privileged to
speak on behalf of the former Chief
Mess Sergeants of the Air Force and all
of whom have shared a special
connection with Bob and , and the
Gaylor family over the years . Last May
I think Bob on his 93rd birthday
occasion was kind of feeling his own
mortality . And he sent out a
reflective letter to some of his
closest friends in it . Bob gave us the
25 words that defined the foundation of
his life , his values , his personality ,
and his style , very appropriate
words for this gathering , faith ,
family and friends were also included
at the end of the letter . He added the
postscript that said it's been a great
ride . No sad songs for me . Smile
and what a great right he had . That is
exactly what Bob would want us to do
today , for all of us to be smiling and
what an awesome life he was blessed to
have and reflect on his enormous
contributions to this great air force
in this great nation . So I had my
first encounter with Bob Gaylor about
50 years ago in 1974 . I was at
Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin ,
Texas . I was a newly minted staff
sergeant . I think I had staff sergeant
on for about a minute . I came out of
the ops building and I was running to
the parking lot and as I was sprinting
past the wing commander's office , the
back of the door opened up in two
uniform gentleman appeared before me
and I ran right into him . I stepped
back and I thought , oh my gosh , I
just took out the wing commander . This
is , oh my gosh . You know , I'll never
live this down . So I came to attention .
I said , Herman Bein reports . His
order . Please don't kill me , sir . I
looked and it was two chiefs . Now ,
I'm embarrassed . I can't believe that
I did this . I saluted two enlisted
people . I started , you know , begging
for forgiveness . And then I said , oh ,
you know , I , I knew in basic training
that you never saluted officer or
saluted enlisted people . You know , I
learned that lesson . Please don't
shoot me , please don't kill me . And
Bob Gaylor reached around and he hugged
me and he said , son , if that's the
only thing you screw up today , things
are gonna be just fine . So I always
tell people , I embellish the story
because three years later , he became
the chief master sergeant in the Air
Force . So I would embellish the story
and say , yeah , you know , me and Bob ,
we used to have conversations down here
at Bergstrom Air Force Base . He's
gonna be a great chief Mass Sergeant ,
the Air Force and you know , you just
wait and see that guy can really talk ,
he can do all kinds of stuff , you know ,
so just watch out for him and for all
you youngsters . I think Bob kind of
had the uh the midas touch if you will .
I think when he put his arm around me
and told me he gave me some positive
words . Um I think that was kind of the
midas touch and said , hey , you're
going to be successful in your life ,
you're gonna be successful in your
career . So for all you youngsters that
have hugged Bob Gaylor and there's a
lot of you out there , things are gonna
be just fine . So we all know that Bob
had an uncanny ability to take
something that was very simple and turn
it into a life lesson . Something as
simple as an old movie , like 12
o'clock high with Gregory Peck . We
heard him give a 45 minute speech one
time on just one scene from that movie ,
anything could be turned into a life
lesson . And sometimes you received a
personalized life lesson that's meant
just for you . And because Bob is a
straight shooter , there might be a
little bit of tough love that's
included in that . So I'm up in DC and
I'm hosting the former Chief Mass
Sergeants of the Air Force and Bob
Gaylor and I are taking a break and
we're sitting there by ourselves and he
said , is there anything that you
really dislike about DC ? And I said ,
you mean besides the obvious
politicians and things like that ? He
said , yeah , is there anything else
you dislike ? And I said , yeah , Bob ,
I said , I hate the , I hate the
traffic . I said , the traffic drives
me crazy . I said the construction ,
the people don't know how to drive .
And I said it takes an hour and a half
to get home after you've been in the
Pentagon all day . I said , I don't
like that at all . And I looked at him
and he's kind of smiled and he said ,
well , Chief , he said that's on you .
He said that's on you . He says you
choose to be miserable in that traffic .
He said , when I get in traffic , I
think of blissful things . You know , I
might write a speech , I might think
about my family . You know , life is
bliss . I don't let it bother me . He
said that's on you . Life's about
choices . Chief , you got to make the
right choice . So now every time I get
stuck in traffic , I look over to my
right . And there's that blissful Bob
Gaylor living rent free in my head
and he'll be there forever . And Bob ,
I'll never charge you a dime being the
chief mass sergeant of the Air Force
affords you thousands of treasured
moments and opportunities to develop
friendships that are going to last
forever . That can be said of our
endearing relationships with the Gaylor
family . Bob will soon ,
Bob will soon joined his bride Selm
over at Fort Sam . We all remember her
very fondly for her humor , for warmth
and her charisma , a great American
patriot . She had a deep love and
passion for our air force and for this
great nation , our time spent with
Selma over the years was his most
precious and treasured by all of us .
Bob also warmly welcomed the formers
into the Gaylor clan and moments spent
with Kenny Carol and Elaine and their
families over these many years have
been especially precious and treasured
by all of us . And we want to know ,
want you to know that uh we sincerely
appreciate your friendship and we hope
that continues for many years to come .
We love you all . You know that finally ,
folks who are part of the greatest
generation and the boomer generation ,
that would be you and me chaplain .
Well , remember another Bob who did so
much for our men and women in uniform ,
so much so that he received the
enlisted forces . Highest honor , the
order of the sword . His name was Bob
Hope and he traveled and entertained
troops serving in combat zones around
the world , but most notably were his
dozens of trips that he made to Vietnam .
When Bob Hope would sign off at the end
of each show , he would always sing a
song called Thanks for the Memories .
And today , on behalf of Chief Bass and
the former Chief Mass Sergeants of the
Air Force , I would like to say thank
you . Number five . Thank you for all
the memories and for all that you've
given to our great Air Force and our
great nation .
Good morning , everyone . I am Kenny
Gaylor , Chief Gaylor S youngest child .
On behalf of the entire Gaylor family ,
we thank you so much for attending
today's service . Honoring Chief Master
Sergeant , the Air Force number five ,
Bob Gaylor . We and his family knew him
affectionately as dad , as grams , as
great grands as brother Bob and his
uncle Bob . While many of you knew him
simply as the chief .
His family understands dad was many
things to many people . And so we
appreciate your attendance today .
First off , the Gaylor family would
like to express our deepest gratitude
to the teams of the chief master of the
Air Force , the Air Force Honor Guard
Porter Loring Mortuary and their
wonderful professional staff and
especially the five second Air Base
Wing for handling every aspect of the
special day , which helps us pay
tribute to our dad . So again , thank
you very much for all your service and
thank you very much for attending . Now ,
before I go on , I got to tell you that
Gaylor Men are not known for brevity .
Dad often related the story of speaking
at Herbert Field Florida at their
Special Operations Wing banquet . After
he spoke that evening , the wing
commander's wife said , oh , Chief , I
could just listen to you talk all night
and the wing commander said , I think
we just did
right . So while I will
try to be brief uh this morning , I
know you understand our family's need
to relate to you because we're pretty
sure we know why you're here .
Obviously , we want to honor the chief
and pay tribute . But I think there's a
larger need for us all to be here . I
think it's for the memories . I think
it's for the stories that the chief
told so . Well , he had a unique gift
for relating a message and it's all
because he wanted one thing .
He just wanted to make us think . He
wanted to make us think about things
that are important in our lives . Like
how to provide good service , how to
care for others , how to be a good team
member , how to feel pride in your
organization .
Most importantly , dad wanted us to
bring out the best in ourselves . The
chief gave us examples of those
important messages in stories that he
would tell audiences around the world .
You know , the stories allow me to tell
you a couple first story .
Dad was working in his yard one day as
he often did , he loved working in his
yard . The neighbor drove by , rolled
down the window and hollered out to him
doing some yard work today . Hi , Bob .
That's right . Dad said , I notice
every time I drive past Bob , you're
out here working in your yard . And dad
said , well , I enjoy it . I don't know
anyone who works in their yard as much
as you do , Bob . Ok . Dad said ,
you know , Bob , you can hire somebody
to do this yard work for you . That
said , I know , but like I said , I
enjoy doing it by now . Dad had enough
of that conversation . He was ready to
go back to his yard work . But the
neighbor persisted . And dad told me he
began , the neighbor began to analyze
him . He said , Bob , I just can't
imagine why someone would work so hard
in their yard . Why do you do it ? And
right then dad said something
spontaneous and quite clever for which
he became very well noted and widely
quoted because my name is
on the mailbox because my
name is on the mailbox . That's pretty
powerful , so simple yet so
powerful . The Gaylor family
experienced the meaning of that story .
Firsthand . Last year , many of , you
know , dad contracted a severe
infection last May that almost wiped
him out . And within two days , we
thought we were about to lose him . He
didn't want to go to the hospital even
though the harsh infection really
warranted direct medical care to have
any hope of surviving . But we
respected dad's wishes . He simply told
us he did not want to die in a hospital .
If he was going to pass , he wanted to
pass at home . We understood and we
honored dad's request . We called in
hospice care . We really didn't know
what else to do . We wanted to help
keep dad comfortable . So they helped
us in a somewhat act of desperation .
We contacted his cardiologist , Doctor
Charles Holler at Wilford Hall Medical
Center here at Lackland Air Force Base .
Now I have to tell you when I made that
phone call , I fully expected Doctor
Holler to urge us to take dad to the
emergency room . That's where he needed
to be . I truly felt without a visual
exam or without lab work on his blood
or any tests on dad's weakened heart ,
we would be told to get him to the , er ,
I came back from the phone call and I
saw the look of an anticipation on my
sisters and my wife's face and they
said to me , what did he say ? We need
to get him to the , er , right ? He
said , take him to the , er , that's
what we really need to do . I said , no ,
that's not what he said . They looked
at me puzzled . What did he say ? I
said , he actually asked me to give him
a little time to do some research and
he'll get back to us . That's what he
said . I said , that's what he said .
Now , you can only imagine at that
point in our desperation , what that
response from Dr Holler did to provide
a family some hope in a time of utter
hopelessness and deep despair from that
day on Dr Haller in a very low profile
manner , became available for dad's
every medical need . He responded to
our texts and calls after hours , he
contacted us on weekends , he called us
while he was on leave and he saw
that on a continuing basis until his
passing , the Gaylor family is
convinced that dad was given eight
months time . He never would have been
able to enjoy and believe me he did
enjoy . So here's the question . Right .
Dad would ask why ,
why did doctor holler provide that
degree of attention ? Like I said , we
could have been easily told , I
strongly urge your family get him to
the , er , where we can see him , where
we can examine him . That's what we
expected to hear . Nothing more . So
why did you do it ? I can tell you it
wasn't for money or recognition or
any perceived pressure . You know why ?
Because for doctor holler , his name is
on the mailbox . When dad would
tell audience the mailbox story , he
would ask them a question . Remember ,
what would he ask ? That's right . Is
your name on the mailbox ? Dad was
talking about accountability , about
pride and about ownership . Do you have
it ? He would ask is your name on your
unit's mailbox ? How about in your
home , in your neighborhood raising
your kids ? Remember the chief just
wanted us to think he didn't want to
tell us how to act . He wanted you to
think he wanted you to think about
putting your name on the mailbox .
Dad had so many great messages about
the importance of providing good
service and the importance of the right
attitude . Do you remember the story of
dad driving down to Laredo to speak to
the National Association of Banking
Women ? He arrived early and he stopped
at a hamburger stand because he hadn't
eaten lunch . His talk wasn't until
later that evening while he was at the
hamburger stand . He witnessed a young
boy delivering hamburgers and french
fries . The man behind the counter was
running the hamburger stand . Remember
how dad described the boys deliveries ?
He would say this kid was running .
He said , I'm not talking about loping
or jogging . He said , I'm talking
about starter block firing pistol
Olympic style sprinting . When
dad got a chance to talk to the boy
between deliveries . He started a
conversation with him , conversation
with something like this . Hi . Hi ,
what's your name ? Juan . Juan . How
old are you , Juan ? 1111 . You work
here , Juan ? Yes , sir . Every day
after school from 330 to 530 . And what
would your job be ? Juan ? I do the
deliveries here , sir . Where did you
take that last order ? He said to the
drug store around the corner on Salinas
Avenue . Dad said you were really
running with that delivery , weren't
you , Juan ? And Juan said I always do .
Dad loved that answer . I always do
that . Thought that's a great answer .
He asked him every order . W yes sir ,
that fast . Yes , sir . Up and back .
Yes , sir . Dad had poised for the big
question , right ? Why ,
why do you run that fast ? And that
young lad looked up at the chief cocked
his head and said , because people like
hot French fries and the chief said ,
I guess you're right . Dad
admits the response from one really
didn't hit him until later . That night .
He had finished his talk . He was
driving back to San Antonio had a
chance to review the day and he
remembered the response . People like
hot French fries . Juan had the
answer . Once again , the Gaylor
family experienced the meaning of that
message in these last eight months .
Dad's health was diminishing . We knew
that he remained very active , but he
needed assistance . He still had things
he wanted to accomplish . He still had
audiences . He wanted to address , he
still had messages he wanted to
broadcast , he still had friends , he
wanted to visit . So to our rescue came
Mr Cody Kirksey from the 59th Medical
Wing and Cody without any
fanfare met us for every appointment ,
provided every wheelchair picked up
every prescription and left us wanting
for nothing . He didn't have to .
Once again , there was no extra pay ,
no extra recognition . So why did Cody
help us in that fashion ? Because he
knew the answer . Dad told us in the
story of Juan from Laredo . People like
hot fries . Once again ,
dad would ask you the audience a couple
of questions . Right . First question .
Is that true ? Do people like hot
fries ? Sure . They do .
Dad used to say when your aunt Gertrude
comes to visit from Buffalo New York ,
you don't say get in the car . Gert ,
we're taking you to a place that serves
cold soggy french fries .
So of course it's true . People like
hot fries . Then dad would say the next
question I'm gonna ask . It's a little
tougher . Right ? And here it is . Do
you deliver hot fries ? Do you
provide the highest level of service
you possibly can ? Do you try to make
it a point to make people feel good ,
feel welcome , feel like you're there
for them , feel like they're part of
the team . It's something we should
come to expect when we're delivering
when we're dealing with any aspect of
customer service . That's what dad
believed we should expect and deliver
hot French fries . If you don't receive
it from a vendor from a merchant from a
ser service provider , you can ask them
like dad did , do you know Juan from
Laredo ? And when they look at you like
you're crazy . You can say , well , he
delivers hot French fries , then you
can walk away feeling magnanimous ,
which dad always said was an officer
word . He didn't know what it meant ,
but he liked that word . Yeah . Dad
liked to laugh at himself . He
encouraged us kids to learn , learn to
laugh at ourselves . Also don't take
yourself too seriously . He would tell
us in high school . I gotta tell you I
wasn't the be best athlete in school .
I made the junior varsity basketball
team , but I didn't play very much .
But I like being on the team . Yeah ,
we love being on the team , didn't we
Willie one day after
practice ? I said to my coach excitedly .
I said , hey , coach my dad's gonna
take me this weekend to get some new
basketball shoes . As I walked away .
He said , Gaylor . Yeah . Coach , tell
him not to spend too much .
Listen , dad and I laughed about that
episode for years and he began relating
that story to audiences all over
because it makes the point . So . Well .
Don't take yourself too seriously .
Take your job seriously . He used to
say , but take yourself lightly , learn
how to make humor and laughter a big
part of your life . That's what the
Chief did . He loved to laugh . He
loved to smile . He would often say
laughter is the sunshine of the soul .
You can feel it today . It's fantastic .
So I'll leave you with this thought
when you recall Chief Bob Gaylor and
celebrate his life . Remember to think ,
remember to smile and remember to laugh .
Thank you so much on behalf of the
Gaylor family for coming to share time
with us today . God bless you all .
Chief Gaylor used to say when I
don't know what to say . I say ,
wow ,
wow , my
goodness . I look out on this room .
It's amazing . You know what ? I think
there are more chiefs per capita in
this room than any crowd I've ever been
in . There are a lot of chiefs here ,
but I think you would all agree with me .
Chief Bob Gaylor is the chief of
Chiefs say ,
how do , how do you know that when
Jesus said it like this , whoever would
be chief among you , let them
be the servant of all .
Chief Gaylor took that to heart
and he never ever stopped
serving .
He retired from the Air Force in 1979 .
But the Lord said , but wait , there's
more . And so then he served
with USA A for 16 years . And
when he retired from USA , a the Lord
said , but wait , there's more .
And the good news is that on January
17th ,
2024 the Lord said , but wait ,
there's more .
I received a handwrit Christmas card
from the Chief this past December . Ok ,
I'm bragging . Now ,
here's what he wrote in there .
Chaplain page . It's my favorite time
of the year . The birth of
Jesus , music ,
lights , food and thinking of dear
friends . I'm living with my
son , Kenny . Now , still able to
drive
if you say so and
live independently under their watchful
eye and the Lord's loving care .
I love that .
Well , five weeks after he wrote those
words , Chief Gaylor
slipped away peacefully in his sleep
on Wednesday , January 17th ,
they're at home with Ken and Rhonda .
Do you remember Jesus promise that I
shared earlier ? He said in my father's
house , in my father's house are many
rooms and I go to prepare a place for
you .
Can you just imagine the joy of falling
asleep in your son's house and
waking up in the father's house ?
Yeah ,
that's a beautiful way to go . Now ,
you know , we don't like to think about
our mortality , even though we know
it's true . This day is coming for all
of us . And if we were to think about
our mortality , I
think we would all agree . You know ,
when I go II , I wanna die like the
chief at home
at age 93
loved by your family , respected
by everyone who knows you ,
no regrets and most important of
all with a reservation in the
father's house , a room prepared
waiting for you . So here's my message
today . If you want to die like
the chief , you got to
live like the chief .
So in Chief Gaylor style ,
I'll use three of his powerful F words
to describe just how the chief lived .
How many of you heard his famous uh uh
you 12 . Let's see , what do you call
it ? Uh My 12 most powerful F words .
So maybe when I , I get to 93 I'll have
12 . But today it's I , I've got three .
That's all I got .
The first F word that describes Chiefs
life is he loved his
friends . Jesus said
this . He said greater love has no one
than this and he lay down his life for
his friends . Now , most of us will
never ever risk our lives on a
battlefield . But you know what ? We
can still lay down our lives for our
friends just like Chief did .
What I mean is that Chief did not
live for himself . He lived for others .
God gave him this remarkable gift ,
maybe , maybe a singular gift of being
able to connect with people with his
warmth and , and his ability to
encourage people and his ability to
build others up .
He would speak and we would listen and
we would laugh and then he would touch
our hearts with a story about a boy
named Juan running with hot french
fries and we'd never forget it .
The chief loved his friends and here's
the good news . Chief circle of
friends included every single airman
past and present . And I'll always be
grateful . I stood in that circle . How
about you ? Yes .
And Chief never failed to give us his
best . He always delivered the fries
hot to us every single encounter .
He never stopped serving . He never
stopped laying down his life for
us . So here's my
encouragement to you live like the
chief , the
second f that describes Chief Gay's
life as he loved his family
as I talked with Carol Elaine and Ken .
And I should tell you each one of them
told me in private that they were his
favorite
as I talked with Carol and Elaine and
Ken in preparation for this
service . I just love the stories of
the Gaylor family . I
love how you love each other
and how you enjoy being together .
It's just a beautiful thing . So here ,
here's what I would say to you all .
Listen to me with Miss Selma by his
side . She was an equal partner in this ,
with , with Miss Selma by his side ,
Chief Gaylor accomplished amazing
things . He rose to the top of his
chosen career . And as long as there is
a United States Air Force , he'll never
be forgotten . But , but listen
to me , his greatest achievement was
not becoming Chief master sergeant of
the Air Force .
His greatest achievement is sitting in
this room . Look at that beautiful
family . They taught them to love the
Lord and love each other .
Yeah , Selman Bob Gaylor built a
beautiful family . There's nothing
better than that . So my encouragement
to you today live like the chief .
The third f that describes Chief
Gay's life is he lived with faith . He
lived with faith . The
past six months , the chief was living
with Ken and Rhonda
and they set up a monitor in the
chief's room so they could hear if he
needed anything at night
and at night they could hear him in his
room saying his prayers out
loud and they would go on for some
time . And he was saying , thank you
Lord for another day and thank you for
my family . And he would pray for them
each one by name
and he would say Lord , your will be
done .
And then he would sing himself to sleep
singing his favorite hymn . Maybe
he was remembering the days when he and
his brother John sang in their father's
choir at church when they were boys
but in the night from , from their room ,
Ken and Rhoda would hear him singing
and he walks
with me and he talks
with me . What does he tell you chief ?
And he tell me I
am his own and
the joy we share
as we tarry there none
other has ever
known . Hm .
For there's a way to live right there
walking and talking with the Lord .
You wanna die like the chief did
loved by his family , respected by all
who knew him , no regrets and with the
reservation in heaven , then you
got , you gotta live like the chief .
So again in Chief Gaylor style , let me
ask you a question .
How can we be so sure that we have a
reservation in heaven ? And that life
goes beyond this death of the body .
That's a great question . Listen , with
the mortality rate of one out of every
one .
That question should fascinate all of
us .
Well , Jesus showed up at the funeral
of a friend named Lazarus and
answered that question for us . An
eyewitness tells us that when Jesus
showed up at this funeral for
Lazarus and when he saw the grief of
the family and when he saw Lazarus two
sisters , Mary and Martha grieving ,
he cried , Jesus cried , he wept .
Imagine that Jesus the creator who put
on our uniform and came and lived with
us so that we would see and know what
God has always been like , cried at a
funeral the manliest man who ever lived ,
cried at a funeral .
He wept . What does that say to me ?
Family ? It says to me , God is not
some distant force untouched by your
grief and what you're feeling . Nor is
he an angry tyrant who's waiting to
hammer you for something you've done
wrong . But here is one who cares about
your grief who loves you and cares for
you . It says that God cares about what
you're going through right now and some
of you are going through hard stuff
right now . God cares ,
but Jesus did much more than sympathize
that day . He revealed a
great truth that day standing at the
graveside of his friend and I want to
share it with you now because it's a
game changer . It changes everything ,
especially on a day like today . And
here's what he said , Jesus said , I
am the resurrection and the life
whoever believes in me will live even
though they die . And he looked at
Martha , the , the sister of the
deceased and he asked her , Martha ,
do you believe this ? And , and
what is perhaps the greatest statement
of faith in all the Bible ? Listen what
this woman said . She said , I believe
that you are the Messiah , the Son of
God . Here's
another question . Perhaps you are
asking why should I believe someone who
makes such an outrageous statement at a
funeral ? Well , what if
that person told them to roll the stone
away from Lazarus's tomb .
And what if he called for Lazarus to
come out of the tomb ? And what if the
man who had been dead and buried for
four days walked out alive ? Would you
believe him ? Then the people who were
there that day they believed ,
let me keep going . And what if that
same man would die on a cross for us
and walk out of his tomb alive ? Three
days later , just as he predicted ,
would you believe him ? Then the
eyewitnesses did ? And they were many
and so did Bob Gaylor . Well ,
I'll , I'll never be Chief master
sergeant of the Air Force . I've , I've
given up that dream . It's never going
to happen . But you know
what , I can live like the chief .
So that one day I'll be able to die
like the chief loved by my family ,
respected by those who know me with no
regrets and most of all with confidence
in a savior who loves me and who's
prepared a place for me . Well , let me
just close now . Thank you all so much
for your patience . Let me just close
now with a final word to Chief Gaylor ,
six grandchildren and five great
grandchildren because that's where he
was so invested right now . Now ,
I believe at a Gaylor family Christmas
gathering , Chief Gaylor
got all of you together and pulled out
a flip chart . Am I telling the truth ?
Yes . There he pulled out a flip chart
and he gave a briefing to his grandkids
and , and his great grandkids on , on
uh uh life and leadership and customer
satisfaction or something like that .
Whatever it was . I know it was
wonderful . It was in true Gaylor style .
What if Chief Gaylor could give you one
more flip chart briefing ? What would
he say ? I think , I know ,
I think 0.1 would be . I love you so
much . I am so proud of
you . Find a great
purpose and give it your best .
Stick together , stick
together and finally put your faith in
the Lord and follow him all the way to
the father's house .
Grams . And I will be waiting . God
bless you all . Amen .
Thank you .
But wait , there's more .
Well , there's a song , right ? A song
our Air Force Family sings whenever we
get together , it's a rousing song that
We love and you
guessed it , Chief Gaylor put it on the
list . He wanted us to sing this song .
And so let's stand together and sing it
one more time for the Chief . Give it
your best .
Thanks giving .
Thank you so much on
behalf of the Gaylor family . Let me
say thank you all for coming . I know
some of you came from very far
distances to be here and it's so
greatly appreciated . I'm gonna ask
singer Airman Marshall to sing once
more for us . One more song for us .
It's a great old hymn We Love . It's
called How Great Thou Art
Let me , let you be seated . Why don't
we do that ? Thank you . And after she
sings , the music will continue and
then the ushers will come forward to
direct you when your role is to exit
the building . So if you'll follow
their direction , I'll appreciate that .
And then as you move out of the chapel ,
if you would stand on either side of
the walkway there to honor the chief ,
as the honor guard and as the honorary
pallbearers carry him
and prepare for his transition to Fort
Sam Houston National Cemetery . And
you're all invited to join us there for
full military honors . But please uh
be in place at the assembly area there
at Fort Sam Cemetery no later than 1
p.m. If you're an A dod
ID card holder , uh bus
transportation is available to and from
the cemetery . Uh and you can catch the
bus at the Finks reception center .
And so our final song of the service .
Uh Signor Emma Marshall . Thank you .