Emmit Monroe Price

A great man went to be with his Lord on February 6, 2007 at the age of 88.Emmit Monroe Price of Mesquite, TX was born April 20, 1918 in Bristol, TX to Hugh Thomas and Jennie Hall Price.Emmit was one of ten children with 3 sisters and 6 brothers:Minnie Mae Martin(d), Roy Leon Price (d), Edward Hugh Price(d), Willie Price(d), Johnnie Ray Price(d), Bonnie Fay Tisdale, Billie Jean Pack, Jesse Thomas Price and Allen Price. While Mr. Price might have begun his life in a small Texas town, the life he lived was anything but meager.From a young age Emmit Price had a desire to achieve great things, not through fame and fortune, but through the values he held within himself and he would later instill in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - values of God, country and family. In 1940 at a young age of 22, as the world watched in horror as Europe exploded into war, Emmit Price decided to join the United States Army.After being reared on a farm, Mr. Price knew the meaning of working from dawn until dusk, but he had no idea of what lay in store for him in the years to come.In 1941, not only was Mr. Price shipped off to Hawaii to be stationed at the infamous Pearl Harbor, but also in that same year he lost his own father and was unable to obtain a leave of absence from the military.Due to increased threats in the war, Mr. Price was ordered to remain at his post. On December 7, 1941 Mr. Price was on his way to the Mess Hall for his Sunday morning breakfast when he saw a Japanese plane pass overhead.In a split second he heard the air raid sirens begin, and his fellow soldiers running to their battle stations.He ran across the open field barely escaping enemy fire towards the closest gun shed.Only being a Sergeant in the Army at the time, Mr. Price was told by the guard he did not have the authority to open the shed.Mr. Price told his associate the shed was going to be open whether he had the authority or not.Had Mr. Price not taken over and freed the much-needed weaponry, he and several fellow soldiers might not have lived to tell their heroic stories. After surviving December 1941, Mr. Price was given a leave to go home and visit his family now residing in the Ennis area.It was during this leave he would meet and fall in love with his future bride of 62 years.Mr. Price was invited to a party at the Searcy house - known for the 4 beautiful sisters that lived there.While friends and family were introducing him to one of the elder sisters, Emmit had his eyes and heart set on one of the twins - Earlean.However, he did not start off on the right foot, when the next morning he called her on the phone and said, "Hey lazy bones.Why don't you get out of bed?" only to find it was her mother on the other end of the line.That did not stop the headstrong Emmit from pursuing what he knew would be his life's happiness.After proposing marriage 4 times, Earlean Searcy finally said yes.They were wed on June 4, 1944 at the house of their local preacher. Shortly after being married, Mr. Price was sent overseas to Germany where he would help liberate several concentration camps and receive a battlefield commission of Captain.When the war was over in 1945, Mr. Price returned home safely to his new wife. Throughout his career in the Army, Mr. Price also served proudly in the Korean War and during peaceful times here in the United States where he would retire in 1960 after 20 years of service.At the time of his death Mr. Price was a member of the Dallas Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. When Mr. Price retired from the United States Army, he did not stop working.He moved his family to Mesquite, TX where he would take a job at the local high school.It was in 1960 when Mr. Price helped start the ROTC program at Mesquite High School.He worked for the Mesquite Independent School District for several years before finally retiring. While the Army was a major part of Emmit Price's life, God and his family played an even larger role.Mr. Price was a dedicated husband, father and grandfather.After 62 years of marriage, Mr. Price was still as in love with his wife as the first day he saw her.Even through his illness, she was the one face he never forgot.A person does not know what love is unless you have seen it in the eyes of Emmit Price as he looked upon his wife - in person or even just a mere picture.His devotion to her was deeper, truer and more real than anyone could ever imagine. The same can be said of Mr. Price's devotion to God.Emmit became a Christian as a young man, and after marrying Earlean his faith grew stronger.People knew Mr. Price as a godly man devoted to spreading the Gospel to those around him.He was always helping those in need, and with his wife at his side he served in various ministry opportunities.Wherever and whenever there was a need, Mr. Price would be there to lift his fellow man up in prayer. Mr. Price was a member of Edgemont Park Baptist Church where he and his wife helped build and establish the congregation at an early stage in the church's history.Up until his death, Mr. Price was still a member of Edgemont's congregation. On any given day you could have asked Mr. Price how he was doing.His response would always be, "I think I'll live through it."Today, I am here today on behalf of my Grandpa, to say you did live through it, for it and by it.You are with your Jesus now, rejoicing with the angels where you are able to live through it every day for eternity. Emmit Price is survived by his wife Earlean Price; children Linda Carol Dixon, Michael Dale Price and Kathleen Roberts; grandchildren Shannon Price, Matthew Dixon, Elizabeth O'Brien, Rachel Dixon, Jeremy Roberts and Justin Roberts; great-grandchildren Maggie Ann Dixon, Gracie Mae Dixon and Heidi Kate Roberts; and several brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews.