Chapter 28
The Prophet David E. Shapard
1935
In the days after Sumner’s death, David E. Shapard went into deep reflection upon the tragic murder of his sister and the sudden heart attack that took his brother, and came to truly fear and respect the ephemeral nature of life. How the end will come unexpectedly, and how, only after it is all over, that we fully realize the moments that counted in life. How much time we offer up for the locusts to devour. How much love, happiness and peace are betrayed in the pursuit of earthy and carnal things. How the smallest moment can change the course of a life, and lives, forever. How precious and fleeting our time is with our loved ones and friends, and how our best efforts should be rendered before it is gone, resolving regrets and securing our relationships. At any moment finding ourselves in our own final chapter, and hoping that our story was one worthy of the life we were given.
Beginning in late January of 1935, the ‘gloves came off’ and David made it his sole purpose in life to restore the fractured relationship with his son. He was on an urgent mission to ensure that his story would be complete in the event his life would be cut short, and that his son would never doubt how much his father loved him. No longer would anything, nor anyone, be an encumbrance between he and his son. Time was suddenly of the essence - as if he had been given the gift of intuition and prophecy.
In an incredible moment of premonition, he wrote to his son stating; “I want to make this statement to you. Some of these days, and I hope it will not be too late, you are going to find out the true facts, that your feelings toward your father are all unwarranted and you will regret some of the things that you have said and done. A little investigation from other sources, other than where you have gotten your information, would give you an unbiased opinion, and for your own benefit. I hope you will make some investigations.”
Adding to the uncanniness of this moment, David received an unsolicited telephone call from Mrs. Wallace Bruce expressing her sympathies at the passing of Sumner. Recall that it was Mrs. Bruce and her husband Mr. Wallace Bruce who had testified against David at his divorce hearing at Walnut Ridge. Years earlier, a few months before his unexpected death in 1931, Mr. Bruce came to David expressing his sincerest apologies for having taken part in his family affairs.
As it came to pass, during her phone call with David, Mrs. Bruce expressed the same regret, stating that there were many unbecoming facts about Elise that were not revealed until years later. David used the momentum of this moment to relate to Mrs. Bruce that, since the divorce, he and his son had become estranged. David asked Mrs. Bruce to assist him in rekindling the relationship. For her part in erroneously interjecting herself in the affairs of his family, she graciously agreed, and provided David with a letter accurately explaining the many things that happened during that time. David mailed to his son Mrs. Bruce’s letter and pleaded with him to do some investigation into the matter for the sake of their relationship. Before concluding his letter, David again stated an urgency to repair their relationship, as a feeling was welling up within him that; “Some of these days it might be too late.” It was a curious forewarning.
David then set his sights on bigger game, and fired off letters to Elise’s former divorce attorneys, Mr. W. L. Curtis and Mr. Harry Ponder, explaining to them that, in part, due to their smear-tactics during his divorce, his son had lost the respect and love that he should have for his father. David pleaded with them, as Christian gentlemen and fathers themselves, to write to his son, explaining the true facts of the case, clearing his name of the things they reported he did - that he did not. David stated that he was “only interested in not having his son go through life with the feelings that he has towards his father, when it was all uncalled for.”
While there is no evidence that Mr. Curtis replied, David’s letter did significantly resonate with Mr. Ponder, who agreed to assist Mr. Shapard with his mission to restore the relationship with his son. The two men conversed over the phone and David even invited Mr. Ponder to join him as his guest at the Baylor-Arkansas football game to talk things over. As a result, Mr. Ponder issued a letter to David’s son, care of Mr. E. S. Jennings at Conway, Arkansas, explaining a great deal of past events in clarity.
Unfortunately, although not unexpectedly, all these efforts were seemingly in vain. David’s son remained unpersuaded by his father’s efforts. In late February of 1935, David received a callous and abrasive letter from his son stating, “Dear Mr. Shapard, Please don’t bother Mrs. Jennings with any more of your letters. All letters from here on out will be returned unopened…I am returning your last letter as you may want it.”
While the relationship with his son had gone cold, things were heating up at David work. On May 22, 1935, David’s District Manager, Mr. W. H. Eustice, at the Equitable Life Assurance Society was killed suddenly in an automobile accident. A few days later, Mr. L. G. Moses, Agency Manager for the Equitables in Little Rock, Arkansas, wrote to David propositioning him for the job. Thus far, David had worked for the company for 12 years, and had risen through the ranks of Agent, to Special Agent, and now District Manager. Mr. Moses explained that for the first time David would become a salaried employee of the company, no longer working on commission, yet would be required to devote all of his time to the Society, except for the customary two weeks’ vacation. It was a huge promotion with assured income. David graciously accepted the offer, and, in early June of 1935, he was officially promoted to the new position by the company. As the Fort Smith District Manager of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, David now oversaw 23 agents in seventeen counties within northwestern Arkansas. David continued to headquarter out of his former office space in room 803 at the top of the First National Bank building in downtown Fort Smith.
Although his son’s heart seemed impenetrable, David would not be dissuaded. Over the following months, he continued to reach out to people from the past willing to assist - in particular, Elise. David recognized that she was the key, and without her support, their son would perpetually remain in a hostile relationship towards his father. David and Elise fostered healthy communication with one another, both realizing that it was time to bury their past for the benefit of their son’s future. As Elise wrote on June 13, 1935; “God never made a more wonderful boy…You can look the world over and you will never find another David, so for this reason too, I want you to be with him…” Elise gave David his son’s address in Oklahoma City and informed him that she had talked to their son and he had agreed to meet with his father on Sunday. At the meeting, despite David’s best efforts, his son remained stoic and unsympathetic towards his father. While time was unknowingly running out, their relationship seemed unmendable, however, God had other plans.
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