Rev. Clyde J. Verheyden
1907 - 1998
Mr. Verheyden was born October 16, 1907 on a farm near Waxahachie,
Texas. He was one of fourteen children. He was educated in the Waxahachie Public Schools
and attended Trinity University (where he met and later married Mrs. Ruby Wilson
Verheyden), Southern Methodist University, and North Texas State Teachers College at
Denton. They have a son, Jack Verheyden (who is married and also has one son), who lives
in Carmel, California and teaches Theology at Carmel University.
With a straight face, Mr. Verheyden will ask, "Did you know that I
am an ex-con and served in federal prison when I was a young man?" While in college,
Mr. Verheyden was required to write a paper on a subject of his choice. His choice was,
"What does a prisoner think about, and what does the prisoner want?" He managed
to convince his professor, the president of the college, and the warden of Leavenworth
Prison to let him stay in Leavenworth Prison as a "prisoner" for six weeks in
order to get accurate information as to what prisoners think about and what they want.
Only the warden and the president of the college knew he was a student and not an actual
inmate. He said each and every one of the prisoners thought about getting out all the time
and each and every one of them stated they were innocent and did not belong in prison.
Mr. Verheyden later served as a Chaplain in the United States Army
during World War 11. During that time, he was stationed in Brussels and his group was
captured by the Germans. They were rescued by the United States Army some six weeks later
unharmed. While in Brussels, Mr. Verheyden states that they began having individual
services for the servicemen who were killed. It quickly escalated to having mass burials
because so many servicemen were killed. He had not been back to Brussels since his time in
the service. However, he had been uneasy about the carnage he saw while serving. About
four years ago, Mr. Verheyden, his wife, their son and his wife, traveled to Brussels. Mr.
Verheyden stated that he was now at peace within himself since returning to Brussels. He
went to the U. S. Military Cemetery outside Brussels and said it was peaceful and
beautiful. He is very glad that he returned. While on that trip, he went into Luxembourg
and visited the gravesite of General George S. Patton, with whom he was personally
acquainted.
Mr. Verheyden founded and served as Executive Director of Good Samaritan
Foundation from 1951 to 1990. During this period, the Good Samaritan Foundation recruited
and financed the education of some 15,000+ students in the field of nursing.
More recently, he founded the Senior Guidance Center (at the Houston
Junior Forum, Inc.) as a part of the aging program sponsored by the Isla Carroll Turner
Friendship Trust and its Board of Trustees. This program started out receiving about 5-6
telephone calls for assistance each month. It now receives more than 75 calls for
assistance each day.
Mr. Verheyden is especially interested in any program that serves the
aged. It has been a privilege for him to serve on the Board of the Isla Carroll Turner
Friendship Trust since its inception. Mr. Verheyden was a long-time friend of Mrs. Isla
Turner's -- covering more years than politeness permits us to reveal.
Mr. Verheyden has been involved with many, many organizations in his
lifetime. He is a retired ordained minister of The United Methodist Church, he has served
on the board of at least 50 organizations, he has founded and co-founded several
organizations including Good Samaritan Foundation (which furnishes scholarships to nursing
students, including gerontological students), the Senior Guidance Center at the Houston
Junior Forum, Inc. (which provides information to people about services that are available
to the elderly and assisting them in obtaining those services), and many other
organizations. He is still active on many boards, although he states that he has
"retired".
One of the organizations he served with recently gave him a retirement
party and Dave Ward (of Channel 13) was the emcee for that event. Ten years later, the
same organization gave him a retirement party (again) and Dave Ward (again) was the emcee
for that event. Dave Ward's comment was, "Haven't we been here before? Is this deja
vu all over again?'
Mr. Verheyden regularly visits residents of the various nursing homes
which are assisted by the Friendship Trust. Each year, he drives some 60,000+ miles
visiting the various nursing homes and other places and organizations requesting
assistance from the Friendship Trust.
