May 13, 1985 – My father, Lewis “Pat†Silvey, was struck and killed by lightning near, Jewett, TX. I don’t know if that was the closest town, but it was around there. He was a heavy equipment operator for a mine in the local area. On that day he and 5 or six others were having lunch under a tree. My father was standing with his back against the tree trunk and the others were sitting around on the ground, when the lightning struck. My father died instantly and most of the others ended up in the hospital with sever burns and exit holes wherever their bodies were in contact with the ground. I went to TX with my grandfather to attend a memorial service and spoke with some of the others who were there and could get out of the hospital to attend. They told me there were no storms in the area, and the lightning came from a single lone cloud. I have never done any research about the accident or the weather in the area on that day, so I don’t know many other details.
It is now almost 20 years later, and I have told very few people about this except for my wife and children. I’m not sure why I decided to share it with everybody today, but thank you for listening. If anybody would like to research the date and finds out more information, please feel free to post it.
