365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 1

December 1, 2025

Jason Bonnicksen

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 1

Today, I buried a man. His name was Harold Gene Schultz, and Harry was more than a man, he was a friend. Equally so, Harry was a parishioner and a brother in the Lord. I will forever be thankful for my friend and the man the Lord God put on this earth.

Harry was a little rough around the edges, I loved that about him. He had been through a lot in life. He’d lost his wife at a very young age; had two children; had been very successful in business; then decided to return back to rural living and work the land on the family farm. There he retired and contemplated life and friendship with those around him, most of whom he loved as a dear friend.

In all honesty, I had a hard time getting through the funeral today. In part because I’ve come down with the man flu, that nasty Minnesota cold that’s just going around, you know. But mostly, it was because lying in that casket, just a few feet from me, was my friend.

Harry had been a Marine, and I of course, served in the Navy. We shared a love for one another that was beyond friendship, it was camaraderie. That camaraderie is true with everyone who’s ever served, like Harry’s son Jason, who served also in his dad’s footsteps as a marine. He and I also share that camaraderie — an unspoken bond between those who served both King & Country. 

That bond, that friendship, that camaraderie between sailor and Marine was on evident display every single week.  In a way that was uniquely Harry, every Sunday — as I would mosey around the congregation before service to say hello — I would invariably come to Harry. He’d stand up (as though popping to attention), say “Good morning reverend” and then offer his hand. With a smirk and a grin on my face, I always replied, “Sit down marine. I’m nothing special. I’m just a man.”

But in Harry’s eyes, I was special; not because I was his pastor, but because I was his friend.

Friendship — today on this very first day of blogging for 365 days, I thought it would be crucial to write about friendship. I am thankful for friends like Harry, like my wife, and like my good friend Michael Patrick Aloysius Schmidt, who inspired me to begin this blog post of 365 days of thanksliving. 

And I want you to hear this. I’m thankful for you too. I’m thankful that the Lord God created you in His image and put you on this earth. He put you on this earth to do something only that you could do. I don’t know what that thing is, but perhaps if anything, it’s just to be a friend to me and countless others.

I have so many things to be thankful for in this life. I could probably think of 365 things just today alone. But of all the things today, that one thing that came to my mind was my friendship with Harry. I’m gonna miss my friend: his smile, his wit and humor, and also the privilege of being able to shake his hand every single Sunday. 

I’m hopeful that one day I’ll see Harry again. Perhaps when I do, I’ll get to walk up to him, shake his hand, and say, “Well done Marine! It’s so good to see you again.”

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