Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Let me welcome all of you to our extended family. You represent Many countries, Families, Faiths and Nationalities and have journeyed a long way to join us tonight and help celebrate the Sacred Ceremony of Marriage of these two young people.

Thank you for honoring them tonight!!

First of all I want to address the 5 young men who are Will's groomsmen.

I want to thank you for:

The depth of your Friendship

The strength of you character

And the wonderful zest for life and boyhood spirit that molded and shaped your personalities and so influenced Will’s personality.

I started trying to shape Will into a man at an early age. As hard as I worked to build the man, --- They worked 5 times harder to build the boy. –They made sure that his life was filled with all the wonderful mischief that a boy should experience.

  They DID A GREAT JOB BUILDING THE BOY.

When Will was 8 years old I started taking him to work with my company.  One day when he was 10 years old, we were working in the oil field near Abilene. It was a hot dry summer day and Will started complaining about being thirsty. I said OK, take my truck and drive to Putnam, TX and buy some cokes and ice. Will jumped in the truck and took off across the pasture.

My friend Bill Roper , working with me asked if Will could drive. I said I don’t know but we are going to find out!!!

Will got half way across the pasture, then he turned around and came back to borrow my straw hat. He said it would make him look older.

45 minutes later he was back with cokes and ice.

WHEN HE WAS 15:

I had Will driving 48,000 pound drilling rigs and 2 ton trucks back and forth between Dallas and Abilene.

His Mother found out and she was furious!!!!

She said the police were going to arrest him for no driver’s lisc. And put him in jail.

I agreed, but told her not to worry—they wouldn’t keep him.

Some where along the way Charlie taught Will to ride Rodeo Bulls.

I was at the Arena the night that he was thrown and stomped. I jumped over the fence, ran across the arena, grabbed him up and carried to the hospital where he laid in intensive for 2 weeks while all the pieces grew back together..

And along the way he has picked me up when I stumbled and fell a few times--AND he will again.

Will and I have taken many trips in life and a lot of them were with the group here tonight. Most of those trips turned into incredible adventures that we will remember for all our lives.

Thank you again

Now I want to tell you about a little KITTEN that drifted into our lives one night at a restaurant in Farmers Branch.  My daughter KIM brought this BEAUTIFUL little girl in and seated her next to me. She was --beautiful-- sitting there with those bright eyes sparkling and so full of energy. I couldn't stand it, I immediately started teasing & harassing her. But --- I must admit, she was sharp and got the best of me!!!

A few months later Fleur & Will began a Relationship!!

Flour’s effect on Will was like a snowstorm.  You go to bed one night and wake up the next morning and everything is covered with a soft blanket of white snow.

The rough edges of the landscape are hidden ------ All that you can see is beauty and Symmetry everywhere.

Michel Angelo said that every block of GRANITE has a magnificent Stature hidden within it. -----BUT-- it takes an ARTIST with incredible talent to bring the Stature out of the Stone!!!

Well -- I watched as Fleur chipped away the stone & polished the STATURE:

I saw the snuff disappear!

I saw the clothing change!

I saw the manners improve!

I saw the mannerisms begin to refine & polish!

Fleur continued to chip away the stone and polish the Stature until one day she found ---a MAN ---

and on that day we lost the Boy!!!

I had worked hard to build the MAN and this group of 5 worked even harder to delay the process with all the wonderful things that BOYS do.

BUT FLEUR FINISHED MY JOB!!!!!!!!!!

LADIES  & GENTLEMEN I can't begin to tell you how PROUD I am of

My BEAUTIFUL FLEUR & HER MAN---!!

Lorain, Joan, and the Magnificent Five:

Please join me and help present a TOAST to:

FLEUR & HER MAN!!

FLEUR & WILL:

The "Passion of your Love" is the soft yield of emotions you feel when you are together and embrace each other!!!

The "STRENGTH of you LOVE" is what BINDS you to each other, when you are apart!!

Fleur & Will I pray that all the passion, love and happiness that you feel tonight will follow you throughout your lives. !!!

Coyle Whitten Jan 12, 2002