I wrote about Sam and Shirley Hershey and their profoundly disabled son, Shad, back in 2019. If you have not read that blog, please do so now, along with the one written the day before. I’ll wait…

Shad passed away suddenly on September 13, at the age of 41.

As I wrote back in 2019, I know the Hersheys well, but there were things I didn’t know. A friend of mine has more history with them and went back to the San Diego area for the memorial service. Here is what I learned from my friend:

• I wrote that the Hersheys had one other son, but you’ll note there were two. My friend said that the first was stillborn or died very early.
• Shad had trouble keeping down food and couldn’t eat normally. Shirley prepared a special pureed diet and fed him through a tube.
• Sam and Shirley built their ministry around Shad. They didn’t consider him an interruption or something to be endured. They never hid him from others or tried to act as if he wasn’t part of their lives. I see that now in the picture I posted back in 2019. Their pictures always included Shad:

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. (Psalm 16.6, NIV

As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 18.30, NIV)