Southland Academy’s Weldon brothers staying strong through family tragedy

AMERICUS — The loss of a parent is devastating, especially for a teenager. It’s a time when the love and guidance of a mother and father is most needed.

Three brothers on the Southland Academy baseball team are coping with the tragic personal loss of their father. Dr. Quint Weldon, the team doctor and a family practitioner in Americus, died of a heart attack two weeks ago, leaving behind his wife and three sons, Hunter, a senior; Taylor, a junior, and and Parker, an eighth-grader.

“Two weeks ago yesterday, he had a heart attack after he left the school,” Taylor said. “He passed away around 10 or 11 a.m. We left school and one of our teachers took us down to Cordele, where he was at. Our mom met us out in the parking lot and told us what had happened.”

As traumatic as the experience has been, the brothers are striving to cope. Faith and a desire to honor his memory have been instrumental for them. Weldon encouraged his sons to participate in sports, something that also gives them some respite these days.

“It’s hard, but playing baseball and lifting weights a lot, it takes our mind off of it and that’s what we like to do,” Hunter said. “We would always come home and tell him about it and he would talk to us about it.”

According to Taylor, a designated hitter and third baseman on the team, baseball and sports in general have been therapeutic during a tremendously difficult time.

“With baseball and other sports, it gives us a release from it all,” he said. “It’s therapeutic.”

With his medical experience and time in emergency rooms, Weldon had been extremely cautious and watchful when it came to his three sons.

“He really didn’t like us to do any dangerous things because of what he saw in the E.R.,” Taylor said. “We never had a trampoline, never had a dirt bike. Not ‘til recently did we have a four-wheeler. He just always kept a careful eye on us.”

While Weldon wanted them to stay away from certain things he thought would be harmful, the brothers say sports wasn’t on the list.

“He was a real big football guy,” Hunter said. “He walked on at the University of Georgia

“He always liked football. That’s what he always liked to do. He wanted us to play football and baseball and any other sport.”

Their father’s impact influenced Southland Academy, in particular head baseball coach John Brady.

“I cant speak for the whole community, but he meant a heck of a lot to me,” Brady said. “I think it was Feb. 24, for example. He was able to leave his office with a list full of patients. He was the only provider in the office that day.

“He left his work to come over here and spend 45 minutes with me to tell me that my wife had cancer. He cut off everything that he was doing to come over and look after me. That’s one story in a nutshell about what he meant to me.”

The values and principles the physician taught his three sons, while applicable to baseball, went well beyond the diamond and have motivated them to live their lives in ways that honor him.

“It’s made me want to be a better person all around, not just a better baseball player,” Taylor said. “Especially now, I want to be a lot better for him so he can watch from up there and hopefully see us do good.

“But its not just being a better baseball player. It’s being a better person. I try to be more like him because he was a great all-around guy.”

According to Hunter, a first baseman on the team, their father always reminded them that God always came first and that people were watching them, and that it was important to always do what was right.

“He always told us to always put God first and always know that everybody out there is watching you, that you have a target on your back, especially with him being a doctor and everything,” he said. “They’re going to see what you’re going to do and how you react to things.

“Now, it’s really important that everybody sees how we act and how we carry ourselves. It’s important that we try to be a good Christian example and be a good example to the younger kids.”

According to Taylor, their father taught the brothers to be the best they could be at whatever they did.

“He was a motivator. He always motivated us to do our best,” he said. “He wouldn’t like it if we just hung our heads and felt sorry for ourselves just because he’s gone. To him, that would be no reason to just go through the day feeling sorry for ourselves and not do anything about it, or not work harder to be our best at everything. For him, he would want us to still go on and not let anything that happened hold us back.”

While it has been a very difficult time for the Weldon brothers — and the entire Southland Academy family — their faith in God sustains them.

“It’s been a trying season,” Brady said. “God has a plan for everything. My favorite chapter of the Bible is the first chapter of James. I read it often. It talks a lot about trials making you tougher. “

“The challenges that I’ve gone through are nothing compared to what the Weldon brothers have gone through. God has a plan. We’ll see it one day. It doesn’t make a lot of sense now when things go sideways, but we’ve just got to keep pushing forward. We always talk about playing the game one pitch at a time. Well, the Weldon brothers and the community just have to take it one day at a time.”

Brady has been extremely impressed with the Weldon brothers with how they have handled the loss of their father.

“I probably couldn’t have done some of the things they’ve done,” he said. “They’re tough guys. I’m proud to be a part of their lives.”

Brady went on to say that he thought it was a blessing that Weldon got to see all three of his boys play at the same time. On at least one occasion, all three of the Weldon brothers were in the line up together. According to the Weldon brothers, their father made it to just about every sporting event his sons were playing in, whether it was in Americus or out of town.

For others who have lost a parent, the Weldons have a message of encouragement.

“It’s definitely not easy. There’s definitely going to be a change, but God has a plan for everything, even though you can’t see it now. It’s all going to work out. You just have to take it day by day.” Hunter said.

They also mentioned the importance of cherishing every moment with a loved one or family member because no one knows if it could be the last time spent together.

“Tell your parents you love them,” Taylor said. “You never know when it’s going to happen. I was lucky enough. The last thing I told my dad was I loved him before I left for school. That really helped me out knowing that that was the last thing that he heard from me.

“You may get mad at your parents once in a while, but love them because you don’t know how long you have with them.”