Courage with a Smile

            I love writing about heroes. My latest is Primo Viray, a member of North Carolina's Sound Golf Links.

            Primo is the most beloved member of the club, and with good reason. His life story is one of courage with a smile. Born in 1936 in the village of Lingayen on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, he survived four years of Japanese occupation in World War II. He lost two uncles in the war, but evaded the occupiers by constantly moving with his parents from one hiding place to another.

            In 1958 Primo earned a degree in nursing from the college of Santo Tomas in Manila where he met Rose, his future wife. From 1958 to 1960 he volunteered his services in Laos and then emigrated to the United States where he became a nurse in Chicago's Cook County Hospital and eventually rose to become the OR nurse supervisor at the Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Chicago.

            In 1962 he was reunited with Rose who had also emigrated to the United States and was working as a nurse for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. They married and proceeded to raise a family of six girls, all of whom went to college on Primo's modest income. They number a teacher, an OSHA administrator, an engineer, a lawyer, a social worker, and a doctor.

            After Primo retired in 2004, the Virays built a home in Albemarle Plantation here in Hertford. Primo immediately endeared himself to the community with his sunny disposition, his marvelous sense of humor, and his passion for golf. At 5'4" and 140 pounds, he could be seen on the golf course every day swinging his 50-inch driver and outdriving most of his fellow golfers.

            While on vacation in the Philippines in 2008, Primo suffered a stroke that almost killed him and paralyzed his left side. After three months of intense therapy, he was finally able to stand without assistance. Months later he began walking, although very slowly, by using his body to swing his left leg forward.

            Upon his return home, friends and neighbors found that Primo had not lost his smile nor his sense of humor, despite his disability. More than that, they were amazed by his determination to return to the golf course. Swinging that 50-inch driver of his with only his right hand, Primo developed a fluid tempo that resulted in 150-yard drives with astounding regularity. With the club's permission for Rose to drive  his golf cart everywhere on the course, even to the edge of the greens, Primo could be seen playing every late afternoon when his slow pace would not hold anybody up.

            By 2011 Primo was ready to compete again. His entry in the Member-Guest tournament this October was applauded by his friends, although he was given little chance of making a good showing, even less of winning. Seeded dead last with his son-in-law as his partner, Primo surprised everybody by winning his flight, then shooting a net eagle in the shootout elimination round and a net birdie in the finals.

            When Primo won, his fans were delirious. Even his opponents in the shootout and the finals (me and my brother Phil) cheered wildly for the courageous little man with the perpetual smile.

            Primo Viray won the tournament. But he had already won the hearts of everyone who knows him.