He loves lucy by John Arlon Hawke Find out more about the Free Will Baptist Board of Retirement by calling toll-free (877) 767-7738.

The “H” Team hit the road 21 years ago after boarding a plane in McAllen, Texas, for their Hawaiian honeymoon. He preaches; she sings. He writes booklets and pamphlets; she translates sermons and devotionals into Spanish. He’s a high-mileage evangelist; she’s the organist at First FWB Church in Albany, Georgia.

They sometimes dress in matching red or white outfits. If you ask him to name his all-time favorite TV program, he’d better say I Love Lucy. Before they formed the “H” Team, Irvin and Lucy Hyman started out half a continent apart as a boy from Hyman, South Carolina, and a girl from Myrtle, Missouri.

Dr. W. Irvin Hyman married the prettiest girl to come out of Missouri since…well, since quite some time ago. Lucy grew up in a family of six can-do Wisehart sisters, became a missionary in Cuba, and taught school in Texas before she and Irvin reconnected.

Yes, that’s reconnected. They were students at Free Will Baptist Bible College in the late 1940s. He was dating someone else, and her mind was on Cuba. They would not see each other again for 34 years, until she was a widow and he a widower.

The Seventh Child

Irvin’s life is difficult to capture in print. Born seventh in a farming family of eight children, he wasn’t supposed to live past 15 because of an unhealthy heart. But his praying parents took him and his bad heart to God and kept them there. At age 14, doctors announced that his heart problem had disappeared.

Saved at 18 and ordained at 21, he preached his first sermon in 1948 at a nursing home in Nashville as an FWBBC freshman. The sermon was supposed to last seven minutes, but Irvin says, “I gave them all I could think of in three minutes!”

He pastored seven churches in four states (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina) in a ministry that spans 56 years, including 15 years in full-time evangelism. Irvin has logged more than 2.2 million miles in the Lord’s service (only one speeding ticket), preached 8,000 sermons, and conducted 400 revivals.  He never set a price tag on his revivals, even after a church paid him $17.87 for a five-day meeting.

Calling Dr. Hyman

They call Lucy and Irvin “Dr. Hyman” these days. Both graduated from FWBBC, then earned five graduate degrees between them. He completed the Doctor of Ministries degree at Luther Rice University, she a Doctor of Religious Education degree at Andersonville Theological Seminary.    

Irvin was dean at Georgia Bible Institute by 1979, president by 1981. He served 12 years (1986-1998) as curriculum editor at Randall House Publications. With his flair for words, he has written more than 85 booklets of 50 pages or less.

That FWBBC Connection

Irvin and his first wife Jean had 35 years together before she died. Then he rediscovered Lucy, the lady who put sparkle back in his life. By then, she was a widow.

After graduating from FWBBC, Lucy went to Cuba where she married Felix Lima, a rising young Cuban preacher, and had two children. She was multi-talented and as comfortable singing at national conventions as she was teaching in a local church. But like Irvin, she was lonely.

They both laughingly blame Dr. Roger Reeds (former director at Randall House) and Pastor Billy Hanna (First FWB Church in Albany) for getting them together. Dr. Reeds urged Irvin to contact the attractive widow who taught school in McAllen. Pastor Hanna located Lucy’s address and told Irvin to write her. They caught up with one another at FWBBC’s Alumni Banquet during the 1985 national convention in Nashville. And the page turned for both of them.

The common thread for Irvin and Lucy is their commitment to Christ. He was moderator of the Florida State Association, moderator of the South Carolina Conference, member of the national Sunday School and Church Training Board, and more. When a denominational need arose, he said yes. So did Lucy. For more than 18 years, she was managing editor for Spanish curriculum at Randall House.

Now it no longer seems unusual that a South Carolina boy and a Missouri girl should come together by way of a college in Tennessee, a mission field in Cuba, and make their home in Georgia.

Retirement Decisions

And then came retirement—a surprising moment that required more decisions, adjustments, and changes. Naturally, the couple approached retirement from opposite directions.

Irvin joined the Free Will Baptist retirement program in 1968 while pastoring in North Carolina. Lucy, on the other hand, began a retirement plan in 1986. Both took settlements for a specified number of months.

Irvin advises young ministers: “One of my most important decisions was joining the Free Will Baptist retirement program. Frankly, if it were not for that monthly Board of Retirement check, I wouldn’t have much coming in financially. Get in the plan early. I did, and I wholeheartedly support the program.”

Lucy counsels: “When I worked with Randall House, they matched whatever was held out of my check. Then I began contributing $25 a week extra. I advise young workers to give up something in order tocontribute more to retirement. You can’t live on Social Security.”

Look Back / Look Ahead

When asked who influenced their lives, Lucy cites Mrs. Eunice Edwards, former executive secretary of Women Nationally Active for Christ (WNAC), who encouraged her to consider foreign missions work.

Irvin names former FWBBC registrar and academic dean, Dr. Robert Picirilli, as the person who most influenced his life. “We were from the same area of South Carolina and rode a Trailways bus to Bible College. He’s a great man.”

Both agreed that if they could, they would change one thing about their lives. Lucy: “I’d be more laid back and not so detail driven.” Irvin: “I’d concentrate on more one-on-one personal work outside the pulpit.”

They’re busy in retirement with side-by-side home offices. Irvin spends 25 hours writing each week, and publishes a growing list of booklets, pamphlets, and tracts. Lucy translates Dr. Michael Guido’s sermons and devotionals into Spanish for his 1,500 worldwide newspaper columns. They also teach a Sunday School class at Albany’s First FWB Church.

Gamecock and the Lady

Next time you attend a Free Will Baptist national convention and spot a striking couple dressed in red, that’s probably the Gamecock and his Missouri lady. Ask him if his all-time favorite TV program is still I Love Lucy. It better be!

About the Writer: John Arlon Hawke is a freelance writer and journalist with a wide range of publishing experience. He currently makes his home just south of Nashville, TN. To find out more about Free Will Baptist Board of Retirement, call toll-free (877) 767-7738.