Delaney Kervin's life has always revolved around service - service to his family, his country, his students and South Alabama Electric Cooperative (SAEC) members as the chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Throughout his life, Kervin has exuded a light that shines as a beacon, helping to guide others and embodying the true definition of service.
Reminders of that service remain all around him. Photos line the shelves of his living room, reflections of a life well-lived, including an honorable stint in the military. A storied career as an educator and coach has made Kervin a household name around Pike County, as he's played a role in many young students' lives during his tenure at Pike Liberal Arts School.
In the Army
He recalls moving "to town" to Greenville on June 25, 1950, the day the Korean War began. Growing up in Kolb City, a small community in Butler County, Kervin attended Greenville High School. He joined the Army National Guard, but a flyer attached to a bulletin board at the school would soon change the course of his life.
"The flver said that if I joined the Army, I would get the GI Bill, he recalls. The GI Bill was established in 1944 to help qualified veterans fund college or job training.
Knowing that was what he needed to do to be able to afford college, Kervin enlisted in the U.S. Army. There was also another reason he signed up so quickly. "The recruiter told me I would get to go to Europe," he says. "I wanted to see the World War II sights over there."
Kervin reported to basic training, and after that training, he ended up on a train. "I noticed we were heading west, and I told my buddy, 'We aren't going east, are we? Europe is that way," he recalls, laughing
He soon learned the train was headed to Washington state, where he would board a 2-stacker ship and journey to Tokyo. "It was such a smooth ride for 9 days from Tacoma, he says.
Once the troops sailed into Tokyo, they were flown to the island of Okinawa in a Boeing B-29 bomber. "That was a big thrill for me," he says.
Kervin's unit stayed on Okinawa for 28 months during peacetime. "I got to look out over the East China Sea every morning, and it was as pretty as could be" he says. But times on the island were not always peaceful, especially with the looming threat of typhoons. "The typhoons were a little scary" he says. "The lights would be off and the wind would howl, but the thing that scared me most was when your bed would start walking across the floor, and your buddy ended up on the floor because he got thrown off of his bed"
Kervin completed his service and returned home to Alabama. He enrolled as a student on December 2, 1957, at Troy State Teachers College, which is now Troy University. A young lady on campus caught his eye, and he told his buddy, "That's gonna be my wife."
Quintilla Houston was raised in Oak Grove and was also attending Troy State Teachers College, studying education. The 2 later married at Oak Grove Methodist Church, which is within view of their current home. They will celebrate 63 years of marriage in December.
Kervin did earn his GI Bill benefits. During that time, he received $110 per month while he was single. Once he married, it increased to $120 per month.
He graduated from Troy State Teachers College with bachelor's degrees in history, education, and biology. He later earned his master's in education from Auburn University at Montgomery.
After graduating, Kervin had an opportunity to teach biology in Milton, Florida. He and his wife, both educators now, traveled to Florida so Kervin could interview for the job. He also received an offer to teach at a school in Crest-View, Florida. "I thought, ‘I might as well stop and talk to them, too. The principal said I could start working immediately," he says. "I asked Quintilla which job I should take, and she said 'Crestview' because it was 50 miles closer to home than the other."
The Kervins lived and worked in Crestview for the 1st 10 years of their marriage. Quintilla taught fifth grade, and they had their son, Jeff. They moved to Oak Grove in 1970 and built the home they still live in. Their daughter, Kelli Kervin Brookins, was born, and the couple settled into their life back home in Alabama. They now have 5 grandchildren: Jackson and Cole Cleveland, Joel Kervin and Zane and Cade Brookins.
Home in Alabama
While still in Florida but looking to make a move back to Alabama, Kervin heard about a private school that was being built. "Quintilla and I were both looking for a job in the county and couldn't find anything, so I asked Pete Farrah for a job,” he says. Farrah was the 1st headmaster at Pike Liberal Arts School and offered jobs to the Kervins.
Both the Kervins taught at Pike Lib, with Delaney becoming the headmaster in 1972. "Headmaster means assistant manager, assistant coach and janitor,” he says with a laugh. “At some point, I did a little of everything there."
Kervin often stepped in as a substitute when teachers needed to be off. Once the students in those classes were settled and working on their assignments, he liked to read to them from Winston Churchill's diary. He loved the book so much, that he made it a point to read to almost every class he would watch over. "About a year before I retired, 1 of my students said, 'Mr. Kervin, you've been reading that book since I was in 2nd grade. He was a senior by that time. I told him, 'Well, I'm a slow reader," Kervin jokes.
He was also the assistant football coach for 25 years and the head golf coach, claiming 2 state titles. He was inducted into the Alabama Independent Schools Association Hall of Fame in 2000.
Looking back on his career, Kervin says he didn't plan to become an educator, but he now knows it's what he was meant to do with his life. "The moment I went in to teach those young ones, I just knew I was doing the right thing” he says. Even when other job opportunities would come along, he just couldn't leave teaching.
After 31 years as headmaster at Pike Lib, Kervin retired in 2001. “I did a lot of life-preaching to those kids. I wanted them to do good,” he says. Members of the Pike Lib senior classes presented their headmaster with a plaque at the end of their high school careers. Kervin has dozens, with many echoing the same appreciation of his fatherly guidance throughout the years. "Thanks for all your love and for being a daddy to us for all these years. We love you," reads the plaque from the Class of 1981.
Service to Community
In 1993, Kervin was elected to the South Alabama Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees. He replaced J.A. Young as the District 5 representative. During his tenure, he has been vice president and is now president.
"As a coach and a headmaster, Delaney Kervin taught me the value of good leadership and hard work, says SAEC General Manager David Bailey. "He brought those same principles to his role on our Board of Trustees. No matter what new challenges our cooperative faced, he was always ready to face those for our members. He always kept me in line and has always been my biggest supporter. He often tells me that I'm proud of you, son." During his time serving on the board, he has seen many changes, Kervin says.
He remembers life without electricity and how much it changed when they had it, from the small pleasures of listening to country music on the radio his mother had bought to no longer having to study by lamplight. Kervin says he is proud to serve on a board for an organization that changes lives for the better.
"Being a trustee for SAEC has been a real privilege. It's a good organization. When the lights go out, we're fortunate to have the kind of co-op we have," he says.