For Baylor University lecturer, Wayne Clark Hampton, losing his father at a young age didn’t
just change his childhood; it reshaped the direction of his entire life.
Hampton says his father was his biggest role model growing up.
“My dad was really involved in my life, so I loved him. I idolized him,” Hampton said. “He was like the
ultimate dad. We played catch for hours in the front yard.”
That sense of admiration made the news he received as a freshman in high school even more devastating.
“My aunt picked me up from school in ninth grade and said, ‘I’ve got some really hard news for you. We’re going to the hospital. Your dad had emergency surgery, and they found him full of cancer in his stomach, and they’re giving him six months to live'," Hampton said.
Cancer had spread throughout his father’s stomach, and Hampton says everything felt different after that. By his junior year of high school, his father had passed away.
One of Hampton’s most vivid memories comes from their final conversation.
“He said, ‘Will you hug me?” Hampton recalled. “So I reached down, and as much as he could get up, I gave him a hug. And he said, ‘I love you, son.’ I said, ‘I love you too, Dad.’ Then he said, ‘Forgive me if I ever failed you as your dad.’ I told him, ‘No, Dad. Forgive me because I failed you as a son.’”
After his father’s death, Hampton said he felt the need to “man up” and help support his family, a responsibility that stayed with him into college.
“My whole adult life has partly been a consciousness of what my dad would want,” Hampton said. “I’ve been highly motivated by my dad’s example.”
During his freshman year at Baylor University, Hampton started a business supplying materials used to build roads. By the end of his first year of college, he had earned $30,000.
Over time, Hampton built several successful businesses, including Waco Composites, a bulletproofing company that remains active today. The company averages more than $26 million in annual revenue and sells products to more than 25 countries worldwide.
Today, Hampton shares the lessons he learned from his life experiences with students in the classroom.
Students say one of the most powerful messages he teaches is that people can choose how they respond to loss.
Baylor senior Zainab Richardson understands that message personally. Like Hampton, she also lost her father at a young age.
“I’ll tell people to just take it day by day,” Richardson said. “Don’t let it consume you, because letting it consume you isn’t what your parent would’ve wanted for you. What they would’ve wanted is for you to grow and flourish.”
Richardson said having supportive people around you can make a difference when navigating grief.
“Always make sure to check in mentally,” she said. “Find people that you can trust, like your friends or anyone else.”
Both Hampton and Richardson say grief never fully disappears. But they believe the way people respond to it can shape the rest of their lives.
This story was produced by Baylor Student Abbey Ferguson and is part of the Baylor University Student Journalism Collaboration with KWBU.
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