A sudden illness took him before either father or son was prepared for the loss. The farm had been doing reasonably well, but the finances were complicated, and several pieces of equipment needed expensive repairs.
Hank's mother, Ruth, wanted him to know he had a choice.
He'd studied agricultural engineering at a state university and could have pursued work with equipment manufacturers or large farming operations. He had skills that would have been useful almost anywhere.
Instead, he decided to stay.
He reorganized the farm's finances, improved the recordkeeping system, and gradually expanded the use of cover crops and other soil-conservation practices.
He didn't become wealthy overnight.
There were difficult seasons.
A drought reduced one harvest.
A machinery breakdown forced him to hire emergency help during another.
And one winter, a severe storm damaged part of the barn roof.
But Hank kept going.
He worked long hours, repaired what he could, and saved money when good seasons allowed.
By thirty-five, he owned the farm outright through the family's established ownership arrangements and managed it as a modest but stable agricultural business.
He drove a fifteen-year-old pickup.
His kitchen cabinets were older than some of his employees.
And he kept a coffee mug on the counter that read World's Okayest Farmer.
His younger sister had given it to him for Christmas.
He considered it one of his most accurate possessions.
Hank had never married.
He'd been engaged once, in his late twenties, to a woman who worked in Omaha. They cared about each other, but neither wanted the life the other imagined. She wanted to travel, build a corporate career, and live in a large city. Hank wanted to wake before sunrise, work the land, and remain close to his mother.
They separated without a dramatic betrayal.
The decision hurt.
But Hank eventually accepted that love couldn't turn two different futures into the same one merely because people wished it would.
Afterward, he devoted most of his time to the farm.
His mother lived in a smaller house several miles away, though she visited frequently to tend the large vegetable garden beside the farmhouse.
Hank also maintained a quiet charitable tradition Thomas had started.
At the end of each successful season, the farm donated a portion of usable produce and financial support to a regional food bank.
The quantity varied.