Since our son, Daniel, died ten weeks ago, Cathy and I have established  The Daniel Ryan Capes Endowed Scholarship in Writing at his alma mater, Houston Baptist University.  It will be available to worthy junior or senior writing majors beginning fall semester 2020.  To fund the scholarship we will need to raise a minimum of $75,000 over the next three years.

Daniel graduated from HBU in 2006 with a degree in writing.  His first job was as a technical writer on NASA’s Constellation project.  But his real passion was to become a story-writer for video games. His dream came true when he was able to use his writing skills to work with TimeGate, SixFoot, and Cryptic Studios creating story lines for various games.  Daniel loved a good story and a good movie; he knew the power of stories to instruct us, entertain us, and express our deepest longings.

We wanted to let you know about our plans now so you could decide whether you would like to join us in honoring Daniel in this way.  Many of you have already expressed a desire to help.

Here are the details on how to donate:

Donate on-line:

1.  Go to www.hbu.edu/giving

2.  Scroll down and click on box “Give Now”

3.  Scroll down and fill in your name, email, amount of the gift, and if your company matches donations.

4.  Scroll down and click on button “Additional giving opportunities”

5.  There will be a search box on the next screen (top right corner).  Type in “Daniel Ryan Capes” and his scholarship name will appear.

6.  Select the scholarship: “Daniel Ryan Capes Endowed Scholarship in Writing”

7.  Then “Next/Continue”

8.  Review the next screen (may need to scroll down) to check all the information

9.  If all is correct, click “Next”

10. If this is your first donation to HBU, you may receive the message “No Matching Profile” but the screen will advance to the next step

11. Fill in credit card information

12. Review the details

13. Select “Make your gift”

14. You will receive a confirmation page to print out for your records.

To Give by mail:

Alternatively, you may send a check made out to Houston Baptist University.  In the memo line write “Daniel Ryan Capes Endowed Scholarship in Writing.”  Mail to:

Tommy Bambrick
Houston Baptist University
7502 Fondren Rd.
Houston, TX 77074

All donations are tax-deductible. 

I am a proud, mug-carrying member of Team Hurtado.

I continue to think that students who want a PhD in New Testament need to learn Greek and read the texts in their original language. I don’t think it is elitist or asking too much of any student.  I have met students from the Majority World who are dedicated to learning Greek even though they have to learn it through the resources of English or German.  They do not feel put upon by western scholars.  They are excited to do it.

The same standard could be applied to any literature or field of study.  If you want to be considered an expert in Spanish literature of the 19th century, you need to be able to read Spanish. In the image above I have obscured a word on the mug which might be considered offensive; but astute readers may be able to figure it out. It is not in Greek.

Hurtado refers to Larry Hurtado, retired Professor of New Testament at the University of Edinburgh.  He is a close, personal friend and a mentor of mine for 30 years.  He writes a popular blog you can find here.

 

Hurtado

Here is my Facebook post from August 9, 2019 in memory of my adult son, Daniel Capes, 36, who died on August 2, 2019.

Our son, Daniel Capes, chose soccer as his sport. We went to all of his matches. I remember one in particular where he had ten shots on goal. Here pictured with Jordan Capes, his younger brother; it is one of my favorite images of our son. Daniel, we miss you. We grieve your loss. You have left a hole in our lives which cannot be filled.

Here is my Facebook post of August 8, 2019, six days after my adult son, Daniel Capes died from a rare form of cancer on August 2, 2019.

 

Here is one of my favorite images of our son, Daniel Capes, when he was a wee lad. We were a baseball family, though he eventually chose soccer as his sport. The picture is vintage Daniel. We miss you, son. You leave a hole in our lives that cannot be filled. One day, we will all be together again.

Here is a Facebook post I wrote in honor of my son, Daniel Ryan Capes, who died on August 2, 2019. He was 36 years old when he died.  This post is dated August 7, 2019.

Our son, Daniel Capes, has always been a champion napper. He is able to catch a few winks anytime, anywhere. As you can see, he got an early start. It’s a skill I envy every time I climb aboard a plane. We miss you, my son, and always will. You leave a gap that will not be filled.