A Tribute to a Keeper’s Son

Julian Haywood Austin, Jr. crossed the bar late February 2006. He spent nearly eight years of his young life growing up at the Bodie Island Lighthouse where his father was keeper between 1933 and 1940. Julian helped his father with all chores including lighting and extinguishing the lamp each evening and morning, polishing brass, painting, and even cooking for his family while his mother was hospitalized for months at a time. Julian was part of the video published by the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society “Growing Up at a Lighthouse,” which recorded some rare footage of surviving keepers’ children. He also participated in the society’s oral histories of keepers’ descendants for a reunion at Cape Hatteras in 2001. Revered by his two sisters as a surrogate father and devoted brother, Julian looked back with great fondness and respect on his life at lighthouses where his father served a sterling career worthy of the highest civilian recognition in the U.S. Lighthouse Service in the Gallatin Award. Sisters Marilyn and Verna love to talk about Julian, Jr. because he cooked for them and even changed young Verna’s diapers when their mother was not at home. Julian’s first memories of Bodie Island Lighthouse? The mosquitoes! And his sisters love to tell the story that Julian, Jr. has been climbing lighthouses since he was 18 months old when he escaped the supervision of his parents and climbed the Smith Island Light (Cape Charles, VA) with a shell in one hand. Somehow, he safely clomped his way to the top without falling through the steps. When these three keeper’s children gathered, it was a sure thing that the conversation would be dominated by stories of their life together at Bodie Island Lighthouse.

Julian, Jr. was a Korean War veteran and suffered chronic illness after his duty there. We pay tribute to him for his courageous tenacity for life–just like his beloved Bodie Island Lighthouse, he stood strong in the face of overwhelming challenges. A donation has been made to the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society’s Bodie Island Fund in Julian’s memory. His sister, Marilyn, would like to see other donations to be made to this fund in his memory.

March 1, 2006