The 97-year-old Pace was shot 89 years ago in an accident. Today he is a resident at the Covenant Village Care Center and continues to set a new record with each passing day. Pace’s mark far outstrips the previous record-holder, a man who lived 61 years with a bullet lodged in his head.
In August, Pace received a certificate from Guinness that reads: “William Lawlis Pace (USA, b 27 February 1909) was accidentally shot in October 1917, aged eight, in Wheeler, Texas, USA. As of 20 July 2006, the bullet remains lodged in the back of his head as x-rays taken recently confirm, 89 years later.”
The accident occurred when Pace’s older brother picked up a .22-caliber rifle, thinking it was a toy. When the gun went off, the bullet entered Pace’s ear and traveled through his head until being stopped by a bone behind the ear.
“It almost went clear across,” Pace told a writer with the Modesto Bee newspaper, adding, “It’s empty up there, so there was plenty of room!”
Such comments are typical of Pace, according to Hilmar Covenant Church Pastor Bruce Metcalf. “He has a great sense of humor,” Metcalf says. “He’s just a loveable, likeable guy.”
Pace says the injury has never caused him pain. The bullet caused extensive nerve damage, leaving a facial appearance most often associated with a stroke. He cannot hear with his right ear, and the vision in his right eye is impaired.
Despite the incident, Pace says he never held a grudge, although he says his now-deceased brother struggled with a sense of guilt the rest of his life.
Pace married in 1933, had two sons, and farmed most of his life. He began attending the Hilmar church roughly 70 years ago, Metcalf says. “He has been involved in so many things.”
The quest to gain Pace a spot in history began when his great-granddaughter, Nicole Sinske, was leafing through the Guinness book and happened upon the previous record. The family gathered evidence, including a new x-ray, to present to Guinness.
