Thursday, July 22, 2010

remembering Jarronn

next week, friday, july 30 will be one year.

it's pretty hard to believe. some of you have asked what i have planned. to be honest, i'm really just hoping to get through the day. and down the road, i'm more interested in marking the day of Jarronn's birth as opposed to the day of his death.

but i do recognize july 30 as a good time to remember Jarronn's legacy. how amazing he was as a husband, son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, friend, and co-worker.

so i've put together a list of ways to honor Jarronn's memory and legacy, for those of you who'd like to do so. feel free to do one or all of the things on the list.
  1. become an organ and tissue donor. Jarronn was an organ and tissue donor, and after he died, knowing that his body gave "life" to other people was a bit of a comfort. in addition, the washington regional transplant community has been a huge support to me since his death and does the same for hundreds of other donor families. they assign a special representative to every family and send regular letters and pieces of literature related to managing loss. i keep many of them around the house for inspiration and comfort. register to be a donor.

  2. make a donation in Jarronn's honor. after Jarronn's death, we set up a memorial fund in his honor through our church. the church meant a lot to us. we joined together. grew together. grew as individuals. went through marriage counseling there. and right before he died, Jarronn had talked about wanting to start a small group for motorcycle riders. they've also been a huge support to me. many of you contributed to the fund last year, which i greatly appreciated. if you'd like to make a donation, please make checks payable to Zion Church, and write "Jarronn Jackson Memorial Fund" in the memo line. mail checks to Zion Church - 1400 Mercantile Lane, Suite 242 - Largo, MD 20774

  3. light a candle. on july 30, during dinner or at some other time, light a candle to represent Jarronn. share good memories about him and take a photo of you with the candle. if it's not too much trouble, email me your photo at jarronnandjessica@gmail.com. i'll collect and share them on the blog.

  4. share a memory. between now and july 30, email one of your favorite memories of Jarronn to jarronnandjessica@gmail.com. i'll collect and share them on the blog.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Jessica,
    Angie and I will be lighting candles in loving memory. We miss him, we miss his infectious smile.

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  2. Jess,
    I wanted you to know that your shared story helped to inspire me to become an organ and tissue donor when I renewed my license yesterday. I was proud to see the little heart on my new card, and to go online and register with donate Maryland. May God continue to grant you peace and give you the courage to keep writing and sharing. Through your suffering you are changing lives -- just like Jesus did. Take care, sis. Katia

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