This is a memorial for my loving Father, Jess Edgar Jenkins.
On June 6, 2003 he took his life by pill and alcohol overdose.
Dad was only 57 years old. I lost my best friend and had to
bury him 3 days before Father�s Day. Maybe it�s bad to feel
this way but I often think why couldn�t I have lost him to natural
causes, cancer or a heart attack. Why do I have to bare the
thought that my loving father had to take his own life and leave
us to live our lives without him.
Dad told me once that the best day�s of his life were January
30, 1970 when I was born, September 14, 1978 when my sister
Jody was born, February 18, 1999 when my son Joshua was
born and on February 19, 2000 when Jody�s daughter Amber
was born.
He use to tell everyone that we were his life and that nothing
would become between him and us. I truly believed that with
all my heart. If someone would have told me 10 years ago that
my dad would commit suicide and leave us I would have told
them they were crazy. He would never leave us like that. Dad
was the kind of person who was always cracking jokes and
smiling. He had a smile that I swear stretched for miles. It was
the most beautiful smile that
you had ever seen and would warm your heart no matter what
kind of day you were having. Anyone who met him would say
that he was a person that you could not forget. He had such
a glow about him because of his personality. Dad was always
the life of the party. His nickname was �Mr. Bossman Hero�.
That�s what a friend of his would call him.
When my sister and I were growing up he use to take us
fishing and camping. Of course we had to have a bet to see
who would get the first fish, biggest fish and most fish. We
always had so much fun and so many memories were made.
Dad taught us how to play pool and spent many countless
hours playing cards with us.
I have so many memories of dad. Those memories are what
get me through the day. They are precious and I hold them
dearly to my heart. I would give anything in this world to still
have dad here so that we could make more memories. I cry
for my son and my niece because they were only 3 and 4
years old when he passed away. They have been robbed of
making beautiful memories with �pa� (as Joshua called him)
and �gampa� (as Amber called him).
Who knew that later in life those memories were the only
thing that would keep him alive in our soul�s. That the
devastation of him committing suicide would forever more
etch nightmares and sadness in our lives. Losing dad has
forever changed my life. I lost my best friend the day he
decided to leave this world. No more fishing, camping,
shooting pool or playing cards together. The countless
hours we spent just talking will never be forever more.
