Big Jack

All of you know people who are just extra special, for whatever reasons, people with whom you bond immediately and for whom you have a deep love and affection. In my life, that was true of "Big Jack."

Several years ago, when my mother took a fatal fall at their Assisted Living apartment at Atherton Baptist Homes, we moved Mom and Dad to Skilled Nursing. Mom died 2 ½ weeks later, so Dad, a Parkinsons patient, continued to live there alone.

In the sadness of the loss of the love of his life and wife of 62 years, things were pretty rocky for Dad. But in Atherton's Skilled Nursing, doors are typically left open, so people stop by often. It's a wonderful part of the Atherton experience and makes life so much less lonely.

At the time of this move and after Mom's subsequent death, we found joy and comfort in all the visits of the Atherton residents and staff. Many would wave as they went by, stick their heads in the door to see how Dad was doing, or come in and sit a spell to visit.

Jack Acuff was one of the very faithful. He stopped in to see Dad every day, bringing with him a sense of love, strength, and encouragement. My sister, Merrilyn, and I quickly fell in love with him, deeply appreciated his "being there" for our daddy, and adopted him as an honorary family member.

As you might know, Merrilyn's husband's name is Jack. And so there we were with two Jacks in the "family". It became confusing in conversation, so we quickly started referring to Jack Acuff, who was over six feet tall and broadly built with lovely white hair, "Big Jack" to differentiate between the two Jacks.

During Dad's last 5 months of life, he often couldn't speak at all, but Big Jack kept coming, day after day, often more than once a day, always bringing a smile to Dad's face and joy to his heart.

When I'd visit Atherton over these past few years, I loved checking in with Big Jack, who often sat in his wheel chair in front of Atherton, soaking up the sun. From that vantage point, he gave out many words of encouragement, many praises to God, and to me, many hugs. His favorite line, said with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye when others would see him kissing my cheek would be, "Patty's the only Atherton Board member I can kiss!"

Back in September, I was to sing at Atherton's Sunday evening chapel. Talking to Big Jack not long before, I'd learned that one of his favorite songs was "Overshadowed" and decided to surprise him by singing it that night. It was the only gift I ever gave him.

Two weeks ago, when Merrilyn was here, we hoped to have lunch with Big Jack, but he was sick and Merrilyn spiked a temp all week, so we didn't get to see him.

Coming home from MasterLife last Wednesday night and opening my weekly Athertonian, I discovered that God had taken our Big Jack home. My heart broke! Big Jack was gone, and we'd not been able to say "Goodbye!" In the midst of my tears, however, a strong sense of assurance hit me, "Our Big Jack is a happy guy! He's just where he wanted to be -- with his Savior!"

I loved Big Jack, and I will mightily miss his smile, his hugs, and his words of blessing!

How I hope he knows how much we loved him! He brought joy to the life of every person who came across his path, and he always had words of praise and thanksgiving to our Lord, no matter how hard life got.