Heartfelt Thanks.

 

Words will never adequately convey the gratitude we have for our family, friends, friends of Jaxon, neighbors and our Navy & Nashville communities these past 4 weeks. The outpouring of love through prayer, cards, flowers, meals, logistical help and just showing up has been overwhelming. You have held our shattered hearts and provided strength when we could not stand. You have done tasks we could not bear to do ourselves. Thank you for grieving alongside us, for loving us, for loving Jaxon.

 

It is hard to fathom this world we live in no longer has Jaxon bouncing around on it. His contagious joy and warm spirit was a constant in our daily lives. We desperately miss his smile and hugs and laughter. Thank you for holding us up in this season of unimaginable loss.

 

Though we have many thanks to extend privately, we’d also like to publicly offer gratitude to so many who have helped our family in the weeks since Jaxon’s accident.

 

To Jaxon’s friends: your many stories of Jaxon have helped us more than we could have ever thought possible in this time. You have helped us step into a space of gratitude when heartbreak is so loud. While we’ve always been proud of him, we are beyond inspired by his life as you have shared the impact he had on yours. We cannot thank you enough. This gift is priceless. It is treasured.

 

Thank you Dr. Sheaffer and the Hillwood Highschool student body for inviting the Nashville community to grieve together and share stories at the candlelight service. Thank you to all of the individuals who showed up to support us and one another. Thank you for the letters and memory messages written that night. Thank you to those that stood and shared Jaxon’s impact on your life in front of hundreds of people. Thank you to all who listened to those stories and honored our son by bearing witness to his light. We were blown away by the various groups who showed up, from the YMCA co-workers and “Gym Bros” to Trip’s Pickleball Community, from the Nashville Motorcycle Community to Darcy’s Wildhorse Team, and Jaxon’s Classmates, Teachers, Coaches at Hillwood, Davidson Academy and MBA. Though we were not in attendance that night, the memories you shared with us via written messages or the ones sent to us via video clips have helped us heal a little more each time we re-read or re-watch your stories.

 

Special thanks to Isaac and Ethan Sans for sharing your sweet memories of Jaxon at his Celebration of Life Ceremony and to Delana and Pyper for putting together the Memory Station.

 

Thank you to the Margaret Maddox Family YMCA team for the memorial wall and hosting a “Late Night Pump” in Jaxon’s honor. He would have absolutely loved that. Thank you for the pictures, the stories, and special gifts.

Thank you to Chaplain Dori Gorman and Skylar for your kind, personal, and uplifting words shared at Jaxon’s Ceremony. Special thanks to the “Gym Bros” who continue to show up and share Jaxon’s light with us through your presence and stories. To our Downtown and East YMCA families, we appreciate the loving care and the prayer that you continue to extend.

 

Thank you to Coach Scott for speaking at Jaxon’s Celebration of Life Ceremony. Your friendship and mentorship to Jaxon these past few years made a profound impact in him. You are not just a tennis instructor, you are a true coach in every sense of the word. You are family to us and Jaxon was so very blessed to have you in his life.

 

Thank you Civil Air Patrol and specifically the Music City Composite Squadron Flag Presenters and Capt Lauren Divers. We are overwhelmed by your generosity and love to our family. Thank you for organizing and performing the beautiful Flag Presentation at Jaxon’s Celebration of Life. His time with CAP nurtured his passion for service.

Thank you Chief Feeser for your encouragement to Jaxon’s U.S. Coast Guard ambitions. We are so grateful to have witnessed Jaxon’s discovery of his purpose in service. He felt like becoming a resume swimmer aligned with who he was made to be. Thank you Feeser family for coming to Jaxon’s service.

 

Thank you State Representative Mary Littleton. We were blown away by the gifts of the American and US Coast Guard Flags. Not only were we greatly honored, but the fact that these flags were flown in honor of Jaxon at our State Capitol, on Flag Day, gave us so much joy as we could imagine Jaxon’s reaction to such a tribute. Thank you for thinking of our family and for this treasured gift.

 

Thank you to Flytes Brewhouse for honoring Jaxon at your Brews and Bingo night and accepting donations in Jaxon’s memory for the Coast Guard Foundation fundraiser he had started just a week before his accident.

 

Thank you to Trip’s Pickleball community. Thank you for continuing to lift him up and being exactly what he needs at this time. Thank you for attending and sharing at the Hillwood Candlelight Service, thank you for coming to Jaxon’s Celebration of Life and for helping with the food at the house after the service.

 

Thank you to Trip’s Radiation Business Solutions community and extended partners. Your prayer, meals, cards and flowers are so appreciated. Your support has helped ease the magnitude of unprecedented stress and pain in this season of grief. Added thanks to Chris Anne in Bristol for your kind gesture and touching message which resonated so deeply with our family.

 

Thank you to Darcy’s childhood and Hume-Fogg communities for meals and cards and shoulders to cry on. Friendships that endure after all this time are such a beautiful gift. We can’t thank you enough. To Megan Davis, your “boots on the ground” help and communication was a lifeline for us.

 

Thank you Darcy’s Wildhorse Team and to the Nashville dance community. Your love, prayer and support are felt and appreciated. Thank you for the meals, cards, for showing your support at the Vigil and Ceremony and for continuing to check on us.

 

Thank you to Jaron’s Montgomery Bell Academy friends, Tennessee Junior Golf friends, Virginia and Lipscomb Golf Communities. Thank you for the meals, shared stories, for showing up at the house and the Ceremony. To our University of Virginia Golf family, the thoughtful gift will be treasured always.

 

Thank you to our Military and civilian families from California, Virginia, South Carolina and Guam. Your memories of our sweet Jax and your shared heartbreak for our loss means so much to us. Thank you to so many who paused their lives to join us in grief here in Nashville. Special thanks to our Lectio moms and prayer group in Coronado - your gathering at Graham Memorial was so moving.

 

Thank you to Jaxon’s Nashville motorcycle friends. Though Jaxon was new to your community, you accepted and embraced him immediately. He learned so much from you and he enjoyed the diversity and inclusion you all display. Thank you for showing up for Jax from the time he met you. Thank you for sharing stories at the vigil, coming to the service and for organizing tributes, rides and revs in honor of Jaxon. We look forward to seeing the “Bunny Ride,” thank you Audrey.

 

Thank you Chick-fil-A Hermitage for your kind gift to this family who you do not even know. We are grateful and inspired by your generosity.

 

Thank you Phillips-Robinson Funeral Home for taking care of our precious son. Thank you Ali for your gentle guidance. We feel blessed by your warm spirit. Thank you for helping us through such a difficult time.

 

Thank you Pastor Grant for reaching out with immediate prayer and support. Thank you to Long Hollow Baptist Church for the outpouring of generosity to help provide a space and outline for a service when we could still not imagine the gravity of holding one. Thank you to Katie and Leslee of the Care Team, we would have been lost without you. Thank you Pastor Grant for your message at the Ceremony.

Thank you to the Long Hollow youth group for your friendship to Jaxon and to the church for providing an opportunity for Jaxon’s baptism. That Easter Sunday video will be forever treasured.

 

Forever grateful,

Trip, Darcy, & Jaron

 

#lovelikejax