In Loving Memory
My brother Jay Mattox passed away unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. Jay was a loving big brother to me and a terrific uncle to the kids. An avid Chicago Cubs fan, he witnessed his greatest sports event ever- the Chicago Cubs winning the Worlds Series last year. He was also a huge Purdue Boilermaker college basketball fan.
Jay never enjoyed good health, being diagnosed at a very young age with a disease that robbed him of ease of movement for most of his childhood. While he outgrew his disease, the effects of taking strong medicine during his childhood contributed to poor health into adulthood. Despite not feeling well most of the time, Jay graduated from an intense college program, the cytotechnologist program from Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed the program despite numerous and continuous health set backs. Jay's resilience, determination and hard work are a testament to his courage.
We grew up in a household that was short on the creature comforts of life- the house was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Eating out (anywhere, including fast food) was a treat. Getting new clothes was a celebrated and rare occurrence. The one thing our household was not short on was a commitment to my parent's faith. Going to church three times a week, having regular family devotions, praying before eating meals, taking car trips (whether those trips were two miles or 100 miles) and bedtime were the habits and customs so ingrained in the fabric of my childhood that I was shocked when I realized how rare most of the those habits are.
Of course a person's faith is his or her own; while children usually imbibe the beliefs of their parents, an adult's faith is ultimately a personal choice. I'm relieved to know that Jay was a man of strong Christian faith. The only comfort in Jay's death is his faith in Christ. If the words of the Bible are true and living and active like the Bible says, then Jay is in heaven. His body hurts no more. He has been reunited with loved ones. He is in paradise.
Below are a few pictures of Jay- some by himself and some with others in them.
The fab five rural Indiana style- Joe, Jay, me, John, Katy
The less than fab five- before Joe was born. John, Katy, me and Jay
A paper announcing students in the cytotechnology program
Jay's picture in the announcement above
Jay and Abby
Jay and Jacob
This may have been a deep conversation but it was most likely about cars and trucks- Jay and Jacob
Jay and his beloved Skippy
As a cute baby
I love this picture- Jay in his Cubs coat (he owned about five of them to provide coverage for a multitude of weather conditions), Boilermaker hat, with mom on the Mackinaw bridge
Jay in high school
With Jacob
A professional picture of Jay and me
Our childhood: We were almost always late wherever we went, we were loved, we had stove cooked popcorn two times a week, we kids were each other's best friends and biggest source of enmity when engaged in the games we made up in the backyard, we vied to sit on one of two "humps" in the back of dad's pickup (each "hump" was the elevated portion of the bed of the truck under which were the back wheels of the truck; if sitting on an elevated seat of an open backed bed of a truck sounds dangerous, well, it was. Joe actually fell out of dad's moving truck once- didn't he know he was supposed to hold on for dear life? Hump sitting 101- I guess one of his siblings didn't stress the importance of that enough to him :)), we were taught right from wrong (except, perhaps rules pertaining to riding in the back of pick up trucks- no parent is perfect, right?), we were taught that character counts more than success as this world defines success, we opened one Christmas present on Christmas Eve, we were told we were loved by the Creator of the universe, and we knew that life was not fair because Jay suffered.
Jay and Ceci
Jay and Alyssa
Jay never enjoyed good health, being diagnosed at a very young age with a disease that robbed him of ease of movement for most of his childhood. While he outgrew his disease, the effects of taking strong medicine during his childhood contributed to poor health into adulthood. Despite not feeling well most of the time, Jay graduated from an intense college program, the cytotechnologist program from Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed the program despite numerous and continuous health set backs. Jay's resilience, determination and hard work are a testament to his courage.
We grew up in a household that was short on the creature comforts of life- the house was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Eating out (anywhere, including fast food) was a treat. Getting new clothes was a celebrated and rare occurrence. The one thing our household was not short on was a commitment to my parent's faith. Going to church three times a week, having regular family devotions, praying before eating meals, taking car trips (whether those trips were two miles or 100 miles) and bedtime were the habits and customs so ingrained in the fabric of my childhood that I was shocked when I realized how rare most of the those habits are.
Of course a person's faith is his or her own; while children usually imbibe the beliefs of their parents, an adult's faith is ultimately a personal choice. I'm relieved to know that Jay was a man of strong Christian faith. The only comfort in Jay's death is his faith in Christ. If the words of the Bible are true and living and active like the Bible says, then Jay is in heaven. His body hurts no more. He has been reunited with loved ones. He is in paradise.
Below are a few pictures of Jay- some by himself and some with others in them.
The fab five rural Indiana style- Joe, Jay, me, John, Katy
The less than fab five- before Joe was born. John, Katy, me and Jay
A paper announcing students in the cytotechnology program
Jay and Abby
Jay and Jacob
This may have been a deep conversation but it was most likely about cars and trucks- Jay and Jacob
Jay and his beloved Skippy
As a cute baby
I love this picture- Jay in his Cubs coat (he owned about five of them to provide coverage for a multitude of weather conditions), Boilermaker hat, with mom on the Mackinaw bridge
With Jacob
A professional picture of Jay and me
Our childhood: We were almost always late wherever we went, we were loved, we had stove cooked popcorn two times a week, we kids were each other's best friends and biggest source of enmity when engaged in the games we made up in the backyard, we vied to sit on one of two "humps" in the back of dad's pickup (each "hump" was the elevated portion of the bed of the truck under which were the back wheels of the truck; if sitting on an elevated seat of an open backed bed of a truck sounds dangerous, well, it was. Joe actually fell out of dad's moving truck once- didn't he know he was supposed to hold on for dear life? Hump sitting 101- I guess one of his siblings didn't stress the importance of that enough to him :)), we were taught right from wrong (except, perhaps rules pertaining to riding in the back of pick up trucks- no parent is perfect, right?), we were taught that character counts more than success as this world defines success, we opened one Christmas present on Christmas Eve, we were told we were loved by the Creator of the universe, and we knew that life was not fair because Jay suffered.
Jay and Ceci
Jay and Alyssa
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