The following tribute was written by James Lindeman.
As I’m sure some of you know by now, we lost a classmate and friend last week. Jamison Christopher Woods, known to us all as "Jamo", passed away in his sleep at his home in Hermitage, TN. on May 08, 2008. Survivors include his wife, Betsy Crouch Woods; his son, Jamison Isaac Woods, 5, and daughter, Eva Elizabeth Woods, 2; mother and step-father, Deborah and Sam Wright of Jonesboro, AR; father and step-mother, James and Debbie Woods of Batesville, AR; brother, Mathew Woods of Russell, AR; sister, Lenna Woods of Jonesboro, AR; step-sister, Britney Warner of Batesville, AR; grandparents, Thomas and Marian Woods and Herbert and Charlene Smith of Memphis, TN; father-in-law and mother-in law, Jack and Susanne Crouch of Nashville, TN.
I don’t know that I’m qualified to describe Jamo’s life to anyone. My hope is to say a few words and express a few thoughts, so that we may remember someone who touched our lives. From the pages of online entries in his obituary guest book, it is obvious he impacted many of us. What Jamo didn’t have in stature, he made up for with charisma and personality. To the girls, if he didn’t date you, you were probably on his list. And to the guys, if he wasn’t figuring out a way to talk to your girl, consider yourself lucky. Jamo had a way with the opposite sex unlike most. Maybe his love of mirrors convinced him he was truly Casanova, who knows? Besides his charm, Jamo excelled both academically and athletically. In the classroom, you could always find Jamo in the toughest classes JHS had to offer. On the field, baseball was his sport. Jamo played city and county ball from grade school all the way through high school.
Some people might not remember this, but Jamo actually chose to graduate with our class. In elementary school, Jamo was advanced enough to skip the 2nd grade. That, coupled with his late June birthday, had him on course to be the youngest member of the 1987 graduating class. When all of us were moving up to the high school, Jamo decided to delay taking his 11th grade English. Instead, he took extra electives, allowing him to graduate with our class. After high school, Jamo went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Arkansas State University and a master’s degree in Counseling and Rehabilitation from Middle Tennessee State University. At the time of his death, he was working in the Medicare Finance Administration for the state of TN. He married his wife Betsy in the summer of 1998 and they had two small children; a son, Jamison and daughter, Eva.
It's hard to understand the "why" with this one. He was our age, with a family, and what should have been lots of life to live. Most of us have families of our own now, and our circle of friends is much smaller than it ever was. I'm also guessing that most of the teenaged vanity is gone and that we’ve put our priorities in perspective. I went to Jamo's funeral and seeing Jamison's family celebrate his life and witnessing the impact he had made on others was not only a privilege but also a testament to what’s truly important.
He will be missed.
[You can visit his guest book here.]
Friday, May 16, 2008
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5 comments:
James,
Thank you for a very touching post. I have very fond memories of Jamo. The elks pool when we were young and also church dances. Its sad news that you cant make sense of. see you at the reunion
Brooke Keton Briske
Beautifully written, James! It brought tears to my eyes! I'll never forget our trip to Six Flags together. Jamo was always full of energy and life. He was one that I enjoyed seeing at our 10 year reunion and I was so looking forward to seeing him this year.
God Bless you!
Kristy Chitmon Reed
James
I'm so glad you wrote about Jamo. It takes me right back to high school and all the memories I have of him. We all had so much fun together. I was laughing so hard when you mentioned his love of mirrors. Didn't he carry a comb at all times?? I told Marcie I found a picture of him at senior skip on the boat fixing his hair. Typical Jamo.
He was a really good friend and he will be so missed.
Janice Drake Fletcher
James,
As you know, Jamo was a very good friend and I couldn't believe the news when I heard it. I have lots of good memories of you and Jamo together during high school. I'm glad you wrote this tribute. I had looked forward to seeing Jamo and catching up with him at the reunion. It reminds me how we never know how much time we have left on this earth. If anyone would like to get an email of a classmate to touch base before the reunion, please let me know.
Marcie Brooks Cheatham
jhsclassof1988@gmail.com
What a beautiful tribute! Jamo was a fantastic person!
Angie Stricklin Buhrmester
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