One year later and it is still so hard to put down the words when I think of Jimmy.
It is just that thinking about him always brings a smile to my face yet breaks my heart at the same time.
He was such an awesome person, I feel so blessed to have been a part of his life and to have been able to call him friend.
There is not one single day that goes by that I don't think of him. There are so many things that happen that Iwould give anything to call him and share exciting stories of crazy things I have done as he was one of the few people that "got me".
I cant count the times we talked about his family and how much they meant to him. He was loved by so many, and is missed greatly. I miss you Jimmy...more than any word can ever say.
In the last year I was blessed to meet Doris and I will cherish the time Derinda and Co.(lol) came to the zoo. It is very easy to see why you were all so very important to Jimmy. My heart prayers and thoughts are with you always but especially now.
God Bless.
Debi, Ashley, and Uzima

Doris and Derinda, I can't believe Jimmy's gone. I think of Jimmy on every outing to the wildlife refuge where Jimmy loved to climb and spend much of his time. Jimmy was great and he is missed. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Sincerely,

Tony Mayse

Jimmy, I have seen a lot of life, illness, injuries, and death this past year. With this, I have seen many souls and I know as true as I breath that you, Jimmy, are an "one and only". You have touched so many people and it only grows as the days go by. Your love grows bigger and bigger and further and further everyday. Our whole family lives with you everyday. Kaitlyn tells your story everytime we pass a cemetary and everytime we water you (we named the plant we took home from your funeral Jimmy). Everytime we go to the Fishers, see a mountain, a snake, or lizard... This past spring we went camping in Moab and I sat and cried as I watched Kaitlyn kneeling down next to the bank of a creek pointing out a crawfish in the water to her daddy with her arm wrapped around his neck; like he would be there forever. How many of you get teary eyed still over that damn hair commercial??!! Jimmy is the kind of person who would give up everything that he loves most if God asked him to. If God told him that he needed him for something so much greater than our understanding or if only telling him that being afar meant that we would receive a greater love from him, I think Jimmy is the kind of person who would go, just to be able to stay.

Jimmy, we miss you more than we will ever be able to express in words. We will see you again one day. In the meantime, I look forward to feeling your love when you come around.

Doris, Jill, Mary, and Jacob: you are soldiers on earth. You fight His fight and muster against the loss and never lose faith. You are a family that is recognized. The chosen receive the most trials and tribulations. I am so sincere in saying that I am grateful to know you and we love you very much. I don't know any others who could show the world how to love and honor like you....

Tambri

This is what I posted on my MySpace page when I heard the news. Here, after his birthday, I thought I might finally post it where those of you I've never met might know how I felt about Jimmy too. It seems that people don't change much from the time they are children. In my mind I can still see those days like they were yesterday. I'll see him again, though, in Gods good time. We miss you buddy.


Sunday, November 26, 2006
The Masters Plan
Current mood: sad

I don't know any details yet but I know that sometime today Jimmy Ray Forester died. That won't mean much to most of you who will read this. It means something to me. You see Jimmy and I first met when he, his mother, father and baby brother moved to our neighborhood in Crowley, Texas. That was in 1969. Jimmy was one of my two best friends at the time. Me, Steve, and Jimmy were almost inseperable. We literally grew up together until my family moved away after my freshman year in highschool. We rode bikes together, had BB gun wars, dart fights, played kick the can, chase (a souped up version of hide and seek), boxed, kissed girls, mowed lawns, snuck out of our bedroom windows in the middle of the night, put GI Joe through the ringer, and learned collectively that a two pound water baloon can effectively stop a 3/4 ton pickup truck when thrown from behind the house and timed to land perfectly on the hood directly in front of the windshield without ever being seen. Jimmy and I also learned almost immediately after that how much we appreciated a good old fashioned belt spanking watching Steves Mom snatch up the fishing rod close at hand and "give Stevie his". We also learned that GI Joe, with the King Fu Grip, would grip the crossbar of a Bat Kite so well that he would get several hundred feet off the ground before he vibrated loose. We also learned that the windshield of a Plymouth Duster can be quite expensive for ten year old boys trying to make it on mowing lawns and throwing papers. We learned sooo much together. Not all good, not all bad. Jimmy was the only kid on the block that could catch me at chase and I was the only one who could catch him. We fought more than once. We were more like brothers than friends. Jimmy's step brother, Joel, whom we also grew up with and loved like one of our own passed away just a few short years ago from brain cancer. Now Jimmy is gone too. He apparently died doing something he loved. He was on a climbing trip somewhere near Monterrey, Mexico. Jimmy leaves behind his daughter, his nephew (Joel's son), his sister Jill, his mother, Doris, and step father, David. He also leaves an indelibly etched place in my life, my memory, and my heart.


Doris, Jill, Mary & Jacob.... We love you.

Jeff Slentz