Filed under: Family and Friends
Today is Throw Back Thursday on Facebook. Since I’m not on Facebook (no time) I had no idea this even existed until Jordan told me about this on the phone tonight. He said a good friend of his brother Jeremiah, Jim Morris had posted a photo he found of his 8th grade graduation back in 1991. Jordan said he wondered if his Dad and I had seen the photo of Jim and Jeremiah. He said he would send it to me.
This is the photo Jim Morris posted today on his Facebook page. Best friends celebrating their 8th grade graduation from Lee County Middle School in Beattyville, KY. Jeremiah and Jim spent many hours together back and forth between our house and Jim’s over the years. After Jeremiah’s death, Jim has stayed in touch with us sharing his wife and children. He will never know what his remembering Jeremiah has meant to all of us.
Jordan texted me tonight that he really liked seeing how many of Jeremiah’s friends had posted notes how they missed Jeremiah as a result of Jim’s Facebook post. Jim, you have made my heart sing tonight. Bless you for finding this picture that none of us had ever seen. What an amazing gift to his family. As I told Jordan tonight, it made him come alive for me for a brief second. Made me cry tears of joy that he has not been forgotten.
Rosemary
Filed under: Family and Friends
March Match 2014, the first class competition for giving at The McCallie School was won today by the Class of 1992. Our oldest son Drew Smith was a member of the Class of 1992 after being a four year boarding student at McCallie. Drew did not contribute financially to the winning total for his class because he and his younger brother Jeremiah were killed in July of 1992 two months after graduation. Drew did contribute in a most unusual way to March Match. At the suggestion of his friend and 92′ classmate Andy Mims, the young men of the class of were asked to make donations in memory of Drew.
Honor, Truth and Duty are the bywords of The McCallie School. Drew’s 92′ classmates are the epitome of these words. As I opened each note from McCallie notifying us that another of Drew’s friends had made a donation in his memory, tears of joy flooded my eyes. If there was a phone number included with the donation, I immediately called the donor. One of first I called was David Office, one of Drew’s closest friends from his first day at McCallie as a freshman. David has spent the past twenty years serving his country in the service as well as his present position as a private contractor with the Department of Defense. Hearing David’s voice after all these years was such a blessing.
Many of Drew’s classmates have sent me e-mails and notes over the past few weeks. Reconnecting with so many of them has meant the world to both Luther and me. To know Drew hasn’t been forgotten means the world. The Class of 1992 may have won the March Match but in my heart they won much more. They won the love and admiration of those of us who love and miss Drew and Jeremiah Smith.
Rosemary C. Smith
Filed under: Family and Friends
Pat Corrales on the left among his friends from McCallie and GPS. Jordan Smith in the front center.
An extraordinary young man died three days ago in Atlanta, GA. Pat Corrales was a close friend of our son Jordan when they both were students at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN. Pat Corrales was a boarding student from Atlanta who spent many hours at our home in Shepherd Hills along with Jordan’s group of friends from McCallie and GPS.
Pat Corrales touched the lives of everyone who knew him. Luther and I loved the times that Pat and the other students filled our house with laughter and lively conversation. We first met Pat in 1996, four years after the death of our sons Drew and Jeremiah. Our house had been silent with loss for over four years. Along with Jordan, we longed for our house to be filled with laughter and Pat was the catalyst those idyllic years at McCallie. As his family said in his obituary, “He loved people and people loved him.”
Pat Corrales graced our lives for three years until he and Jordan and their classmates graduated in 1999. I never saw Pat after graduation but thought of him so many times. He and Jordan had been in contact over the years and remained close friends even though they lived far apart. Hearing the news that Pat had died has been devastating to our family. Why hadn’t we made it a point to make a trip to Atlanta to reconnect? Of all people, we know the importance of staying in the moment and always letting people know that you care about them. Pat, I hope you know now in your heavenly wisdom how much you are loved and missed by everyone who ever met you.
Love,
Rosemary, Luther and Jordan
Rosemary's Blog 