Pam Parish

Last week, one of our dear friends went home to be with the Lord. It was crazy, one day he was perfectly healthy and the next, he had a rare virus that slowly shut down his organs. In a matter of a few days, he was gone. But what’s even more amazing than the way he died, is the way he lived - this is what I want to talk about.

Jacky Allen was one of the first people we met when we moved to Nashville in 1997. I’ll never forget meeting him - he was greeting at the church door. He took an immediate interest in getting to know our names and, when he found out we’d just moved from Kentucky, he took a considerable amount of time to tell us all about Bellevue and give us the ins-and-outs so that we would feel “at home” much faster. You see, Jacky was a Realtor - a very well respected one who had intimate ties into almost every nook and cranny of the area. After we got to know Jacky, we weren’t surprised by his taking so much time with us - we really weren’t special - he did that for everyone he met. If he could help, he would. 

As we’ve gotten to know Jacky over the years, we’ve watched his compassion in action and have always been amazed at how merciful and giving he was. Everyone that knew him would tell the same types of stories - he was simply generous and made sure that he went out of his way to help, if he could. Jacky was our Realtor for our very first home purchase. I’ll never forget the time that he took with us to make sure we made the right decision. In the end, we knew what neighborhood we wanted to be in and there were two houses right across the street from one another. One of them, I loved from the outside, the other I hated. I even told Jacky, “I don’t even want to look at that one - I hate the siding on the back” - well, we’d made the decision to buy the one that I liked and Jacky said, “Well, Pam, let’s just take a look at this other one, I know you don’t really like the outside, but I have a feeling that once you see it on the inside you just might change your mind.” - He was right. It’s the one we bought.

I could write a ton more about my personal experiences with Jacky, but alas, this is a blog… not a book. I wanted to write because I can’t tell you how many times Steve & I have been influenced by Jacky. Our lives are so much richer and more Christ-like because we had him in our lives as a friend and example of Christ. We’re so thankful that God granted us the privilege of calling him our friend and we will miss him dearly - until then.

Let’s all be “like Jacky” and be the best person we can be to everyone around us - really, it’s what Jesus would do.

May God’s Richest Blessings be Yours,

I also had the honor of designing the program for Jacky’s funeral and I wrote a poem that his family was wonderful enough to keep on the back page. I’d like to share it here:

In these moments, we celebrate a life well lived

A man of integrity and kindness with love in abundance to give

His life touched ours in numerous ways

An influence that will last for all of our days

In Jacky we found arms open wide for a hug

And words of encouragement when life dealt us a slug

His wisdom was truly heaven sent

Found in minutes, hours and days on his knees spent

“Shrug it Off”, “Let it Go”, “Trust in God” – are common phrases

His nature of mercy for all still amazes

Compassionate is how most would define

We’ve all experienced it and in its giving, watched his eyes shine

“Brother” and “Sister” we always heard in greeting

And it’s the sounds of those words we’ll miss until our next heavenly meeting

Jacky, we imagine you dancing the angels and singing songs of praise

Your impact has been great, your example greater and we’ll never forget you for all of our days.

Brother Jacky, Rest in Peace. We love you.