jacky, where do i start.....i guess you and i just clicked from the get-go, but then who didn't "click" with you. you were one of the happiest, purest souls i've ever known and, of course, EVERYONE you met, loved you! your laugh was infectious, your stories one of a kind and your kindness, unmatched. i think you could have made friends with hitler, had you had ever met him. i loved the singing voicemails i would get from you, not only on my birthday, but the ones that were just for no reason at all. fortunately, i saved a number of them and have listened to them over and over, so as just to hear your voice. you have no idea how much you touched my life jacky. you were a true friend, an uncle, a father, whatever you want to call it. we might not have had the same blood running through our veins, but we both agreed, we were family. i am so incredibly grateful for the time i did have with you, because i'm certain that i will never have someone in my life, like you, again.

these past few weeks without you have been so incredibly empty and as the weeks have gone on without our weekly phone calls, its only gotten more difficult. i miss you sooo much, and i just wish we could have had more time with you, but then, i don't think any of us could have ever had enough time with you, jack.

i'll love you always
and don't you worry, i will, as always, be thinking of you
and of course i will come back and write more, you know me, i have alot to say

love,
your sweet little emily girl

Lawyers Guns and Money

One night in the late eighties, Jack and I were driving through Laurel Canyon late at night. We had been out carousing, ate a late night chili-dog at Pink's and I was driving Jack back home to Shadow Hills.
Warren Zevon's "Lawyers Guns and Money" came on the radio and we cranked it up and sang along as loud as we could.
"An innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck
Between a rock and hard place
And I'm down on my luck"
Jack was never down on his luck as far as I'm concerned, but we found ourselves in a hard place now and again.
At the wake, I kept thinking about the ending of the Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life" where George Bailey finds that he's the richest man in town, not from money, but from the love and respect and admiration and companionship of people who cared about him. If that is the measure of true wealth, then Jack Terrell was a very rich man.
Jack will always be with me, always be in my thoughts, and will always be my most unforgettable character.

Good Strong Smokes

You left a pack of Winstons in my car that night when Jordon played that show in Augora. I dont smoke Winstons but I still have them for some reason, they're getting so old that they're just about the strongest thing you ever smoked. But when I get to thinking about the good ol' days, something strong is exactly what I need. Im smokin one right now, there's only two left though. Suppose Ill smoke another when I really need it and save the last one for you.

The Uniqueness of his soul

Dear Jesse, Jordan and Family,

I stand with all of you in your sorrow and I am so very sorry for your loss. I wanted to share the cast photo with you... your Father at the center of it all. Kevin kindly scanned it and uploaded it for me. The photo is of the cast of Macbett, approx. 1982. It was a parody of Macbeth, a comedy by Eugene Ionesco. Jack played Macbett. I was assisting production. Jeff Strickland filled in at the last minute playing all sorts of characters. Nancy Locke produced the play. We were all so young then with, no limits to our dreaming. Jack's smile seems to indicate how happy he was doing what he loved to do. I remember Jack kept us laughing through a difficult production. He was a pro, incredibly charismatic and so much fun to work with. He will be missed by everyone he touched.

I found a passage in a book about grief that I found comforting. I think it describes how we all feel about your Father's passing.

"Life will not go on the same way without him. If it were the same we could only conclude that his life meant nothing, made no contribution. The fact that he left behind a place that can not be filled is a high tribute to the uniqueness of his soul." - Safe Passage

Kindest regards,
Tina Romanus

King Jack

Here is a photo contributed by Tina Romanus. It is the cast photo of a play Tina was in with Jeff Strickland and Jack back in the seventies or early eighties. She will post more about it.

Just having a beer and watching the dodgers take another one away from the dbacks on a slow sunday afternoon. For some reason its days like this one that i miss you the most.

---Jesse