2011 Persons Of The Year: Wade Jernigan And Organ Donors

January 2, 2012

NorthEscambia.com is naming Persons of the Year for 2011. The recipients were nominated by our readers as individuals that have a made a difference in North Escambia during the past year — people that have given of themselves to help others and the communities of North Escambia during 2011. Additional Persons of the Year will be named on Tuesday.

Recipients named so far include the volunteers and supporters of the Health and Hope Clinic, and Northview Athletic Director Sammy Day.

An unexpected tragedy and a simple act of unselfishness led to the selection of 16-year old Kenneth Wade Jernigan and everyone that has signed their name as an organ donor as  2011 North Escambia Persons of the Year.

A heart of gold, always a smile, always positive, always there, and always giving of himself. Those are just some of the ways Wade Jernigan’s friends described him in the hours following a tragic wreck on a cool December morning not far from Northview High School. And, even in his death, he continued to give of himself.

After doctors did all they could do, Wade was kept on life support at Sacred Heart Hospital in order to donate his organs.

“Through his unselfish, giving spirit he chose to be an organ donor, and even though we greatly grieve his passing, through it he gave eight people and their families life and in this way he lives on through them,” his obituary said.

His impact on the communities of North Escambia was perhaps more profound than we will ever know. The Northview family grew closer together. Students signed up to become organ donors, perhaps multiplying the number of lives saved by Wade Jeringan’s death many times over. Many young people also examined their mortality and  many made life altering decisions in their personal and spiritual lives.

An anonymous commenter on a NorthEscambia.com story about Wade Jernigan perhaps summed up the reason that all that are signed up to be organ donors and Wade Jernigan are 2011 North Escambia Persons of the Year:

“I’ve never in my time being at Northview witnessed the halls so empty of emotion and noise. Silence had overwhelmed us completely. This tells you how great of a guy he was. It hurts us all to think the guy you surrounded yourself with in case you were having a bad day, is gone,” the Northview student wrote.

“In return, we will all grow stronger, and learn from this.”

Comments

12 Responses to “2011 Persons Of The Year: Wade Jernigan And Organ Donors”

  1. Northview Student :) on January 5th, 2012 1:24 pm

    Wade,We lovve and Miss you so much…. School is so lost and Quite without you Hopefully we’ll meet again someday :) wait… no i know we will i love and miss you wade kenneth <3 :)

  2. Kell on January 5th, 2012 12:29 pm

    i didnt no him but my feinds did andd it was tragic and god bless you

  3. Donna Hunter on January 3rd, 2012 8:08 pm

    Well deserved. I’m so deeply touched. Wade was a wonderful young man. So many lives have been touched and SO MANY MORE people will want to do better in their own life and reach out to others because of the way he lived his LIFE. I always cry when I think of him losing his life but then I read about his wonderful acts of love and kindness and I smile. I just know Wade has heard Jesus say “Well Done my good and faithful servant”. 
    Wade lived his LIFE the way that was pleasing to GOD and we should all follow his pattern. We will hear many stories from people about how Wade touched their life but there will be many that we will never hear about but JESUS knows and that’s all that matters in the end. 

  4. Mariah on January 3rd, 2012 8:07 pm

    Well deserved.. love and miss him and that huge smile SO much.

  5. SAM on January 3rd, 2012 12:56 pm

    WADE WAS A BRIGHT HANSOME SMART YOUNG MAN. HE WILL BE VERY MISSED BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN. WE LOVE HIM ALWAYS && FOREVER ….

  6. Debbie Lukkar on January 3rd, 2012 7:42 am

    What a blessing! Wade will continue to be missed for the rest of ourlives, but there is a very special thing for all of us to look forward to and that is seeing him again when our day comes!

  7. Willene Bryan on January 3rd, 2012 7:26 am

    What a blessing this young man was.

  8. Nancy on January 2nd, 2012 7:16 pm

    We should all be donors to help save lives. Even while we are living we can donate kidneys, liver, and blood. I donated a kidney 10 yrs ago, and am fine as ever, and the recipient has had 10 extra yrs and counting. I have also been a blood donor for many years. God does reward those who give life to others…He has been so good to me! Please prayerfully consider being a donor…there are donor waiting lists for organs and marrow.
    National Marrow Donor Program
    info@marrow.org
    http://www.marrow.org

    http://donatelife.net/

    http://www.organdonor.gov/

  9. Carl & Polly Gandy on January 2nd, 2012 2:37 pm

    Through Wade’s “caring for others and his family’s loving generosity” our daughter ALMOST received a very much needed Pancreas…only because of the antibodies not being a match –it was passed on to another ..We will thank GOD and remember Wade and his family forever.

  10. Kim on January 2nd, 2012 11:50 am

    We all should take a lesson from Wade. As a mother of a Northview student that was friends with Wade it opened my eyes and really makes me cherish each day God gives me with my children. He was such a wonderful young man and this shows how caring and unselfish he was. We all should consider being an organ donor and help others like he did. He is so well deserving of this!

  11. cindy on January 2nd, 2012 10:13 am

    We miss and love you so much…..and wish u were still here with us but you saving peoples lives is amazing :)

  12. Craig on January 2nd, 2012 9:47 am

    Well deserved!

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News