Not everything in life is something fun to talk about. Not every journey will be fun and exciting. This is one of those journies. This is a journey to learn a new normal without a guy that touched the hearts of everyone he came in contact with. This journey of sadness will eventually be turned into glee when we are all reunited with Jody in Heaven and we can once again see his genuine smile, hear his infectious laughter, and get a Jody hug – the kind of hug that lets you know everything will be okay, no matter what is going on. Tears are flowing down my face as I try to keep control of my emotions and remember my thoughts to tell you about loss and gain. It has been one month since Heaven gained an angel and we lost a friend.
I asked for Jackie’s permission to write this but there are no amount of words that will convey Jody’s awesomeness. The pictures in this post were taken from my personal pictures, Jackie’s pictures, and Jody’s Facebook. Thank you, Jackie, for allowing me to steal your pics! <3
JODY “TANK” GOOCH 7/29/71 – 10/4/19
If you knew Jody, you will never forget him. If you didn’t know him, you will wish you had. Saying that he was extraordinary sounds so cliche, but it is true. There are tons of words that I can use to describe him – remarkable, loving, Godly, loving, genuine, and funny. None of these words will describe how Jody made you feel. He immediately included everyone. Always. He didn’t see the divisional lines drawn by society, politics, and media. Every single person was God’s child, and he treated them as such. He loved. Period.
I was blessed to meet the Gooch family.
I met Jackie at ParkeWay Fitness Center many years ago in Shalon’s spin class. Jackie walked right up to me and started talking as if we had always been friends. And as soon as she did, it honestly felt like we had been. We were fast friends that quickly included our families. I met Jody and Carly, their daughter, and they met Kym. There was no stopping us. We didn’t get together as much as we would have liked, but we made time to go eat and hang out. We kept up with each other through texting and Facebook every week. Hindsight is always 20/20, right? Looking back now, I wish we had made more time to get together.
Lucky for us, Jody did not keep his feelings inside. He shared his love in so many ways and even though we didn’t get to spend more time with him, we knew how much he loved us. His love was shown with the tightest and most meaningful hugs, laughter, and actual words. Now that I look back and reflect on Jody, I realize that it was because God filled him with joy and love so Jody shared the love he received with people he loved.
He loved
I never saw Jody when he didn’t have a smile on his face. There are many reasons for his smile and at the top of the list was God, Jackie, and Carly. Every single day he demonstrated such love for God and his family. Lucky for us, he shared his love with all of us, too. His love was endless and he never failed to share that love with everyone.
Jody would randomly slip small love notes into Jackie’s lunch. These were little reminders for her and would certainly make her smile, knowing that he took the time to show his love to her even when he wasn’t physically with her. This should be a huge lesson for all of us – show your loved ones how much they mean to you by surprising them with unexpected tokens of love.
Jody and Jackie were members of Peace Fellowship but their faith did not remain at that church. They carried it everywhere and lived the Word, they didn’t just listen to the Word on Sunday. They had a love like no other and I am confident that it is simply because they put God first. In one of Carly’s posts on Facebook, she added a quote that resonates as how this family lived. She wrote “When Jesus comes First, being in second is still winning”.
He loved more than just people! I don’t have enough area to type all the things he loved so I will stick to a just a few. He loved car racing, guitars, Alabama sports, working on cars, his dog, teaching, and vacations. He loved life and was grateful for every day. He was a jokester who was always cracking jokes and making people laugh because he loved causing happiness. I will never forget my last conversation with him. We were discussing Carly’s upcoming wedding and I asked if there was a specific attire. Without missing a beat, Jody said he was going to be wearing his Daisy Dukes so we could wear anything that was comfortable. OHMYGOSH!! At this point, we all joined in with this charade. We laughed, we shimmied, we cut up – talking about how short our shorts were going to be and what dance moves we were going to do. His laughter is still ringing in my ears.
Make Memories
Nothing will ever prepare us for loss and the pain that comes with it. Soak up all the memories you can with everyone that is important to you. These memories may be the only thing you have to help you get through your journey until you see your loved one again. Let Jackie and Carly be a model for how to handle the journey of loss. They have comforted everyone around them while they endured the greatest loss. This world lost a huge treasure when Jody went Home but imagine what a celebration it will be when we are all reunited. It was truly our gain that we were blessed enough to know Jody “Tank” Gooch.
Improve
Let’s let Jody be our guide in how to live. Have faith. Cherish your family. Adore your wife (or husband). Take pride in your children. Show love to everyone. Spread happiness. Go on vacation. Share your knowledge. Soak in the pool. And always ENJOY THE SNOCONE.
Jody, we all love you!!!
He was a great guy and I’m better for knowing him. Our Love of fishing made us fast friends! I miss you Jody!