Jeffrey "Coach Jay" Ingram Jr. age 32 of Kennesaw, died Friday January 27, 2012. He was preceded in death by his Grandmothers; Nelda Ingram and Lela "Poo" Forgay. He is survived by his wife of 10 years Corinne Ingram and their two children Aiden and Kailyn Ingram. He is also survived by mother; Susie(Carroll) Payne, Father; Jeff(Stephanie) Ingram, Father-in-law and Mother-in-law; Frank and Lynn Martuscello, Brothers; Matt Payne, Bo Hanson and Kyle Ingram, Sister; Kasey(Mark) Pitts and their child Lela Pitts, Sister-in-law; Christina(Jeff) Bickerton and their children Tyler and Blake Bickerton. He is also survived by his Grandfathers; Eli "Papa" Ingram and Robert "Pops" (Navona) Forgay.
Family will receive guests Monday January 30, 2012 from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 9pm at Winkenhofer Pine Ridge Funeral Home in Kennesaw. Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday January 31, 2012 at 2:00pm at Living Hope Church in Kennesaw.
In lieu of flowers donation can be made to: Jay Ingram Family Benefit Contribution Account at any Bank of America location.
MESSAGE FROM A FRIEND
I met Jay Ingram for the first time in the summer of 1993. He was a high school student in the youth
group that I had just been hired to lead. (Despite the fact that I was only 2l years old and had no idea
how to lead a youth group) The kid smiled. All the time. There was something in his eyes. Like his
soul was burning on a kind of fuel that most other kids his age didn't have access to. He was a soccer
player, and a damn good one. There was an intensity to him, and a passion for life that was unique
and refreshing. But he didn't take himself, or others, too seriously. He was funny. Small in stature, he
possessed the heart of a warrior. Competitive to the core, he would battle on the soccer field, ping
pong table, swimming pool, anywhere, anything. It didn't matter. He had to win. And he usually did.
He graduated high school and began pouring his life into coaching. He coached soccer and got a
degree from Georgia State University. He kept coaching. Kept competing. Kept winning. He found
love and married Corinne. And in time they brought two children into the world. Aiden Lynn and
Kailyn Danielle. He worked as the P.E. teacher at Kennesaw Charter School. They called him, simply,
"Coach." Coach was up every morning at 4 a.m. He would run for an hour or so, and then when he
arrived back home, he would spend the remainder of his time before school reading the scriptures
and a daily devotion. Each day he would post a particular thought from his devotional on Facebook
for the encouragement of others.
While other men his age were flaming out in their marriages, Jay was busy fighting to make his
marriage the best it could be. While most of his peers were busy building a portfolio, or a client basen
or a reputation, Coach was helping to build a school. While others were consumed with financial
investments, Coach was investing in the lives of the children and young ladies who were under his
guidance. He listened to them. And because he listened, they listened to him. They learned and grew,
not just as athletes, but as young people. And Coach just kept smiling, kept competing, kept building,
kept investing, kept winning. Early Thursday, Coach never returned from his early morning run. Never got to do his devotional or
take his children to school. He was hit by a car about a quarter of a mile from his neighborhood. He
would spend the next day and a half in the ICU at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, just about six miles
away from Kennesaw Charter Science and Math Academy where he taught. There was an outpouring
of love and support, and a steady stream of visitors, each of whom had a story or multiple stories
about how Jay had impacted their life. Even hospital employees told of how Coach had made an
impression on their children who attended his school. Every person united in their belief that if
anyone could fight back from these severe injuries, it would be him.
Jay Ingram died today. He was one month from reaching 38 years of age. As I struggle with how to
make sense of it all, the wife and kids he leaves behind, the family and friends that love him so, the
children and teenagers who adore him, and why God would allow this to happen,I 'm also learning
some things. I'm learning that heroes dont always wear capes and that not all giants are tall in
stature. Sometimes heroes wear a coach's whistle and Crocs, and sometimes giants are 5, 6,'. I was
reminded that, often, heroes die young. In our legends and myths, in our stories of faith, and in our
everyday lives- It's as if the way they live is just too beautiful, resplendent and bright for this fallen
realm we live in and so their soul must escape to the place where light originates. Where beauty was
born, where it lives and breathes and has a Name.
Today, a giant fell.
Today, we lost a hero.
But today...
A hero found his Home.
"Sometimes it makes me sad, though...I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be
caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a
sin to lock them up does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty
that they're gone.I guess I just miss my friend." - The Shawshank Redemption
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