Je Gaylord’s death shines light on life of strength and selflessness

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On March 15, a deceased man was found at the north bus stop at Englewood Parkway and South Acoma Street in Englewood. O cials said the man was “likely a transient” and that his death did not seem criminal in nature.

Little did they know, the man was Je Gaylord, a prominent football player, professional wrestler, brother and friend.

At his memorial service at Southeast Christian Church in Parker, dozens gathered to share stories of Je ’s life and memories of their time with him.

“As I’m looking around this room today, I see many familiar faces, as well as new ones,” said Angelia Anderson, executive director of a program called Treasure House of Hope that Je participated in. “ is isn’t surprising to me because Je never met a stranger ... He always was so generous and outgoing.”

Athletic history

Je , who was born in 1958, grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City as the middle child of ve. From a young age, he was an impressive athlete, showing speci c strengths as a during his high school years.

“During his senior year, he was able to bench press 610 pounds,” his brother, Tim Gaylord, said at the service. “Many colleges were o ering him a full-ride scholarship (for football) … Je chose Missouri.”

In college, Je became a four-year letterman and was named All-Big Eight and All-American in the early 1980s.

Je ’s success as a college athlete drew attention to him, inspiring the Los Angeles Rams to draft him in 1982. Released prior to the start of their season, he was picked up by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. With this team, he competed in the league’s championship game called the Grey Cup.

He later played for the Boston Breakers and the San Antonio Gunslingers of the United States Football League and was named First Team All-American USFL nose tackle by the Pro Football Review in 1984, Tim said. Je then su ered a major knee injury, bringing his football career to a close. But as an athlete, he was only getting started.

At a gym in San Antonio, Je was o ered the opportunity to train to be a wrestler.

“Je , with his impressive physique, had done some bodybuilding competitions,” Tim said. “He trained for four months for his debut in professional wrestling in 1985.”

He carried the nickname “ e Missouri Tiger” into the new sport, competing for the Universal Wrestling Federation, World Class Champion Wrestling, United States Wrestling Association and American Wrestling Federation.

Among many accomplishments, he won the USWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Je Jarrett.

From stardom to the streets

After 12 years as a professional wrestler, Je decided to start a career that would take less of a toll on his body. He worked successfully in the automobile eld, but after a few years, he began to face some personal and nancial struggles.

“In 1999, Je left Gaylord Sales and Leasing and went to work for another dealer,” Tim said. “ ings didn’t work out well for Je and he blamed his personal nancial conditions and turned to becoming a bank robber.”

Je committed a couple bank robberies and served about 12 years in prison, Tim said at the service. While Je was in prison, his wife passed away.

“ at was a crushing blow to my brother,” Tim said. “After his release from prison, with no hope, Je went to live on the streets while self-medicating with whatever he could nd.”

Treasure House of Hope

For about two decades, Tim said, he prayed for his brother. In 2020, Je said he was ready for a change. is is when he started participating in the Christian-based recovery program, Treasure House of Hope.

“It’s a house and it’s a safe place where broken, hurt … people come, voluntarily come here, and we saturate them with love, compassion, and give them hope for a better future, a better tomorrow,” said Anderson, the executive director.

At the home, Je joined other men who were struggling with addiction, mental health, homelessness and other challenges in a journey to improve themselves physically, mentally and spiritually.

West are separating from each other. It’s not one big group anymore.

“ at is the whole idea of community through communication. We want to build the community up and bring everyone together by simply communicating what’s going on,” Snively added. “ ere’s no politics involved in that, there’s no voting that needs to happen. I want to give you information, keep you informed on what’s happening, and keep you engaged.”

Social media engagement

For Snively, the easiest, quickest and most e cient way to reach town residents is through social media.

e Town of Elizabeth is now utilizing three social media platforms for engagement: Facebook, Instagram and, most recently, Twitter.

“We are not a Facebook-only kind of town. We have a little bit of an older population and not all of them are using Instagram and Twitter,” said Snively. “But I don’t care if only 10n people follow our Twitter account, that’s 10n more people following than we currently have.”

Snively also expressed his desire to reach people outside of Elizabeth, exposing others to the town, its beauty, and what it has to o er.

“We have 2,700 followers on Facebook, which is great because that’s more followers than we have actual residents of the town,” said Snively. “ e goal is broader reach. It’s not just to inform local members of the town, but also to inform outsiders of the beauty of Elizabeth and things we have going on here.”

Throwback Thursdays and #MyElizabeth

As a part of the push for social media engagement, the Town of Elizabeth has begun making rowback ursdays posts that highlight historical aspects of the town. Sometimes these posts show comparisons of structures in the past vs. today.

“I had a high school student reach out to me and say they learned about how the town was named through our Instagram account because we posted something on there about how the name Elizabeth came about,” said Snively. “It was really cool. We want to be able to reach people how they communicate, be that longtime residents or high school students.” e town is also going to begin its #MyElizabeth campaign soon. is campaign will encourage residents and visitors of Elizabeth to post photos on social media with the hashtag “#MyElizabeth.” is can be added in the text description of any photo posted on Instagram or Facebook. Hashtags can also be used along with text and other media on Twitter.

“We plan to highlight a picture once a month and highlight the photographer,” commented Snively. “We will call this the #MyElizabeth of the month.”

Highlighting local residents and businesses

In addition to highlighting a #MyElizabeth of the month, the town also plans to begin highlighting businesses and residents of the month. is campaign is entitled “First Name Basis.” For now, you can nd these on the monthly newsletters and

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