Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 22, 2017 | Ferndale Record
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2017 PROGRESS
Grieving a son, growing through loss Slagle family of Lynden tries to live out, in past seven months, ‘loss as a call to action’ By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune
In the early morning hours of Thursday, July 7, 2016, Jordan Ross Garcia Slagle, 26, a 2008 Lynden High School graduate and a student at Trinity Western University in Bellingham, passed unexpectedly during his sleep to heaven. He had worked diligently for more than six years in the Boundary Bay Brewery family. Jordan was active in state and local politics and took great joy in fervently supporting his choice of candidates and causes. He was a lover of family, friends and football. “He possessed a rare combination of intelligence, wit, charm and compassion. His smile lit every room and his heart held enough room for all. He was lavish in his kindness toward others and was always eager to lend a helping hand or word of encouragement,” his obituary stated. Jordan was the treasured son of Lynden residents John Mark and Mona Garcia Slagle, beloved brother of John Roland and Heidi Slagle, also a well-loved grandson and just recently a new uncle. He shared many aunts, uncles, cousins and valued friends and co-workers who deeply felt his loss. A celebration of Jordan’s life was July 13 in Market Depot Square. The Slagle family established a college scholarship fund for Boundary Bay employees in Jordan’s memory.
The blow of loss “After a loss like ours, when your wife starts the process of baking Christmas cookies, that moment when the fact that the gingerbread boy cookie-cutter is nowhere to be found becomes a symbol for a pain more immense than you can quantify.” Throughout the recent holidays and now into a new year, John Mark Slagle has found that many people can suffer in the community in silence and alone. John Mark and his family believe that by sharing their story, the pain of others may also be shared, and eased. They think loss is a call to action. Jordan had picked what his father calls “a grit-driven and circuitous route” with his schooling. Since graduating from Lynden High School, he had worked constantly and gone to school in bits and spurts. From Whatcom to Western Washington University, he had transferred to study leadership at the local Trinity Western campus. Finally, it was his senior year and Jordan’s hope of completing university was within reach. However, it was not to be attained. Instead, a July morning brought the awful visit of a Bellingham police officer, a volunteer grief advocate, and a friend of Jordan’s to Mona at her office at Brigid Collins Family Support Center. They were the “we regret to inform you” kind of contacts that no parent ever wants to experience. Jordan had passed away. That morning, the many who loved Jordan started on an uncharted path of grief. They joined the ranks of people who live on in the face of seemingly insurmountable loss.
Jordan Slagle was generous in his kindness to others, his family says. (Photo credit/John Roland Slagle)
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