| Eyes fixed on his father's coffin and wearing a
firefighter's dress uniform cap, six-year-old Scott Jerde, holds a flag presented to his
mother, Judy (standing behind him, hand on his shoulder) by Everett Firefighters at
Cypress Lawn cemetery in Everett. The boy's father, John Jerde, Jr., an Everett
Firefighter, died April 23, 1998 following a long battle with leukemia. Jerde was
39. In addition to Scott, Jerde left behind sons Chad, 11, and Joel, 9. John
Jerde, Jr. was an extremely well-loved and highly respected man in the community.
Hundreds of firefighters, community leaders and friends attended his funeral. I
photographed the entire process, not for the newspaper, but to give the photos to his
family. This photo, however, did run in the paper. I felt that young Scott's face
told a powerful story about what it means when a father dies too young. Reaction to it was
very positive. |
