In Memory
There are many ways we keep Jackson’s memory close to us. Here’s where we will share some events, fundraisers, and tributes in Jackson’s memory.
“Your Brother, Jackson” Board Book for Owen
To help Owen get to know his big brother Jackson, we prepared a board book for him. We’d gotten the idea from our friends Dana & Luke (another SUDC family), designed it ourselves, and ordered it from Pint Size Productions. We hope that it’ll be one of Owen’s favorites. Click here to view the full book.
Woodland Park Zoo Tile
Shortly after Jackson passed away, his daycare raised money to dedicate a tile near the tigers at the Woodland Park Zoo in Jackson’s memory. Bryan and Jackson used to go to the zoo on Thursday afternoons, when we lived across the street.
We had a dedication ceremony for the tile on September 15, 2018.
Shep & Jackson Tile, National Mississippi River Museum
Dana and Luke Hamann lost their second son, Shep, to SUDC - a few months before we lost Jackson. Through the SUDC Foundation, we’ve become close, and in September 2018, we made a trip to Iowa to visit them. They surprised us with a tile dedicated to our two boys along the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa.
Maritza & Manuel’s Jackson Garden
Jackson’s abuelos planted a flower garden behind their home in Santa Clara, CA.
Pat & Ratika’s SUDC Fundraiser
In September 2018, Pat & Ratika organized a fundraiser for the SUDC Foundation, raising over $1100 with friends and family - and a matching donation from Pat’s employer, Hulu.
Trang Vo's SUDC Fundraiser
Maritza's good friend and coworker, Trang Vo, organized two fundraisers (with Mixed Bags and See's Candies) for the SUDC foundation in Jackson's memory, and raised over $1,000.
Georgia Gerber Statues
We had the privilege of meeting with Georgia Gerber, a famous local artist, last month to select a special sculpture in honor of Jackson. We picked a two bunny statues, one for our Jackson garden and another for Jackson's daycare at UW Portage Bay. See the attached special edition article from his daycare's weekly "Portage Bay Times", welcoming "Hoppy Bunny" to the school.
Jackson Tattoos
Teacher Frani (who spoke at his memorial service) got a special tattoo to keep Jackson forever in her heart. She told us she hopes people will ask her why she has a spoon with a pink heart on her arm, so she can tell them all about a wonderful little boy and his love for spoons.
Natalia has the letter j, in the formation of an infinity sign, with a small heart.
Bryan has a capital-J, with a dandelion seed to represent our flower walks together — how Jackson loved to blow on puff-balls.
Uncle Chris has Jackson’s initials, with a line for each year, and a circle to represent a whole life.
Tio Manny has two of Jackson’s favorite things in life: spoons and flowers.
Tita Adriana has two asters (a flower that blooms in September), one for each year of Jackson’s life.
March Madness SUDC Fundraiser
Adriana’s co-worker Eliot Olson organized his annual March Madness Charity Pool - and this year, chose the SUDC Foundation as the charity, in Jackson’s memory. It’s the biggest year for it yet, with 53 participants raising $600 - and when Natalia won, she and the 2nd/3rd place winners donated their prizes, bringing the total donation to $1,100. (In a different tournament, our friend Betsy won and donated her prize, too!)
♥️🏀
Brian Delahunty’s SUDC Fundraiser
Our PEPS friend Brian (the father of Jackson's good friend Ada) hosted a Facebook Fundraiser for SUDC Foundation on his birthday. What started off as a goal of raising $200 quickly took off and it ended up raising over 10x the amount. We are thankful to the 60 people who collectively raised $2,225.
Rock Garden
This Spring, we’re going to create a special garden in our yard, in Jackson’s memory. It’s too early to start planting, but we're clearing out a space, and have been painting small rocks with favorite memories of Jackson - his favorite foods, characters from his books, and little reminders of what made him special.
We’ve also planted a tree for him, along with asters, which bloom in September.
Reuben’s Fundraiser
On February 1, 2018, our friend Libby arranged a fundraiser for the SUDC Foundation at Reuben’s Brewing in Seattle. Reuben’s generously donated $1 per beer, and we had a collection vase as well - all-in-all, we estimate that we raised about $1,500 for the SUDC foundation. Thank you to our family, friends, Jackson’s friends, friends-of-friends, and everybody who showed their support. We only wish Jackson could have been there to witness all the love and eat all of the pretzels.
Caffeine’s Winter Festival
In December 2017, Manuel’s girlfriend Keely arranged for her company, Caffeine, to support the SUDC Foundation in their annual holiday fundraiser, which raised $800.
Giving Tuesday
On Thanksgiving 2017, our friend Casey held a fundraiser on Facebook for the SUDC Foundation. It raised $3,000, and we are very thankful for the 80 friends and family who contributed.