Local residents honor the life of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jeramy
Ailes and share their memories of the young man who will never be
forgotten.
Local residents honor the life of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes and share their memories of the young man who will never be forgotten.:
Dear Editor,
Our family extends our sorrow to the Ailes family with the recent death of their son Jeramy. The fond memories we have of this quiet and shy young man will never be forgotten.
Jeramy was one of many kids that our son Chris brought home to swim in the backyard pool, or to stop and grab some fishing gear, but Jeramy was different. He was quiet, somewhat shy and polite compared to the rowdy kids Chris usually associated with. Soon they became best friends and a day didn’t past without some kind of contact between them. Occasionally they fought, but only about important issues, such as who caught the biggest fish or who was the better water skier …and girls.
Jeramy was always welcome at our home, as Chris was at the Ailes’ home. We always knew when Jeramy had been at our home; he usually left something behind, maybe his school backpack, bike, fishing gear or clothing. Later in the evening he would call asking if he left a particular item at our house –
I think he just wanted an excuse to call and talk with Chris.
Jeramy’s easy-going fun nature had a calming effect on those around him.
Occasionally we would peek in our son’s room to see why it was so quiet, and to my surprise, there was Jeramy. They would spend hours working together building RC model airplanes, cleaning their fishing gear, and, on a rare occasion, doing homework. It was hard getting Jeramy to come out and eat a
meal with us. He would say, no thanks, I’m not hungry, but Chris would always bring food back to the room. On several occasions our phone would ring at 9pm or later, his parents asking if Jeramy was at our house. Before saying no, I would double check Chris’s room, and to my surprise, there he was.
Endless memories of joy and sadness keep popping into our heads, but they can be saved for another time. Jeramy was one of the greatest kids we ever met. Great kids are raised by great parents. Thank you Lana and Joel Ailes for allowing Jeramy to be part of our family.
Alan and Jill Johnson, Gilroy
Dear Editor,
Jeramy Ailes was a student at Rod Kelley Year-Round Elementary School. I was Jeramy and his sister, Jennifer’s, principal at Rod Kelley School. I remember Jeramy as rather reserved and never wanting the attention others desired. He didn’t participate in our lunch recess intramural sports activities, nor our student government programs. He got along with everyone, smiling and hung around with his close friends.
Jeramy was a good kid; never a discipline problem, except once. I do remember one incident when Jeramy and two other friends got into mischief as 6th graders. As I questioned them in my office and listened to “their side of the story,” I remember Jeramy standing behind his two friends. As the two friends nervously shared their version, I remember Jeramy saying very little, but he had this mischievous smile on his face. I remember saying to myself, “is he understanding his actions and impact of his behavior,” and “is Jeramy the instigator and the other two following his lead?” They all received some detention, but I’ll never know whether Jeramy put them up to it.
As educators, we try to instill in our students personal qualities of getting along with everyone and always trying their best. Jeramy exemplified these two qualities. He served his country helping our nation and others in a distant land far from America. He not only tried his best, but gave his best. I, along with our community and nation, am proud of Jeramy Ailes. I wish I could shake his hand and tell him how proud I am of him and to thank him for giving his best.
It saddens and angers me every time an American solider is killed. I cry each time it’s a soldier I know, like Jeramy Ailes. I pray that the other soldiers from Rod Kelley School and from Gilroy and all over the United States come home safely soon. These images of war brings back memories of my family and friends who served in Vietnam. I don’t want to visit another memorial wall and rub the name of a loved one. Jeramy, I shall remember you as a fine, young man with a smile worth remembering. Thank you for the privilege of knowing you.
Gene K. Sakahara, Former Principal, Rod Kelley Year-Round Elementary School
Dear Editor,
I was reading the article online since I no longer live in Gilroy. I was 22 years old when the Ailes family moved in next door to my mom. When my daughter Brianna hit her teenage years, Jeramy was 18 years old. She would visit her Nana’s house and Jeramy and his friends would be outside.
She would tell me how cute Jeramy has become and how cute his friends were. She would peek out the window or pretend she was getting something in the garage just to take a peek at Jeramy. She would come back in the house saying “he is so cute.” She is saddened, and we will miss him, but we will never forget the memories that she has of “just pretending” so she can see Jeramy. Our deepest sympathy goes out the Ailes family.
Cynthia & Brianna Braxton, Monterey
Dear Editor,
My daughter, Megan, and Jeramy were good friends throughout high school years. Quite often, some zany, funny and occasionally eye-popping anecdote about Jeramy and his antics would pepper our dinner table conversation with laughter and lightheartedness.
News of his death filled us with sadness and a deep sense of loss, and brought the war in Iraq to our very door. It has given a face, a name, a heart we loved, to a conflict that would be easier to bear if it remained “over there” with shadowy faces we glimpse only in passing on the TV or in media.
As with the loss of several local young people in recent times, Jeramy’s passing reminds us of that arduous journey we all face between the lightness of youth, innocence, idealism, and the heftiness of responsibility and sometimes harsher realities – a passage it appears Jeramy faced with courage, kindness, and as always, humor.
As our family reminisced about Jeramy the other evening, Megan remarked “A while back when I talked with Jeramy, he told me ‘I just love Gilroy … when I come back, I’m gonna live there forever!'” YU-UU-UP! …He will remain forever right here in our hearts.
Sandra Marlowe, Gilroy
