A celebration of life event is scheduled for this Sunday afternoon at Lipstick Lounge for former Nashville resident Jake Jackson, who died recently in his hometown of Frederick, Maryland.
According to friend and co-organizer Rob Sikorski, the idea for a social memorial arrived organically.
"There was a group of his close friends here who knew that Nashville was basically one of his homes," he said, "so we thought that it would be great to have something here, in addition to the two other events that are going on. There’s going to be one in Santa Barbara for his family out there and then one in Fredericksburg that happened last weekend."
Jake was born and later adopted in California. He attended college in Idaho and, according to an obituary to be circulated Sunday, he traveled the world as a flight attendant and kept a home in Key West, Florida where he lived for many years before settling in Nashville. "In 2013, following his mother's death, he decided he wanted to live closer to family and moved to Maryland to be near his brother and his family."
The participation of Lipstick Lounge was a bit serendipitous as well. "He lived in East Nashville," said Sikorski. "It was one of his favorite hanging spots. Christa and Jonda were good friends of his and so when this idea came up, Lipstick Lounge came to mind and then literally the same day I ran into Jonda and she offered it."
Lipstick Lounge has offered a number of drink specials with proceeds going to both the Susan G. Komen Foundation and The Victory Fund. "If people wanted to, in lieu of flowers or anything else," he said, "we'd like to donate something in his name, so a small group of us brainstormed a couple choices. With the Susan G Komen Foundation, we know he participated every year in the Race for the Cure. He was in that every year and it was because his mother had breast cancer."
As for the memorial itself, Sikorski stresses there is no formal schedule planned for the afternoon. "It’s more of an informal drop in," he said of the event that runs from 3-5pm. "They’ll have drink specials where money will be donated to those charities in his name. We’ll have a short program where people will get up and say a couple words and then we’ll finish with a balloon release. We’re trying to keep it as eco-friendly as possible."
"When people found out [that Jake had passed], they just came out of everywhere with their own stories of how they knew Jake and pictures of their friendship. It was amazing. He always had a smile and kind words for everyone."
More information on this Facebook event page.