Elizabeth Butler
The Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta, GA — VALDOSTA — The little boy, about 10 years old, had lost his parents and was being cared for by an older sister.
He had come to Camp Good Mourning, which dishes out fun, love and grief counseling for children whose loved ones have died. He clung to the side of Hospice of South Georgia volunteer Jimmy Fletcher the entire time. When each camp concludes, heart-shaped balloons fly to the heavens with “angels” and letters they have written to the ones passed on.
“At the end of the camp after the balloon release, the little boy comes up to me, grabs my hand and looks up at me. He said, ‘I wish you could be my dad.’”
Fletcher, who’s been a Hospice volunteer 10 years, wiped the tears from his eyes as he told his story last Monday at his family business, Farmers Tractor Company.
Katie Hardin, referral development liaison, Hospice of South Georgia and Langdale Hospice House, calls Fletcher “unique.”
“Believe me, when I say we are fortunate to have many wonderful volunteers,” Hardin said. “The reason I call Jimmy ‘unique’ is that he’s one-of-a-kind to us; but in another sense, he’s down-home, salt of the earth, do anything for anyone, never met a stranger, good ol’ country folk, like so many of the people who come to mind when you think of a kind, thoughtful Southern gentleman. In fact, if you quoted what I wrote, Jimmy would modestly say, ‘Aw shucks!’ In some ways, Jimmy doesn’t fit the mold of who you would picture as a Hospice volunteer. We just wish we had more volunteers like him.”
Hardin’s words rang true when I called Fletcher recently to set up an interview.
“Recognition is not why I’m there” were the first words out of the mouth of this humble man. “I do it because it’s a blessing to me to be a part of Hospice and what they are.”
Fletcher said he got involved in the organization when he saw a picture of Camp Good Mourning on a friend’s wall and asked what it was.
“She told me about the camp for kids who have lost loved ones and the counseling, pretty much to let them know their passing wasn’t their fault.”
Hardin said Fletcher has become a “mainstay” volunteer for the annual children’s grief camps, Camp Good Mourning and Camp Lean on Me.
“He does so much to help, from hauling trailers of supplies for setting up camp, to being a wonderful mentor to the children and adolescents who attend the camp. ...”
About the grief camps, Fletcher said earlier, “I have seen kids go from crying because they didn’t understand to smiles and laughter with new friends. You should see the blessings that they are.”
Fletcher, who prefers to stay in the background doing whatever task is needed, sits with patients at the Langdale Hospice House, but also carries out the trash or grease.
“Since the opening of the Langdale Hospice House, I have sat with patients and their families, talked, laughed, and cried with them,” he said earlier. “I have seen families come in and have heard them say how glad they were able to be at the Hospice House. They would also comment on how beautiful and cozy it is, how much it is like their own home environment, and not like a nursing home. The patients would get more ‘one-on-one’ care, which is better for the end-of-life transition.”
Fletcher’s passion for the Langdale Hospice House later became a personal one.
“A cousin had brain cancer and lived in Pavo away from any family member who could sit with him. His wife wasn’t physically able to care for him to the extent he needed to be cared for. He was a perfect candidate for the Hospice House, but it wasn’t built yet. Therefore, he had to be put in a nursing home (in 2004), dying in just over two months. That’s when I really put an emphasis on fund-raisers.”
Fletcher participated for two years in the Azalea City Kiwanis Club’s Walk for Charity, where the funds went toward the building of the Hospice House. He raised $4,700 one year and $3,500 the next year.
His heart for those who have lost loved ones also prompted him to participate in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life on the logistics team for two years.
Fletcher’s involvement in the community also includes the Lowndes County 4-H’s Kids Dig It in South Georgia, which gives youngsters a chance to see and ride all sorts of big vehicles. The Lowndes High School graduate also drove one of the yellow school buses taking the LHS Georgia Bridgemen to New York to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade one year. His tractor business also helps support the Lowndes County Ham and Egg Show and Sale.
For 20 years, he has been a volunteer firefighter for Lowndes County, at Twin Lakes for about 10 years and the remainder at Eastside. That, too, has left him dealing with death.
“I’ve had a couple of close calls,” he said. “We lost a kid in a house fire right after I started, and that was pretty hard to get over. But I wanted to continue to do it. Maybe I could help make a difference.”
When he’s not volunteering, he enjoys hunting and fishing. He attends Morningside Baptist Church, where he has helped with their Wild Game Supper. He’s also a part of the church’s Men’s Fraternity, which meets each Thursday at 5:30 a.m.
“I love it,” he said of the courses, which “provide men with an encouraging process that teaches them how to live lives of authentic manhood as modeled by Jesus Christ and directed by the Word of God.”
Fletcher is divorced and has three children, Savannah, who will be 22 on March 14; Zachary, 18; and Madison, who will be 16 on March 4. In the family tractor business with him are his dad, Hulon Fletcher; his brother, Jerry Fletcher; and his sister, Cindy Godwin. His mom is Joann Fletcher, and he has another brother, Burt.
“He helps everybody who asks,” his sister said. “We always accuse him that he has so many people that he helps that he doesn’t have time to help us.”
Jimmy, who’s been on the Hospice of South Georgia advisory board for a couple of years, encourages those who haven’t seen Langdale Hospice House to call to schedule an appointment for a tour.
“He’s just so passionate about supporting our mission that everyone who meets him learns quickly what’s in his heart,” Hardin said.
