“There was no doubt about it that he was loved. He had more friends than we could have ever dreamed. There were people we met at the funeral that we had never heard of. There were so many people it seemed like they came out of the woodwork. It was unbelievable,” said Gerry Jacovetty about his son, Tyler, a 26-year-old state champion (2010) and Wheeling Central Catholic graduate. “There were so many people that visited that we didn’t know existed in his life.
“And then some of my friends and his friends got involved and put the (‘Tragedy to Triumph’) golf scramble together and attached a steak fry (in early August), and we had 128 golfers and I really have no idea how many folks were at the steak fry. Let’s just say a lot, at least 275 people,” he said. “We ended up raising $31,000 for the Tyler A. Jacovetty Tuition Foundation, and it’s available to anyone who wants to attend Central Catholic. There is a clause in there to give consideration to potential students from Marshall County who otherwise would have attended Bishop Donahue. We felt that was important.”
Sudden
Tyler, who was employed at Best Buy, died suddenly on Good Friday, April 19, at the family’s home in Woodsdale. Jacovetty had phoned his wife, Catherine, to see how many fish sandwiches to buy from Coleman’s, and when she called out to ask Tyler how many he wanted, Tyler never answered his mother. That is when his Catherine discovered him collapsed on the second floor. Tyler passed away at the age of 26 from a cerebral event.
“The craziest thing about all of this is all of the people who have come up to me that I don’t even know, and they tell me how much they loved him,” said Jacovetty, a former attorney in the Wheeling area. “His friends are still beside themselves, and to be honest, the guys cried harder than the girls.
Tyler Jacovetty’s Impact
“There was a kid at the funeral home who was wearing a No. 70 jersey with Jacovetty on the back, and I didn’t know who the child belonged to, but I asked around and found out he was the little brother of one of Tyler’s friends whose house he’d visit to play video games and stuff,” he said. “Apparently, when the kid was getting yelled at by his sister or his parents to go to bed, Tyler would scoop up the kid, take him into his room, read him a book, and tuck him in. My son had an impact.”
That is why the 61-year-old Jacovetty and his wife made the trip to Generations last night for Thanksgiving Eve, their son’s favorite spot the night before the holiday.
“A lot of his friends invited us down there to join them,” Jacovetty said. “For whatever reasons, Generations was their place, and they told us they planned to remember him in their ways. We wanted to be there for it.”
Thanksgiving
During the Christmas season, a tree themed after the Florida Gators football program will stand tall in the living room, but today, Thanksgiving, is different. Today had always been about family, football, and the feast, but this year it is just another day Jacovetty hopes to tolerate.
“Thanksgiving isn’t going to be the same because nothing has been the same. Some days seem to be more tolerable than others,” Jacovetty explained. “Our Thanksgiving this year isn’t going to be close to what we used to do with all the family activity. We’re not sure what we’re going to do.
“We may go to my mother’s for dinner, but we won’t be there long. Not like before,” he said. “But I’ll get up (Thursday) morning, and I’ll go run and be active. I’m going to sit in a chair and cry all day, that’s for sure. I’ll get through the day just like I get through every day. The holidays really aren’t any harder than any other day.
“We’ve always loved Thanksgiving because we spent so much time with the entire family and because of the dinners we had at our house,” Jacovetty said. “But now there would be an empty chair.”
Grieving Without Questioning
He and his family have sought assistance for handling the grief involved with losing a son and brother so young, and while the conversations have been helpful, Jacovetty has refused to travel some paths others have chosen to travel while mourning their respective losses.
“I’ve gone to events where they attempt to handle grief, and I went to one where people were questioning why God would allow something like this to happen to them,” Jacovetty said. “But it wasn’t for me because I am not questioning God for a second. I was told in first grade by Sister Mary Lou that God has a plan; it’s not for you to know, and it’s not for you to question. And I believe that.
“I’ve not questioned God a single time. When I have cried, which can be once or twice a day because I hear something or see something that reminds me, and anytime I hear ‘Country Roads’ that makes me tear up because of how much he loved WVU football,” he said. “But I cry for me and not for him because he’s in paradise. He got there a lot sooner than I wanted him to, but I couldn’t be happier that he’s there.”
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