Sharron Jones
Celebrate Every Miracle
SUNRISE: 12/31/1953 SUNSET: 3/12/2019
“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”
Cynthia Occelli
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The day that I most dreaded in my life has morphed into a celebration of every miracle on the path of life’s journey. While my mom, Sharron Jones, was initially raised in a catholic environment, she evolved into a unique embodiment of both faith and spirituality that touched everyone in a distinct manner. I won’t have to “remember,” much going forward because she has and always will be with me in spirit. One of mom’s main messages was how to turn adversity into strength and tenacity. The only detail is to remember that we often need to break all the way down to get to those breakthrough moments that inspire us to rise like a phoenix and pay the wisdom of such experiences forward.
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My mother, Sharron Jones was diagnosed with Cancer in 2017 and it prompted a long war with many very difficult battles. The journey compromised lots of relationships because mom has a tendency to be private about such matters.
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On Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at around 5:45 pm PST, the war against cancer ended and mom’s essence walked into the eternity of the golden sunset. I now take solace in the idea that she is now a guardian angel reminding me to recognize all of the miracles around me and celebrate them whenever possible.
My mom was one of my best friends. Since mom and I are only about 15.5 years apart in age, we pretty much grew up together. I inherited many of her challenges along with an extra super-size portion of her intuitive connection to the earth and the people on it. This was her gift of community awareness and responsibility that naturally extended itself to activism. Mom taught genuinely through example, and that also meant having to make a distinction between assessment vs judgment of the self and others.
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While I will miss her more with each passing moment, I have mostly released my grief from the past two years fighting alongside her through chemo, radiation and Kaiser incompetence that I could write a book on. While it saddens me that she is no longer available to me on this plane of existence, I have faith that we will be child and parent again within the fullness of time. As an existentialist, I believe that it’s probably my turn to be the biological parent? If not, I call “shotgun!”
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I will miss mama’s wisdom and biting sense of humor. A sense of humor that she always shared with big helpings of warmth, love and joy. At other times, mom exhibited a cynicism that was just like a self-parody in its sense of stoic reality with a hint of, “deadpan” humor.
While I am sure to experience heavy emotions beyond the shock that has shifted me into my “new normal,” I am so happy and relieved that she is no longer in pain. If you or anyone that you have loved has battled with CANCER, you understand the exchange of missing your mother vs not wanting her to suffer any longer.
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The last few month were truly agonizing. Right when I needed it most, my brother Ali and his fiancé Belkis were the soldiers that stepped up full-time and handled the meds and cleaning of our home as mom’s condition declined rapidly. I thank both Ali and Belkis
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My aunt Nisaa had her hands full as the matriarch of the family navigating peace through turbulently emotional waters of pain and anguish.
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I thank my Aunt Nisaa with zest as her lessons of patience, composure and endless other skills filled in the knowledge gaps that mom could not always fill. Like I will celebrate my mom’s life and transition, I will also continue to celebrate my Aunt Renee and Aunt Nisaa.
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This is an open invitation for everyone that wants to come celebrate the life of Sharron Jones. Our aim is to keep everything simple. But given that we don’t have much experience with this, expect the unexpected and be please be open to moments of improvisation. If you chose not to come and participate, I understand and empathize.
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Everyone processes death and grief in their own way. There will be no judgments if you cannot make it, but their will be plenty of remembrance and joy.
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Mom’s service will be at Lodi Memorial in the Northern California valley city of Lodi.
Thank you to everyone that has been so kind and supportive. I appreciate it, and I am certain that mom does as well!
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JD Cogmon
It was fun being her kid. Like with all family relationships things are seldom "perfect" at least not in the deceptive television mirages that we are fed throughout development.
One of the many gifts I received from this woman was a positive attitude towards diversity. The biggest and most consistent example of diversity was in the music she played. Funk, Hip-hop, soul, rock n roll, Jazz and the list goes on.
Today I share "Across the Border" by Electric Light Orchestra. It was one of the many songs I played while running around between all of her cancer diagnosis and treatment appointments. It always made our trips feel more like a mission (especially when we ended up at the Sizzler" or one of her favorite Mexican Restaurants). It was our adventure song that always reminded us to enjoy life as much as we could even when the outlook was bleak. While I could name plenty of other ELO songs we enjoyed, this is the one we shared to remind us of the joy of connection to the people and the world around us. I still have to go say thank you to the beautiful people at St Teresa Comprehensive Cancer Center.
I love you mom.
May 6, 2019:
This is my first birthday on earth without my mother on this physical plane of reality. I miss her, but she is still in touch through dreams. So this year I celebrate her release from the physical exhaustion and pain of Cancer and a personal emancipation to enjoy the world around me a whole lot more!
I have not lost any of the love, beauty, joy and strength she blessed our family with. Every Birthday wish is a tribute to her and a cosmic echo of mother's day past.
I will not lose my snark, but I will push the envelope of my gratitude for everything I have received and share with other. I do this with the hope that those that I have learned with, taught and experienced life will pay for ward to those that need help living outside of shadow.
To the ever emerging road that is the omniverse of consciousness, I ask that we all keep ourselves open to unconditional love in the hope that our world ebbs and flows back into a non material paradise that includes everyone! Not just the privileged!