WRESTLING NEWS
Jeff Jarrett Delivers Emotional Eulogy For
His Late
Father, Jerry
By DAVID BIXENSPAN
A celebration of the life of Jerry Jarrett was recently held in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and was live-streamed on YouTube. Jerry's middle son, Jeff, gave a eulogy, and although he had been estranged from his father for over a decade from disputes involving the wrestling business, they reconciled shortly after Jeff got sober in late 2017.
After thanking everyone who had sent condolences to the point it was "overwhelming," he told about his father's life, from Jerry’s own father, who was absent, to his education. Jeff said, “Over the last week, I've kind of had time to reflect, and really think through that. And I think in so many ways, that's how my dad learned. Self-taught."
Jeff noted that his dad carried around a copy of "The Man in the Arena," the poem taken from a Theodore Roosevelt speech of the same name, and he then read two more of Jerry's favorite poems: "If" by Rudyard Kipling and "Keep Going" by Edgar A. Guest. Jeff had read the latter as part of his first promo in the wrestling business, and had also recently tweeted it as a salute to his father.
"Five and a half years ago, I had two feet in the grave and the rest of myself on the way," he said. "But only by the grace of God am I standing here, but this poem, ["Keep Going,"] from an earthly perspective, is the mentality that kept me going." After reading the poem, he repeated that his dad believed every word of it.