Felix Woodrow Jenkins III, 10.8.61

oxymoron? a long & lovely funeral kind of day
No real estate content here, but indulge me while I note that a very long day Saturday for my friend Felix was a wonderful way to remember a terrific guy, to grieve with his family and friends, and to celebrate. The funeral service was Act I; dinner hosted by his family for 80 or 100 was Act II; then local friends (like me) were joined by his childhood Texas friends at Our Local Bar for a very long Act III, about 20 in all. Tears and laughter. Memories, many memories.

Others would post this on Facebook, but I do not live in Facebookistan. It is my blog, which I will use today to record the description his family wrote for the program for the service:

Felix Woodrow Jenkins III was born on October 8, 1961, in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the first-born son of Dr. Felix Woodrow Jenkins and Mrs. Bettie Kernodle Jenkins. Felix was raised on Houston, Texas and graduated from St. Thomas High School. Felix took his Texas heritage very seriously and was an avid hunter and fisherman who wore his Wranger jeans and ropers with pride. He later attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from Texas A & M University in 1993. After graduation, he became a property manager for Beeler-Saunders Properties. In 1998, Felix moved to Brooklyn, New York and went to work for Blaylock & Partners and M.R. Beal & Company, two Wall Street brokerage firms. At the time of his death, Felix was a Vice-President at Rice Financial Products, Inc., a broker-dealer in New Jersey. His colleagues called him the "backbone" of their operations.

On June 6, 2009, Felix married the love of his life, Cynthia Rivera, at a sunset service in Turks & Caicos. During their joyful but brief marriage, Felix and Cindy conceived a daughter who is expected in April 2010. Felix loved cycling and cooking, watching sports, and being around his friends. Most of all, he loved his family and his wife and their child. Felix died unexpectedly at their home on February 8, 2010.

Felix, who was also know by his childhood nickname "Woody", was a devoted son. He talked to his parents almost every day and went to Texas every year to hunt and fish with his father and friends. Felix was the brother of Cheryl Jenkins Haywood and Jennifer Jenkins Vogels. He adored his sisters and his nieces and nephews: Allison, Julia and John Haywood, and Martien Vogels. Woody was the apple of his aunts’s eyes: Christine Flanagan, Edith Khateeb, Maxine Rosborough, and Vera Bullock. He loved his aunts and stayed in touch with them. He also had a loving relationship with his first cousins: Nancy and Linda Rosborough and Lesley and Farrah Flanagan. Felix always called his parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, and aunts on their birthdays to sing to them.

Felix had a rare quality; he was a great human being, man,  son, brother, friend and husband. In all of these respects, he set an example. He gave generously of himself to those around him. He lived his life fearlessly and to the fullest. Felix will live on in his daughter and in the hearts of his family and friends. Although his life was much too short, his spirit will always be with us.

Amen, brother.

© Sandy Mattingly 2010