On a cold and quiet December evening, in Vicksburg’s Clark Park, a group of about 30 people gathered to remember Trevor Jennings. Trevor was a young man – he died at the age of 27 – with an incredible kindness and a heart of gold.
Although his life was short, his experiences were many. At the age of 13, Trevor traveled to Kodiak, Alaska to go commercial fishing with his aunt and uncle. He bought his first car at the age of 14. Trevor graduated from Vicksburg High School in 2011 and obtained an associate’s degree in machine tool from Kalamazoo Valley Community College a short time later. Trevor had a knack and a love for all things mechanical. He loved being in the shop, with friends, working on cars and trucks. Trevor also had a love for animals. When Trevor and a group of friends, attending a bachelor party in Tennessee, came across a flea infested, malnourished dog they jumped in to help. The help and caring extended to the dog’s puppies, found later. Each of the attendees adopted a puppy. All the puppies and their mom came all the way back to Vicksburg with the group. That kindness found Trevor and his friends the subject of a national news story featured across the country, including on Good Morning America.
In Clark Park, Trevor’s mom, Fawn Jennings, called the group together. With hands shaking and her eyes tearing, she read from notes she had written on a piece of paper. Trevor’s dad, Dexter Jennings, held up a light so his wife could read the words she had jotted down. She said, “If you met Trevor, you liked Trevor.” Standing around a new metal bench dedicated to Trevor’s memory, she said, “One of the last things Trevor said to me was how much he loved growing up in Vicksburg.” Surveying the placement of the bench, Fawn said, “Trevor would have loved this, with the bench located on the north end of the park and facing the downtown, this is a place he would have cherished.” All the friends and family in attendance agreed.
Trevor’s grandmother, Bev Hoffman, who worked with the Village for three years in making this memorial possible, shared words of appreciation for all those who helped and especially the Vicksburg Department of Public Works employees, who knew Trevor, and who worked tirelessly with the family to deliver the perfect placement of the bench.
