This is a terrible loss for everyone that knew Roger. I recently called and talked to him, he said he would be closing his shop in Melbourne and moving up north due to his health. He was in good spirits, as usual, but you could hear in his voice that he would miss all the friends he had in Florida.
I took a leave of absence from racing in '98 to buy a house but I still liked to call and talk to Roger just to see how business was going and to send him a customer every once in a while. In the years I knew Roger, I never heard an unkind word come from him about anyone nor did anyone have bad things to say about him. He was well liked and well respected by everyone, myself included.
Thank you Joe, for posting this unfortunate news about Roger. My sympathies to his family, he will be missed by many.
Brian Taylor #871, #121 (97&98) PH# (727 ) 372-5457
Roger Jacquith "a moment in time
Having walked a pathway that converged with Roger L. Jaquith, will be a
privilege of mine for life.
Attending his memorial service was enriching…a morsel of nourishment that
provided me tangible buoyancy. It was through the conveyance of words and
the personal expressions used by the multitude of his friends that allowed
me a private “moment in time.”
Throughout the testimonials, there emerged a subtle commonality. The
entrance of Roger into our lives employed us to first, become the individuals that we truly sought to become and secondly, become contributing to others. Roger was a mentor who changed the lives of many. He allowed us to learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present to live better for the future.
Caleb Colton wrote: “In life we shall find many men that are great, and some
men that are good, but very few men that are both great and good.” Evidence
of Roger’s goodness can be found by viewing his acts of kindness, caring and
compassion. For his greatness, we only need to look at his grace.
During the service, it was remarked that an old colored man, who for over
forty years, had been a slave was asked “What is grace?” “Grace,” he
replied, “is what I should call giving something for nothing.”
An anonymous author once remarked, “Sorrows are our best educators. A man
can see further through a tear than a telescope.” For those of us who
became genuine friends, we know the depth and breadth of those words. Roger,
“Thank you for educating us.”
To his mother May, his father Irving and brothers Douglas, Thomas and
Andrew, “Thank you for sharing Roger.”
Lynn Tucker