From Lauren Priest

What a Difference One Person Can Make

An average person will touch the lives of their family and a few close friends in their lifetime. Maybe a great person will do a little bit more and leave their mark on their community. Jay Turnbull, however, not only touched, but changed the lives of his family, a huge circle of friends, the entire Lawrence community, and inspired many people, including myself, who are now all over the country changing the lives of others with disabilities. If it isn’t an extraordinary accomplishment, I don’t know what is.

Jay was a great friend. Probably a better friend than most will ever be. He greeted everyone with a smile and handshake. If you were sad, he would remind you to smile. He reminded you to sing, dance, and eat great food. He never spoke ill of anyone. He always forgave you unconditionally, no questions asked. He never asked for or expected anything more than our time. In fact, there was nothing that Jay love more than just being with people. And when you were with him, you slowed life down just long enough to remind yourself of what it is really about in the first place. Love. I have never known a friendship as pure and unconditional as Jay’s, and Jay certainly was a once in a lifetime friend.

On so many occasions, Jay and I would go on outings out in the Lawrence community where on just a short trip; he would run into a half dozen people who knew him by name. Restaurants, stores, various KU departments, you name it, they knew Jay. I know that so many people are now a little bit more caring, a little bit more compassionate, a little bit more understanding because Jay became a part of their daily or weekly routine.

When I started working at the Beach Center my junior year in college, I really had no intention in going into special education. Sure, I was an education major and it was my minor, but there really wasn’t an interest there other than it would be a great background as a classroom teacher. However, after being Jay’s job coach for two and a half years, I knew that I wanted to make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities. Jay had shown me what was possible, and I wanted to help give others the same opportunities that he had had. And so, here I am, a third year special education teacher, owing what I do with my life everyday to Jay.

It’s hard to imagine that I will never give that secret handshake again, that I will never share that inside joke, that I will never see those hands raised high up in the air singing to any song that comes on the radio. But I know that my life and that so many others is better in more ways that I can ever put into words because of Jay Turnbull.

Lauren Priest