By: C. Michelle Bryant, as told by Jackie Sikes
Born the oldest of two children to a deeply rooted Italian family and the salutatorian of her high school, Jackie Sikes has been a go-getter her entire life. But if you ask Jackie to tell her story, she will say to you, “I guess my life started on July 15, 1972. I say this because I never found time to do anything much for others until my heart was satisfied. Then I married my Doug and as of that day my life was good!”
With her only child in his early teens and the knowledge that she could no longer have any more children, her first excursion into helping others was taking foster kids into her home. She enjoyed having foster girls because she always wanted a daughter to complement her son and knew there was a giant need to especially help girls. Jackie said she knew that many teens were sleeping at the Greyhound station, so she and Doug decided to take a few, before they landed at the bus station too. She opened her home to children ages 18 months, 36 months (both in diapers), three years, nine years, as well as 12-year-old and 13-year-old sisters. The two sisters stayed with Jackie and Doug for nearly seven years, until they graduated from high school. Together she and her husband housed, clothed and raised seven children over many years. It has been more than 30 years since she has fostered. The children of course have grown up and moved on with their lives, living all over the country. Many of the teens remember her but not the little ones. She still hears from three of her foster children on a regular basis. From babies and teenagers, she and Doug loved them all and helped them until they could find their way. She says that the best part of fostering was believing that she and Doug could provide better lives for these children. Some children literally lived on the streets, and many needed rescued from abuse so they could go on to be productive adults. All the children she fostered, except the infants, were sexually molested and raped.
As Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Jackie found out that a portion of mentally challenged adults lived in a group home and were having a Christmas party every year. Nearly 40 or 50 individuals worked in the center, lived at home and were also mentally challenged. Although the volunteers were not allowed to be in the day-to-day activity because some of the clients had Hepatitis C and some could be dangerous, Jackie still took it upon herself to raise money for a party. What was supposed to be one Christmas party, one time, turned into 13 years of Christmas parties with many presents, for which she conscripted friends for lots of money to purchase.
In addition to this, she hosted years of picnics at the beach, with tons of fried chicken and fun games. This attitude of sacrifice led to her becoming more involved with the Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC). Jackie served on the Board of Directors to which she was elected for seven years and raised a lot of money for the parties and picnics. After volunteering and serving on the Board for years, she was nominated for and became President of the Board. The year she was voted to be president, there was a local countywide election, and although they did not know one client at the ARC, three of the candidates on their Board began to bolster their political image of “helping retarded people.” One of the men candidates ran against her for president after having been on the board two months. Out of respect and fair sportsmanship, Jackie invited him to speak before her and greet the clients. He did not know the names of anyone he was addressing. Jackie had served almost 13 years, and, being the outgoing personality she is, she knew everyone by name and their families personally on a first-name basis. She stood up and could call each one by their first name and told them how much she enjoyed their company on picnics, at Christmas, etc. When the vote was called, he got two votes (submitted by him and one other) and Jackie received 108. Still on the board, the gentleman believed he could input on how to best spend the fund-raised money. Jackie felt with the endless debates, selfish acts, ideas by those who decided to take over the Board and for personal aggrandizement it was best to resign.
Not being able to have any more children, always wanting more children and with additional time on her hands, Jackie moved her talents to a local pregnancy resource center named Emergency Pregnancy Services. It angered her that people were killing babies. The thought, concept and issue of abortion pierced Jackie so deeply that she was constantly at abortion prayer stands (not protests) and stood every single week in front of an abortion mill to pray for an end to the slaughter of human lives.
It was that passion and drive that fueled her desire to help women decide against abortion, and so this charity’s mission was one very close to her heart. She felt as though she could do enough alone to save a few, but this wasn’t enough because she personally knew of six completed abortions. For eight hours a week, in a 20-by-20 room with huge bags of clothes for newborn to five years old, Jackie began by sorting literally billions of articles of clothing donated, which was in turn given away by the tons. She organized and arranged by gender, size and specific items, going through each donation piece by piece to make sure they were worthy to be put on an infant. She did this for 25 years, and the center nominated her for “The George Bush Award for Volunteerism.” Only 122 of these awards are given in the United States, and Jackie received hers at a special banquet.
While working for EPS she began “Paddy’s Closet” a thrift store to sell gently used and new clothes. All the profits were given to charities chosen by the volunteers who worked at the shop. Jackie singlehandedly set up the charter that each volunteer would receive credit of $5 per hour offered at the shop, and at the end of the month those women who had helped at the shop for 20 hours received $100 toward their charity. None of them could afford to donate $100 per month, so this made them feel good that they were giving back. Of course, except for monthly expenses such as electric, phone and insurance, every penny made by Jackie and her mother’s work hours went to The Emergency Pregnancy Services. In three years, they grossed $86,000.
In 2002, her husband Doug was diagnosed with emphysema and COPD at age 61. It was at that appointment he was told he could never work again. The doctors informed them he may have five years left. Neither had planned for the news or financial strains. Jackie, then 60, worked to keep him on her health insurance. At that time, Doug was still able to care for himself. Besides being exhausted, Jackie of course needed to retire and leave the work to others when her husband got sick, but more than that she wanted to be with him. So, at age 62 she quit her job so that she and her husband could enjoy whatever life he had left. She ended up quitting Paddy’s Closet because her husband’s health was getting worse. The volunteers continued to do great work for years.
While taking care of her husband, Jackie found another passion dear to her heart: thrown-out dogs. She saw an ad in the local paper for volunteers to work at a bulldog shelter, and so she called the owner. It was a private person, not a government or city facility. The owner told Jackie it was “darn near impossible to get help with bulldogs.” But for some kindred, loving spirit like Jackie it was not a problem. Soon a pack of 10 dogs of various ages wanted to play with her. In addition to caring for her husband, she volunteered at the bulldog shelter for three years. It was Jackie’s responsibility to walk and love on the geriatric dogs, and she says it was one of the most rewarding experiences anyone could have.
As if that was not enough for any one person’s life, Jackie was also the Respect Life Minister for two churches for a total of 31 years. Along with the other things, her duties were to keep the congregation informed on Bills in Congress, explain embryonic stem cell therapy, attend conferences and stay abreast of the latest information of any kind on prayer stands or vigils. Although rewarding, the ministry was exhausting, but Jackie was always available to give talks and personal help to anyone in a crisis pregnancy.
Unfortunately, Jackie lost her soul mate on October 29, 2015, and at times it may feel as though she has lost her arms and legs. But as we sit with her, we learned that Jackie’s ambition was inspired as she went along, by this saying, “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon but that we wait so long to begin.” We can clearly see that despite many tragedies in her life, Jackie has not lost her spark, her zest or her passion.
She likes to travel and is planning a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, soon. She enjoys spending time with her grandson and her two very active great-grandsons. Yet, now at 75 years old, still with a heart for giving to others, she can often still be spotted taking care of the children after school, is still actively involved in church activities, works in her greenhouse for hours on end and tries desperately to keep up with the house she and Doug designed and built and the five acres of land it sits nestled into. Oh, and recently she has taken to caring for her niece and nephew’s bees! The lady just can’t say no, can’t stop and is truly passionately driven in everything she does. Wondering how one person can accomplish all this and do so much? We discovered that it’s who she is and how she’s made. And when you have a heart as big as Jackie’s, it just comes naturally.
Born the oldest of two children to a deeply rooted Italian family and the salutatorian of her high school, Jackie Sikes has been a go-getter her entire life. But if you ask Jackie to tell her story, she will say to you, “I guess my life started on July 15, 1972. I say this because I never found time to do anything much for others until my heart was satisfied. Then I married my Doug and as of that day my life was good!”
With her only child in his early teens and the knowledge that she could no longer have any more children, her first excursion into helping others was taking foster kids into her home. She enjoyed having foster girls because she always wanted a daughter to complement her son and knew there was a giant need to especially help girls. Jackie said she knew that many teens were sleeping at the Greyhound station, so she and Doug decided to take a few, before they landed at the bus station too. She opened her home to children ages 18 months, 36 months (both in diapers), three years, nine years, as well as 12-year-old and 13-year-old sisters. The two sisters stayed with Jackie and Doug for nearly seven years, until they graduated from high school. Together she and her husband housed, clothed and raised seven children over many years. It has been more than 30 years since she has fostered. The children of course have grown up and moved on with their lives, living all over the country. Many of the teens remember her but not the little ones. She still hears from three of her foster children on a regular basis. From babies and teenagers, she and Doug loved them all and helped them until they could find their way. She says that the best part of fostering was believing that she and Doug could provide better lives for these children. Some children literally lived on the streets, and many needed rescued from abuse so they could go on to be productive adults. All the children she fostered, except the infants, were sexually molested and raped.
As Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Jackie found out that a portion of mentally challenged adults lived in a group home and were having a Christmas party every year. Nearly 40 or 50 individuals worked in the center, lived at home and were also mentally challenged. Although the volunteers were not allowed to be in the day-to-day activity because some of the clients had Hepatitis C and some could be dangerous, Jackie still took it upon herself to raise money for a party. What was supposed to be one Christmas party, one time, turned into 13 years of Christmas parties with many presents, for which she conscripted friends for lots of money to purchase.
In addition to this, she hosted years of picnics at the beach, with tons of fried chicken and fun games. This attitude of sacrifice led to her becoming more involved with the Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC). Jackie served on the Board of Directors to which she was elected for seven years and raised a lot of money for the parties and picnics. After volunteering and serving on the Board for years, she was nominated for and became President of the Board. The year she was voted to be president, there was a local countywide election, and although they did not know one client at the ARC, three of the candidates on their Board began to bolster their political image of “helping retarded people.” One of the men candidates ran against her for president after having been on the board two months. Out of respect and fair sportsmanship, Jackie invited him to speak before her and greet the clients. He did not know the names of anyone he was addressing. Jackie had served almost 13 years, and, being the outgoing personality she is, she knew everyone by name and their families personally on a first-name basis. She stood up and could call each one by their first name and told them how much she enjoyed their company on picnics, at Christmas, etc. When the vote was called, he got two votes (submitted by him and one other) and Jackie received 108. Still on the board, the gentleman believed he could input on how to best spend the fund-raised money. Jackie felt with the endless debates, selfish acts, ideas by those who decided to take over the Board and for personal aggrandizement it was best to resign.
Not being able to have any more children, always wanting more children and with additional time on her hands, Jackie moved her talents to a local pregnancy resource center named Emergency Pregnancy Services. It angered her that people were killing babies. The thought, concept and issue of abortion pierced Jackie so deeply that she was constantly at abortion prayer stands (not protests) and stood every single week in front of an abortion mill to pray for an end to the slaughter of human lives.
It was that passion and drive that fueled her desire to help women decide against abortion, and so this charity’s mission was one very close to her heart. She felt as though she could do enough alone to save a few, but this wasn’t enough because she personally knew of six completed abortions. For eight hours a week, in a 20-by-20 room with huge bags of clothes for newborn to five years old, Jackie began by sorting literally billions of articles of clothing donated, which was in turn given away by the tons. She organized and arranged by gender, size and specific items, going through each donation piece by piece to make sure they were worthy to be put on an infant. She did this for 25 years, and the center nominated her for “The George Bush Award for Volunteerism.” Only 122 of these awards are given in the United States, and Jackie received hers at a special banquet.
While working for EPS she began “Paddy’s Closet” a thrift store to sell gently used and new clothes. All the profits were given to charities chosen by the volunteers who worked at the shop. Jackie singlehandedly set up the charter that each volunteer would receive credit of $5 per hour offered at the shop, and at the end of the month those women who had helped at the shop for 20 hours received $100 toward their charity. None of them could afford to donate $100 per month, so this made them feel good that they were giving back. Of course, except for monthly expenses such as electric, phone and insurance, every penny made by Jackie and her mother’s work hours went to The Emergency Pregnancy Services. In three years, they grossed $86,000.
In 2002, her husband Doug was diagnosed with emphysema and COPD at age 61. It was at that appointment he was told he could never work again. The doctors informed them he may have five years left. Neither had planned for the news or financial strains. Jackie, then 60, worked to keep him on her health insurance. At that time, Doug was still able to care for himself. Besides being exhausted, Jackie of course needed to retire and leave the work to others when her husband got sick, but more than that she wanted to be with him. So, at age 62 she quit her job so that she and her husband could enjoy whatever life he had left. She ended up quitting Paddy’s Closet because her husband’s health was getting worse. The volunteers continued to do great work for years.
While taking care of her husband, Jackie found another passion dear to her heart: thrown-out dogs. She saw an ad in the local paper for volunteers to work at a bulldog shelter, and so she called the owner. It was a private person, not a government or city facility. The owner told Jackie it was “darn near impossible to get help with bulldogs.” But for some kindred, loving spirit like Jackie it was not a problem. Soon a pack of 10 dogs of various ages wanted to play with her. In addition to caring for her husband, she volunteered at the bulldog shelter for three years. It was Jackie’s responsibility to walk and love on the geriatric dogs, and she says it was one of the most rewarding experiences anyone could have.
As if that was not enough for any one person’s life, Jackie was also the Respect Life Minister for two churches for a total of 31 years. Along with the other things, her duties were to keep the congregation informed on Bills in Congress, explain embryonic stem cell therapy, attend conferences and stay abreast of the latest information of any kind on prayer stands or vigils. Although rewarding, the ministry was exhausting, but Jackie was always available to give talks and personal help to anyone in a crisis pregnancy.
Unfortunately, Jackie lost her soul mate on October 29, 2015, and at times it may feel as though she has lost her arms and legs. But as we sit with her, we learned that Jackie’s ambition was inspired as she went along, by this saying, “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon but that we wait so long to begin.” We can clearly see that despite many tragedies in her life, Jackie has not lost her spark, her zest or her passion.
She likes to travel and is planning a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, soon. She enjoys spending time with her grandson and her two very active great-grandsons. Yet, now at 75 years old, still with a heart for giving to others, she can often still be spotted taking care of the children after school, is still actively involved in church activities, works in her greenhouse for hours on end and tries desperately to keep up with the house she and Doug designed and built and the five acres of land it sits nestled into. Oh, and recently she has taken to caring for her niece and nephew’s bees! The lady just can’t say no, can’t stop and is truly passionately driven in everything she does. Wondering how one person can accomplish all this and do so much? We discovered that it’s who she is and how she’s made. And when you have a heart as big as Jackie’s, it just comes naturally.