Jerry "Jay" Banks

(4 of 4)
The contrast of earthly internment and soaring with the eagles in your plane, Jay, brings an old hymn and a poem to mind:

1. Sweet rivers of redeeming love
Lie just before mine eyes.
Had I the pinions of a dove,
I'd to those rivers rise.
I'd rise superior to my pain,
With joy outstrip the wind,
And cross bold Jordan's stormy main,
And leave this world behind.

2. While I'm imprisoned here below
In anguish, pain and smart,
Oftimes my troubles I forego,
While love surrounds my heart.
In darkest shadows of the night,
Faith mounts the upper sky,
I then behold my heart's delight,
And could rejoice to die!

I suspect you are intimately familiar with "High Flight," by the Pilot Poet, John Gillespie Magee of World War II:

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
"And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; ..."
"... wheeled and soared ..."
"Where never lark, or ever eagle flew ..."
"Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

(3 of 4)
Jay, you designed and patented the very first CPAP Hideaway nightstand and built high quality units that were sold to individuals and several sleep study labs in 38 states. That was no small feat, especially with the cutthroat competition that ensued. You followed in your father's footsteps, doing construction work on your own homes and most recently building an office space at home for J. Banks Insurance Service after having worked in commercial spaces in Brevard, Hendersonville, and Asheville. When you could no longer play golf, you took up the sport of gun collecting and shooting. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Like a true Renaissance man, when you neared the end of your journey you posed the question, How many lives have I lived during my internment on this planet?. But you knew your limits, saying, "The only thing I will not attempt is roofing. It's weird. I fly a plane and love to soar with the eagles on a breezy October morning watching the color change in our mountains BUT- I don't do roofs. Don't know why."

(2 of 4)
Jay, two weeks after you bought one of your houses, you were given a serious medical diagnosis. In response, you immediately threw a party! In your words, "[Y]esterday, I had a 100% chance of dying. Today, I have a 90% chance of living. Let's Party. I kept that attitude ... 22 years." You enjoyed construction and remodeling, and prided yourself on doing work for a tenth of what it would have cost to have it done for you.

(1 of 4)
My deepest sympathies go to all Jay's family and many friends on his passing.

Jay, it was a real pleasure to connect with you on Facebook when you sent me a message May 8, 2016. Although we were in band together, we didn't become friends at Erwin, where I knew you as Jerry. In our emails and messages over the past 3 3/4 years, I learned that you had an incredibly intelligent and creative mind and were a careful and skilled worker with your hands.

At age 10 you began helping your father as he was building your family's home. At age 14, you went to Pack Memorial Library and studied residential electricity and wired the house yourself. It passed muster with the building inspector and a permit was granted to complete the house. Probably not many people from Clyde A. Erwin High School know this about you.

Your studies in Prelaw/Political Science at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, were interrupted by the Vietnam War, which you protested and and in which you lost about 10 of your friends and fraternity brothers. Other factors also derailed your plans to get a law degree and run for a Senate seat in NC.