Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty
Singer Jordin Sparks and her family are grieving the loss of her stepfather, James Jackson, a 50-year-old retired army veteran and firefighter, who died on May 7 after a fatal stroke, PEOPLE reports.
James is survived by behind his son Zachary, his wife Jordi and her children, Jodi and P.J.
Jordin’s mother Jodi shared the news of her husband’s death on Thursday with her Facebook followers.
“James and I had a big beautiful love. We loved out loud. He took nothing for granted and gave of himself everyday to everyone. We adored each other and every minute he wasn’t working we were together loving our crazy, blessed life,” she wrote. “He spent his life saving lives and will save many more through this tragedy. That was just who he was.”
Jodi and James were married in 2014 where Jordin was the maid of honor. “It was such a proud moment for me,” Sparks told PEOPLE. “I’ve never seen her glow that way. I cried seeing how happy she was.”
“He is such a good man and everybody could see that,” Jordin said of her stepfather. “To see a union where everyone is wishing nothing but good was awesome.”
On Thursday Jordin alluded to her grief in a recent social media post where she reposted the quote, “The more my heart expands, the less offended I feel by other people working out their particular stage of being a human.”
On top of the post, she captioned the words, “We’re all just trying to make it.”
The family will hold memorial services for James on Tuesday, May 14 at 10:30 a.m. at the Second Baptist Church in Kingwood, Texas. They are asking that donations be made to the Houston-based ministry The Forge for Families, instead of sending gifts or flowers.
This is the second painful loss the family has experienced in the past two years as James’ daughter Bryanna Jackson-Frias died from sickle-cell complications in January 2018 at the age of 16.
We’re sending condolences to Jordin, her family, and everyone affected by this loss.
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