Jimmy DeLoach, Jr. | Source | President at Abbie DeLoach Foundation

Jimmy DeLoach Jr. is a man who has received both peace and pain from the choices he’s made during his 62 years of life. He considers his greatest accomplishment having guided and loved his two daughters, Abbie and Annie, into adulthood. Annie, graduated from the physician assistant program at Mercer University in 2022. Abbie was killed in a tragic traffic accident at age 21. Jimmy is the founder and CEO of the Abbie DeLoach Foundation, and co-owner of Tidewater Landscape Management. April 22, 2015 was meant to be a day that a group of Georgia Southern University nursing students would long remember as they completed their clinical rotations. But due to a delay on I-16 at 5:45 a.m., it became a monumental day that included one of the most horrific tragedies in Georgia history. A seven-vehicle wreck caused the tragic deaths of five of the nursing students. At that moment, their life stories ended, and the nation felt the heartache. One of the lost was 21-year-old Abbie Lorene Deloach. In an attempt to cope with the incredible grief from the loss of his daughter, Abbie’s Dad, Jimmy DeLoach Jr., knew there must be hope. The day he buried Abbie, he had a point of clarity, or a vision, about how he could connect with a sense of “It’s going to be OK” and A reason to get up tomorrow” that would be meaningful not only to his life, but also that of others. From that point, Jimmy vowed to do something to help young people and credits his faith for getting him through the darkest of times.
Jimmy is a certified grief specialist and has spoken at the Bereaved Parents USA (BPUSA) and The Compassionate Friends (TCF) annual conferences. Jimmy will soon be releasing "A Journey We Share", a journal for grieving parents by parents who have opened their hearts to tell their personal stories of love, loss, and encouragement. Jimmy and our contributing writers, having endured the unthinkable, know what it takes to seek and find new meaning and purpose in life. For more information on the journal visit, http://AJourneyWeShare.com