• Born: April 24, 1962

• Death: January 22, 2015

• Spouse: Rita A. Jenkins
  

I’d like to introduce a dead person you should know. Though this article was more intended towards famous people that have made an impact on your life or others around you, I’d be lying if I tried to write about anyone else. The man that has impacted my life, and I believe other lives around me, would be my father, Troy A. Jenkins.

Troy was born April 24, 1962. He was raised in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, by his parents, Faye and Elwood. Troy attended high school at Neshaminy and later on went to play baseball for the University of North Carolina. After college, Troy met and eventually married my mother, Rita, who then had my sister, Jocelyn, and I.

My dad was the greatest man ever in my eyes. Many daughters may say that to be true of their own father, but anyone who was blessed with the opportunity to meet him would agree. He was a best friend and great partner to my mom. There wasn’t a day I  can remember where I doubted the love my parents had for each other. My father subliminally taught me lessons on how to be treated by men by being a great husband to my mother.

Though my father will not be around to meet my children, the love he showered me in taught me how I should love my own children. My father was my shoulder to cry on when I was hurt, my advisor, my coach, my fan, and my friend. Through the sixteen years I had with him, my dad made it his job to make sure I received everything I needed and more.  Not once did he ever put himself before his three women, which is an act not many can achieve.

If I want to be a journalist, I need to aspire to be a truthful one. No one has ever impacted my life more than my father, and no one ever will. The day of my dad’s viewing, the line of people who came to pay their respects was beyond belief. That day, the line stayed consistent from the time it started to the end. I heard so many stories from family, friends, and complete strangers. Though all these people were different, they all said the same thing, “Your father was a great man.” And I couldn’t agree more.