Nelson Jacobs

Nelson was born on March 5, 1950.  He lived in Henderson, NC his whole life.  He was married to Mrs. Mildred Jacobs for six years.  He was a caring, loving husband and father.  He enjoyed spending a lot of his time with the family.  He loved taking his son and grandchildren fishing.  He would always take the family to the mountains for vacation.  He was employed with Crowder Logging, where he worked for 20 years.

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Thomas Jenkins

September 30, 1946 – April 7, 2005

Tom Jenkins was a lifelong resident of West Virginia with the exception of the final 3 months of life, spent in North Carolina.  He was a person full of life, having a sweet, impish smile, dancing blue eyes and a flare for touching the lives of everyone who came in contact with him.  He was not only my husband, he was my best friend, soul mate and partner in life for nearly 37 years.  He left behind me, two beautiful daughters and three grandchildren who he adored.  He is also survived by a sister, two stepsisters, one stepbrother, a mother-in-law, brothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law, along with a host of nieces, nephews, and everyone he met along the way.

Tom loved fishing, boating, visiting the beach, and life in general.  He was also active in our previous community as a volunteer firefighter and was deeply involved with a weekly fundraising bingo game hosted by the fire department.  He served in the U.S. Navy, spent nearly 30 years employed by Union Carbide/Dow Chemical and most recently worked for Kirby Island Marine based in Texas.

Because he died of cancer, the only organs we were able to donate were Tom’s beautiful blue eyes.  We can only hope that the recipients will now see the world with the same zest and love of life that he did.  Our whole family is dedicated to the donation of organs and feels that we have been blessed with a wonderful life and are willing to do anything to enhance someone else’s life upon our passing.  We pray that more people will embrace this process.

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Roger Leroy Johnson

March 1, 1938 – October 28, 3005

2005 was a banner year for Roger and me as we celebrated 35 years of a happy marriage with our treasured daughters living nearby.  Also, the four of us celebrated five years of the incredible Gift of Life since Roger’s successful liver transplant by the talented and dedicated Liver Transplant Team at Duke University Medical Center, due to an inherited liver condition.  With medical issues, he opted for retirement at age 56 after a life-long career in financial management with the Bell System, which began after college in his home town of San Francisco.  Despite major surgeries through the years, his tenacity, intellectual curiosity, and caring for people kept him dedicated to a variety of management positions, and to the care of his employees in a rapidly changing corporate environment.

Once retired, he gave full vent to his interests, taking classes at NCSU, becoming a volunteer in the paleontology lab at the Museum of Natural History and going on fossil digs with museum staff.  His love of people took him to Haiti while serving as a deacon at Cary Presbyterian Church.  Following his transplant he volunteered with the Organ Donor program.  A loyal and trusted friend of many, he was a good listener, and a man of action.  He was a loving and unselfish husband and father, a very brave man who fought hard for his health and rarely complained.  His enthusiasm for life was inspiring to all.  He was the love of my life, my very best friend.

As an organ recipient, he was especially intent on being an organ donor himself.  He noted with satisfaction during his final visit to Duke’s Emergency Room, that there was a sign in the room giving the number of the Organ Donor society to be called should the opportunity arise!  We are so grateful, and know he is as well, that his corneas will bring sight to someone else!  The reality of your passing is hard to grasp.

Love always, Susan.

I am grateful to have spent the first 34 years of my life with a great man of gentle kindness, loving patience, and generosity.  Thank you for always being there for me.  Thank you for believing me and always supporting my dreams.  Thank you for being the photographer of our family adventures.  As I follow in your footsteps and as I look through the lens, I know you are with me.  It is especially meaningful to us that you were able to bless someone else with the gift of vision, since photography was your favorite hobby.  You meant so much to so many.  Prince Valiant, we miss you and your beautiful, gentle smile enormously.

Love, Blaire.

I am blessed to have spent the first 31 years of my life with the best father a girl could ever have.  He was a gentle man with great patience and enormous generosity.  He lived his beliefs, led by example, loved deeply, endured much and suffered bravely, yet quietly.  He was deeply grateful for the live he LIVED after receiving a liver transplant in 2000, and I know he was honored to be able to “pass his corneas forward” so that someone else could experience life anew.  I am humbled by his example and can only hope that I can touch as many lives as he did during his 67 years on this earth.  Although I am deeply saddened by his premature passing, his spirit remains alive within me and within all those who loved him and whom he loved.  I miss you, Dad.

Love, Paige

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Aubrey C. Johnston

Aubrey C. Johnston, 81, of Wilmington, NC, went to Glory on August 13, 2004.  Born in Clarkton, NC, he was the son of the late Alexander and Mantha T. Johnston.  He was also preceded by a son, Karl Jay Johnston, and a grandson, Jason Johnston.  He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Eva Conaway Johnston; his son, Kenneth Johnston, of Sugarland, TX; daughters Karen J. Morgan (Tom) of Wilmington; Kathryn Johnston (Konnie) of Bolivia, NC; grandchildren include Rodney Suggs, Alanna S. Allen (Jason) of Winnabow, NC; Austin Morgan and Megan Gavrillen (Michael) of Wilmington; Amanda Johnston, of Wilmington; Michael Smith of Missouri City, TX; great grandsons Trent and Braxton Allen of Winnabow; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. 

After serving in the US Army in WWII, he returned to Clarkton, and began working with Waccamaw Bank and Trust.  He continued with the Bank (Waccamaw/ UCB/BBT) for 38 years, serving in Clarkton, Beulaville, Shallotte, and Wilmington offices.  After retiring from the Bank, he moved back to Wilmington.  He subsequently became an ordained minister, and for 12 years was an Associate Pastor at the Rock of Wilmington.  He was an avid gardener, landscaper, and spent much time enjoying the beauty of nature.  He enjoyed fishing until the last few years of his life. 

During his Army service, he was a surgical technician in the central Europe, Rhineland and Aleutians (Kiska) areas.  He wrote home of the anguish he experienced when his unit went into a German concentration camp, and the survivors of that camp gripped his heart – he never forgot that, and he vowed to treat people with respect, kindness and gentleness, which he never abandoned.  The evidence of the atrocities committed there never left his memory.  At one point, he was in a group dispatched to oversight of a German hospital.  He wrote home of the awe he felt when he ”captured” his first soldier.  The German soldier walked up to him on the street, and surrendered.  This happened to many American soldiers there.  He recalled also the memorial service held in the open when our president, Mr. Roosevelt, died.  He was impressed when so many Germans attended, and most of them wept about his death.  There were some nuns living in an apartment part of the hospital, but he did not know where they had come from.  He thought they may have been assigned to work in the hospital before the war, but could not be sure.  Occasionally, they would share some of the foods they grew in a small garden with them. 

During the time he served in the Lions’ Club activities at home, he was made familiar with the work of the Eye Bank, as that is one of the main projects of Lions’ Clubs.  He was impressed to donate his eyes, and for over 25 years he carried in  his wallet his donor card.  How appropriate this is.  Other family members have made the same decision to give their eyes at death.  Further research is always needed, and it is good to know he would be heartily grateful for the opportunity, whether in research, or in implanting into someone else’s body.  We feel honored that someone may have benefited from his gift of sight.

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Dennis Johnston

We have lost a caring and loving person, but his legacy of giving the gift of sight to another will live beyond him, as will his family’s fond and happy memories.

Den was a kind, gentle, supportive husband, father, grandfather and friend.  He was loved and appreciated by all of us.

Den had a child-like probing curiosity about the world.  He was always wondering why and how, and searching for answers.  He was a Renaissance man with interests in all aspects of life.

He was actively involved in many activities through community organizations and his church, and his active mind.  A few of his favorites were being a member of the Historical Society cannon crew, working to build a new church sanctuary, and volunteering at the local visitors’ center.  His days were filled with many varied activities.

A friend wrote this tribute and we would like to share it…

The North Carolina Eye Bank takes great pride in our ability to share the gift of sight with thousands of people every year through corneal transplant, research and education. This gift does not come without a price. We must remember that for each grateful recipient of a transplanted cornea or medical breakthrough achieved, there is a family who is struggling with the loss of a loved one. These are the stories and remembrances of their family members — the faces of donation.

The 2005 Faces of Donation

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