Community celebrates the life of Tom Jenkins
Lynda Shipley, sister of Tom Jenkins, shared heartwarming stories of her ornery brother, as well as some emotional stories of his life that was driven by creating unity and sameness in all people.
Sometimes people come in and out of others’ lives and make certain impacts. Sometimes they are able to challenge others to speak out in love, acceptance and compassion, encouraging everyone to put themselves in other people’s shoes, to see life from a different perspective.
That was who Tom Jenkins was.
Family and friends gathered together at the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center at Hiland High School in Berlin Friday, July 2 to share memories of Jenkins, who passed away June 18 after battling cancer for several years.
In the heart of an Amish and Mennonite community known for its plain values and understated demeanor, Jenkins stood out about as much as the Hawaiian shirts that he wore day after day. The man wore many hats, but with each hat, he always wore his passion to promote unity and sameness of all people on his sleeve. He never backed down from that conviction, challenging others to open their hearts and minds to those who were not like them in some ways, yet very much like them on so many others.
Jenkins always said, in the end, people have more in common with one another than they realize, all difference aside. His life was dedicated to promoting those beliefs.
Born in Texas, Jenkins’ life was a journey through many different and unique phases of life, one that began as a young basketball player in North Carolina, where he recognized his need to fight for civil liberties at a very young age, to the jet-set life of a civil rights lawyer in Atlanta, to owning a small cantina in Jamaica, until he finally settled in, of all places, Amish Country.
It was back in Ohio after his many tales of adventure that Jenkins settled into the final chapter of his life, that of owner and founder of Ohio Girls Basketball Report, an organization into which he poured himself into with the same vigor that he approached life in general.
Through OGBR, Jenkins was able to promote girls basketball in Ohio, and he made it a hotbed for coaches across the nation who relied on his expertise to give them reliable inside information on the Buckeye State’s finest.
Throughout his time with OBGR, Jenkins not only provided keen insight for college coaches on every single talented player in the state, he also built relationships that lasted a lifetime, not just with the young women he was watching, teaching, mentoring and promoting, but with their families as well.
As a cast of family and friends took center stage during his celebration of life ceremony, the first to speak was his sister, Lynda Shipley, his biggest fan and some say, his muse. Shipley shared numerous accounts of growing up with her zany brother, each story bringing with it a final summary, “That was just Tommy.”
Hiland Lady Hawks assistant girls’ basketball coach David “Cousy” Borter became fast friends with Jenkins over the years. Borter could endlessly rattle off story after story about his friend, each one more entertaining than the next.
He said Jenkins forever changed Ohio girls’ basketball, and he did the same in his own life. Borter said he heard people describe Jenkins as one-of-a-kind, had never met anyone like him, the godfather of girls’ basketball, loyal and legendary. He said all were true. However, he said one thing was true of everyone Jenkins met.
“What Tom did for so many people, including myself, was provide a life-changing opportunity,” Borter said. “Throughout his life he established life-long relationships. Tom made me a better person. He held me accountable for my actions. I will miss him.”
While promoting girls’ basketball was Jenkins’ job, he found time to create something else very special, the renowned basketball showcase Classic in the Country, a three-day even over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend that showcased girls basketball, food and music while honoring Dr. King and Perry Reese Jr.
Legendary Hiland girls basketball coach Dave Schlabach was there with Jenkins from the very beginning in creating CitC. He said CitC was always Jenkins’ dream, and commended him for his commitment to promoting girls’ hoops while remaining loyal to his conviction to promote the sameness in people rather than to focus on differences.
“I loved having a partner I could trust,” Schlabach said, noting that the two always focused on their own piece of the CitC pie. “He trusted that I would do my job and I trusted he would do his. Never once in all of these years did Tom ever let me down. I assume most of you here could say that exact same thing. What a legacy to be remembered for.”
Dr. Scott Rogers, head coach of Ohio’s winningest girls basketball program at Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame, was moved to tears as he spoke about his friend.
“We celebrate this guy who is an incredible man,” Rogers said. “Tom lived what he preached and coached. I am hopeful that one day, we can all see as clearly as Tom.”
In retiring from OGBR, Jenkins turned the reins over to Bryce McKey and Tenisha Benson, who hope to continue the legacy he built.
In closing, Benson said Jenkins left her inspired to strive to move the standards higher, to always make people better and to motivate others to love.
“I have hurt, hard, but every time I kind of go into my shell, I think about what Tom did for me,” Benson said. “He’s not gone, and we will take this to the next level.
"On behalf of the entire OGBR family, we love you, we are here, we are not going to let you down and we are going to keep this rolling for you.”
As a final tribute to Jenkins’ final request, his family will now take his ashes, along with the ashes of each of his dogs that he so lovingly kept, and travel to the Gulf of Mexico. They will travel out into the gulf three miles, where they will set the ashes afloat in a biodegradable dinghy, allowing the peaceful tranquility of the gulf that Jenkins loved so much to serve as a final resting place.