Jeff Jarrett Delivers Eulogy For His Late Father, Jerry

AEW

Jeff Jarrett has delivered the eulogy for his late father, Jerry.

On February 14, Jerry Jarrett passed away at the age of 80. The legendary promoter is the father of AEW star and WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett.

On February 21, Jerry’s funeral was live streamed on YouTube with Jeff delivering an emotional eulogy for his late father.

Though they were estranged for over a decade starting in late 2005 stemming from disputes involving the wrestling business, the two reconciled shortly after Jeff got sober in 2017. In his eulogy, Jeff stated:

“We got a saying in sobriety. The good news is you get your feelings back. The bad news is you get your feelings back. So I hope you will all bear with me through that.”

Detailing his father’s life, Jarrett said:

“My dad never had a father. He went off to the war, came back, but he didn’t come home. […] Mike [Tenay] used to say that my dad was the most well-read individual that he’s ever met.”

“Dad always had a book – history, philosophy, autobiography – it’s what he did. He read, read, read. And over the last week, I’ve kind of had time to reflect, and really think through that. And I think in so many ways, that’s how my dad learned. Self-taught.”

Explaining how his father thirsted for knowledge was driven by his home life as a kid, Jeff explained:

“He self-taught himself in so many things, and growing up, I can remember, 17 years of age, sitting at a breakfast table and your dad reading the Martin Luther King speech ‘I have a dream,'”

“And he would start crying, and I never really understood why he would get emotional. But as the years rolled by, I understand that he didn’t have a model, he didn’t have a dad that taught him, so he modeled speeches and words of wisdom, and that’s just how he fathered.”

Jarrett continued on to detail his own struggles with addition, saying:

“Five and a half years ago, I had two feet in the grave and the rest of myself on the way. But only by the grace of God am I standing here, but this poem, [“Keep Going,”] from an earthly perspective, is the mentality that kept me going.”

“I had no relationship with my wife, I had no relationship with my kids. My business was a disaster. I had friends, but they just tolerated me.”

“But the words that I’m about to read, in so many ways, sustained me, and that gives me strength to know that my dad, Jerry Jarrett, will live on in me until I meet my creator, and I pray to God that these words live on in my kids, and my nieces and nephews. Because my dad believed every word of this.”

After reading the poem, Jarrett repeated that last message for the youngest generation of the Jarrett family to close his eulogy.

WrestleTalk would like to send our condolences to the entire Jarrett family on their loss.

• eulogy
• Funeral
• jerry jarrett
• jeff jarrett

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