Program From Jack Aknin’s Memorial Service
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- Jack was born on October 19th,
1961 to Joe and Andree Aknin, into a family with three older sisters, (Michele,
Sylvie, and Judy). Jack died on April 27th,
2011 leaving behind the wife he adored, (Barbie), and three precious girls,
Chloe, Margot, and Sophie.
Jack’s funeral was held on Friday,
April 29th, 2011 at Los Gatos Memorial Park. He wanted the funeral to be for his family
and a few friends. But Jack also made it
clear that he wanted there to be a Memorial Service where his friends could
celebrate his life. I believe he was
thinking about one of the highlights in his life – Jackapoloosa – which was
held here at Silver Creek.
So that is what today is. A time to pay tribute to Jack Aknin’s life
and to remember what a wonderful person
he was. There will be several people
sharing today. Each representing a
significant part of Jack’s life – His life at work, his life with his family,
his love of music, and his life of
faith.
- Song: "I
Will Always Give You Praise"
Written for Jack by Bobby Valderrama
and Performed by Bobby Valderrama and Lizbeth Villavicencio
- Remembering Jack by Rene De Vos, the General Manager of Silver Creek Valley
Country Club
- Brian Conners, Silver
Creek resident and fellow musician will read a letter from Jack’s long time
friend.
- A Tribute to my Uncle Jack by Rachel Faber, Jack's
neice.
- Song: "Your Love Goes Deeper"
Written by Andrew Isaacs and Performed
by Andrew and Briana Isaacs
- A Tribute to Jack by Bill Nigh,
Barbie's brother
- Remembering My Friend by Harmon Parker, Jack's best and long time friend.
- A Tribute to Jack written by Barbie and Sohie and read by Leighton Isaacs, a long time family friend.
- Scripture: Colossians 2:6-7
And
now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to
follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let
your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in
the truth you were taught, and you will overflow
with thankfulness.
- Closing Thoughts by Pastor John Isaacs.
I had some wonderful opportunities
to spend time with Jack over these past two years talking about his faith in
Jesus Christ. Jack was a man of
faith. Many of us were able to watch him
grow in his faith as his roots went down deeper into Christ. Jack didn’t know what his future here on
earth held – he didn’t know whether he would beat the odds and continue to live
after his diagnosis with stage IV Melanoma – or if the cancer would win the
battle – he didn’t know the future -- but he knew the person who held the
future in the palm of his hands. And
Jack’s spiritual life was being built upon that truth and his faith grew strong.
His strong faith prepared him for
death. He wasn’t afraid to die – He was
confident in what awaited him on the other side of this life. In the New Testament book of Hebrews the
writer gives a definition of faith.
(Hebrews 11:1)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us
assurance about things we cannot see.
Jack was confident in his
faith about all that awaited him after this life here on earth. He had a strong sense of assurance about his
eternity. And, I think we all feel
confident that since there is so much music going on in heaven around the
throne of God that Jack is there – he has found his place and as the angels are
singing I’m pretty sure there is the occasional pause where an awesome guitar
riff fills the scene and everyone turns to see Jack’s smiling face (completely
caught up in the moment).
EULOGIES
In Memory of Jack Aknin
by John Isaacs, Pastor and friend
Jack
was born in Redwood City on October 19, 1961. Michele and Sylvie were walking home
from school when their father drives up and tells them to walk to Jack's
favorite Aunt
Raymonde’s home because he needed to drive their mother to the hospital. Jack was on
his way.
Michele
remembers young Jack as the prince in the Aknin household, being the little brother
to three older sisters. Andree would have to prepare two dinners – one for the family
and a second one for Jack. When the family was having spaghetti for dinner, everyone
had theirs with tomato sauce but Jack’s came with only butter on the noodles. Sylvie
remembers him having his peanut butter and sugar sandwiches served on a tray in the
family room and Jack calling out, “Mom, I need my straw!” Michele said her dad would
get so mad but her mom didn’t care and would continue catering to Jack’s taste.
Jack's
sisters remember their little brother walking through the house carrying a huge keychain
with at least a hundred keys on it locking and unlocking every door in the house
for his big sisters. If he misplaced his keys, everyone had to stop what they
were doing
and help Jack find the keys so that peace was restored to the universe.
I didn’t
know Jack as the little prince in the Aknin household but I got to know Jack
when he was
dating Barbie. I wasn’t very supportive of the relationship at first and shared
my opinion
with Barbie. She must have told Jack because he called me and asked for a meeting.
By the end of our lunch Jack had won me over. I started to see the Jack we all knew
and loved and Jack was indeed a prince of a man. He was generous, caring, and smart,
with a quick witty sense of humor. Jack was fun to be around because he was always
so full of life.
Jack
left us on April 27, 2011 at only 49 years old. Too young for his life to end,
but Jack was
not afraid to die. He had made peace with his God and was in a place of great
faith for
what awaited him on the other side, but Jack wanted desperately to live. He
wanted to
live for his wife Barbie and he wanted to live for his daughters Chloe, Margot,
and Sophie.
Jack wanted to live for his family, for his many friends, and he wanted to live
for his
music.
Because
he wanted to live, he fought hard to live. His battle against cancer showed us all a
side of Jack that was always there, but recently came more into focus. Over
these past
two years we’ve seen such great courage, determination, and a supernatural
ability to
expect the best. We’ve also seen a growing sensitivity to others and a tender
humility that
often brought tears to his eyes.
He was
so appreciative and grateful for everything his family and friends were doing
for him.
He often mentioned how blessed he was to have such a loving family and so many generous
friends. He would speak of all the people in the world who were suffering without
the support and help he was getting and how grateful and fortunate he was.
I
think it was a little hard for Jack to believe that so many people cared so
much about him.
And, it’s because he was so loved by so many people that Jack will never die in
our hearts
and memories.
Some
have said that Jack seemed the most alive with a guitar in his hands playing
his music.
At Michele and Larry’s wedding reception, Sylvie’s husband, Henry, kept pushing
Jack, then 18, to go up on stage and play a song with the band. Jack kept resisting
saying he wasn’t good enough. Finally, he gave in and took the guitar and played
a George Benson song causing the band members mouths to drop open. Jack stole
the show. Sylvie says “he totally rocked it, everyone was impressed, a star was born."
No
doubt, music was a huge part of Jack’s life. We will miss his great talent. I’ve
had opportunity
to enjoy Jack’s music for 20 years. He has entertained us at private parties, men’s
retreats, at Silver Creek, at Viva Restaurant, playing in citywide muti-church gatherings,
and our church worship team will never be the same without Jack’s guitar. Music
ministered greatly to Jack during his last days. His friend Bobby came and
played the
piano at 5:30 every day which Jack loved.
As
important as music was to Jack, he was most happy sitting in the audience
watching his
beautiful daughters perform. I've enjoyed looking down the row of seats at Jack’s beaming
smile while Chloe, Margot, or Sophie were on the stage dancing.
Jack
was a passionate, and some may say, overprotective father. I remember the panic that
would come on his face when his girls were much younger and I would say thing like, “what
are you going to do when they start driving? What about when they go off to college?
Or when they come home with some boy and tell you they are in love with him?” He
would furrow his brow and say, “It ain’t going to happen, John. I won’t let it.”
A few
days ago, when Jack could hardly speak, Katie Isaacs was taking Chloe out to look
for a prom dress. She walked over to Jack’s bed and told him she was taking
Chloe shopping
and not to worry because she would make sure they picked out something that
would be modest and tasteful. Jack looked up at Katie and said, “drive careful.”
There
is a wonderful tribute on Jack’s website by one of his past employees. He
speaks of
Jack’s ability to make the workplace a pleasant place to work. He mentioned how Jack’s
disarming smile, his great attention to detail, and the respect he showed to others
made everyone’s job much easier. He spoke of Jack’s great sense of humor but seemed
to be most appreciative of Jack’s honesty and integrity. He said that Jack was the
type of boss that would always obey the rules. Then he put this statement in parenthesis
(unless the rules were stupid).
Jack
wanted to live, but for reasons we might not ever understand, God had other
plans for
him.
In
another website tribute to Jack, a friend wrote the following: He
seemed the most himself lost in God's presence with a guitar in his hands, or
his fingers
on his keyboard. Today as I was weeping over our loss of this amazing young man, I
had a vision of him running and leaping with incredible joy over grassy fields. Jack
going before us has left a huge hole here I can't imagine anyone else filling.
I feel honored
to have known him.
This
morning we can all agree. We feel honored to have known Jack Aknin, and our
lives are
better because we got to be a part of his life.
Remembering Jack
by Rene De Vos, the General Manager
of Silver Creek Valley Country Club
Dear
Barbie, Margot, Chloe, Sophie…Jack’s Family and all Friends of Jack
It
was late 2001 when I first met Jack here at the Club. We used to serve dinner
in the main dining room and on Friday nights with had live entertainment; Dave
Dumont on piano and Jack Aknin on
the guitar. Dave was my direct contact and Jack was just the quiet guy, who
rocked the guitar.
It
was not until 2004 when we needed a new Food & Beverage Director and Dave
approached me and said: How about Jack, he will do a great job for you!
I
knew Jack worked at the California Café in Los Gatos but I had no clue Jack had
Extensive Management Experience in the Hospitality Field. Dave told me about Jack’s
background and I was blown away…Not only was Jack running the show at the
California Café very successfully as their General Manager but he also had
served as the Food & Beverage Director at La Rinconada Country Club and his
knowledge of wine and spirits was significant.
I
decided to meet with Jack and I knew right away he was our guy. Jack was very well
qualified, intelligent, polished, a leader and an obvious team player. The only
problem was that I wasn’t sure if he really wanted the job. It was apparent he
loved the California Café, his employees and his customers and he made his
decisions carefully and wisely.
Jack
asked me if he could come observe our operations and over the next few weeks we
ended up spending a lot of time together: in the bar, in my office, in the
dining room, in the kitchen and on top of the stairs as we greeted and talked
to members coming or going from dinner. The more time we spent together, the
more I liked Jack and knew I needed to bring him on Board.
When
Jack was finally ready to accept the position he had one condition: He did not
want to work on Sundays as that was the day for church and quality time with
his family. I agreed, but I did have one condition too: Jack must play the
guitar for members whenever an opportunity presents itself! We laughed, shook
hands and had a deal!
And
so began a wonderful relationship and the privilege of knowing and working with
Jack. Not only did Jack bring his great talent as a Manager, he brought us
great joy as he played the guitar with the Shanks, at Jazz by the Lake and at Elliott Live. On his resume Jack wrote: Personal Interests:
I
am a professional guitarist and I perform and produce music. I enjoy working in
my studio, bike riding, water sports and enjoying quality time with my family. I
obviously understood the music and family part but never quite got the part
about water sports??
Jack
was an enormous asset to this club, a brilliant & honest business man, a
great listener; he was patient, showed great integrity and was always ready to
serve his fellow managers, his staff and the membership. When Jack was
diagnosed with melanoma we were all in deep shock but Jack would tell me over
and over again “Rene; I am going to beat this thing and will continue to work”
He told me it was because he loved his job, which he did, but deep down I knew
it was because he wanted to continue to provide for his family.
Jack’s
passing came too soon. Whether or not we were anticipating it, when we got the
news at work, we could not believe it actually happened. We stopped….we stopped
our problem solving….we stopped our concerns for getting the work done…..we
stopped the push to meet the deadlines…that day we stopped our routines to deal
with the loss of Jack who had become like a family member to all of us. Jack
was too young and he left us too soon- Still, we all know he lived a wonderful
loving life.
Jack
had a great sense of humor and was really a funny guy; he did some great voices
and celebrity impersonations; Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger was definitely my favorite. Jack was always up for a
clean joke and actually I can not recall him ever telling a single dirty joke. His
values were of clean fun and clean living and he lived by them. Jack touched
the lives of each and every member of this club, each guest he had the pleasure
of meeting, each colleague, each person he interacted with in either a business
or personal capacity- Jack will be remembered fondly by thousands.
Jack
did not want to make us sad; he wanted to make us happy. Please take a moment
and think how Jack touched your life in a positive way and smile, he loved to
make us smile. Jack did great things on earth and he is doing even greater
things in the after-life.
He
will always be in my heart…..our hearts. We are no longer grieving his death; we
are remembering and celebrating his wonderful life!
His
beautiful spirit remains with us each and every day. One day we will meet
again, tell clean jokes, laugh, share stories and hopefully he will entertain
us again with an outrageous guitar solo.
Thank
you Jack for all that you have given us!
A Tribute To Jack
by Barbie
How do I
express in words all of the thoughts and memories, stories, and love the girls
and I feel towards Jack?
We met at
work in 1984 and I was instantly drawn to him for three reasons:
- He was
funny
- He had impeccable manners like my father and,
- He looked like Gene Kelly
(with a mullet).
We married
in 1991. This July would have been our 20th anniversary. As I look back over
the last 26 years, I can see that the qualities I saw in Jack when we first
met, developed into the rich person he became. I want to focus on the areas
that "were Jack".
Jack was a
passionate perfectionist. He was passionate about a few things and did them
well. I was the multi-tasking spouse; he focused on what he was good at, loved,
and felt called to and didn't worry about the rest.
Most of
you know what he excelled at. I will list my favorites~
- He
loved music. He loved playing the guitar. He loved jazz. He loved worship
music. He often sat in his "music room" with earphones on absorbed in
a song. The girls and I loved the evenings that he would play the piano,
usually with Sophie by his side. Stringing his guitar was a ritual that looked
like surgery with everything laid out in order. At one point he tried teaching
guitar but quit when the students wouldn't trim there guitar strings, allowing
the strings to dangle. Like I said, he was a perfectionist. He loved watching and playing with amazing
musicians or musicians that had the same level of connection to music that he
did. Personally, I had a love/hate relationship with concerts. I would go with
Jack, looking forward to a date night and once the music started, He would
leave me and go into his own "musicians world" until the end of the
concert when he would again notice me next to him. Thanks to Bobby Valderrama,
Jack got a call from the renowned guitarist, Earl Klugh who called and
"talked shop" with Jack the week before he died. They talked for 45
minutes while Earl listened and critiqued Jack's music. They had a wonderful talk.
- Jack
was a servant. He didn't serve in every capacity (like remembering to take the
garbage out) but he was a perfectionist when he did serve. This servanthood
came out primarily at work. I saw this come to flourishing at California Cafe
in Los Gatos as General Manager and at Silver Creek. He cared deeply about his
clients. He knew the wine they liked, the table they preferred, what night they
came in. He would tell me about them, about their rehearsal dinners, new babies
and anniversaries, etc.
He also
loved his staff and those that wanted to do the job right, loved him. He
respected every worker in every position and would share with me about their
sick babies, expired green cards and other problems. Silver Creek staff in
particular was a unique group of professionals. It's very rare in the food
industry to find a cohesive, hard
working, professional staff and those of you that live here are very fortunate.
Some of the Silver Creek staff donated their personal vacation time to extend
Jack's disability and some of the bussers and kitchen staff donated to the
girls college fund. I hope Jack can see that from his seat in heaven.
- He
loved being a family man. He was happy and content and was always surprised or
"clueless" when I had "issues" to discuss. I used to get
mad at him for never being upset with me. He was happy being at home with the
girls and me. It became hard for him as the girls turned into teens. He felt
that they should still want to be home "hanging out with dad', rather than
going out with friends….NOT! He loved me
and never wavered from that love. He was loyal. His "family" also
included many friends as well that he was equally loyal too and loved.
As Jack
became sicker, he did not give up fighting. As I look back, I realize that he
was sicker than I thought but he put on a brave face and never gave up and
never became angry. A few days before his death, I asked him if he was ready to
quit fighting and he said no. He never stopped asking God for healing and told
us never to stop praying for a miracle. The girls and I made a decision
together to treat him as though he was going to live, to pray for complete
healing and to not "loose faith". If Jack wouldn't give up, neither
would we. I am so glad that we related to him as someone who was living and not
someone who was dying. It enabled us to be with him until the end with smiles
and laughter in the house and a lot of music of course.
Lastly, I
must say a few thank yous.
Jack was
deeply, deeply humbled by the continuing outpouring of love and generosity to
our family. He cried many times over, email messages, notes, the development of
Fight Back for Jack and Jackapalooza.
Your care
for us has been overwhelming and has impacted our entire family. You have
cooked for us, driven Jack and the girls to where they needed to go, slept in
the hospital with Jack, visited, done yard work, helped with garage sales, done
household chores, and supported us financially, covering health care costs and
allowing me to stay home and care for Jack. I am eternally grateful.
We will
never know why Jack's life ended so early but "God is His own interpreter
and He will make it plain".
