BROTHER JERRY BLUFFIN return to all honor

Brother Jerry was a Port Neches boy and I knew him several years before he became a Sigma Chi. He was friends with Jerry Tolliver, who lived behind the home of my stepfather, mother and sister (Vivien Powers) on McArthur Street in Port Neches. I think I met him in the early 50's. Jerry introduced me to tennis one summer, which I still play today. Thanks to Jerry I've had a life long passion for tennis.

I remember the night of his quest and the look on his face when he returned. He looked down trodden, showing me his empty hand; thinking he had not physically found what he was supposed to find. Of course, later all was realized. After I moved to Houston, Jerry had visited me on several occasions and we even went to Mexico one weekend. We were both single and he always liked to have a good time. Whenever the Big Oaks drew us there, he would party big time and finally land with a girl. He asked me one night to tell me what the girl looked like that he had latched on to. My comment, was "No Comment", Jerry, but it didn't seem to faze him. He left with said girl and was gone for a while.

Jerry worked hard to earn a degree in Chemical Engineering, but he liked to party hard on the weekends. A Sig from Rensselaer College, Rich Jackson, began working at Goodrich Gulf and he and I became good friends, and he soon met Jerry. Rich and Jerry became fast friends and began running around together. Rich met one of my long time friends, Doris Seviere an Alpha Chi Omega from Beaumont and Doris and Rich began dating. Jerry Bluffin was chosen to be the best man at their wedding. I was supposed to go to Beaumont to attend the wedding, but for some reason I did not go. Their wedding was on the weekend and on Monday I received a call from my sister Vivien, telling me that Jerry had died in a car accident that weekend. It was quite a shock to me, especially given that I was supposed to be with Jerry that night.

At our recent reunion in Beaumont, Oct 9, after all of these years, I heard the story of the wreck from brother Dude Turney, who survived the accident. I never knew all of the details of the wreck until yesterday (Oct. 9, 2010) and the wreck happened during the summer of 1963. According to Dude, they had gone to a party in Sour Lake and had spent the night. They got up at 6:30 a.m. and traveled along hwy 105 toward Beaumont. Dude slept in the back seat as Jerry drove. Dude woke up 2 weeks later in a hospital bed only to realize that Jerry had fallen asleep and crashed into a bridge. God took Jerry that day, but Dude survived after many weeks of care. He had a broken collar bone and a concussion and it was touch and go for him for several weeks. Thanks to brother Dude for sharing that story with me, and thank God for protecting all of us during times that we were in danger, often when we didn't even know it. Don Henderson return to all honor