Display of Joe Jumper at service
Joe Jumper claimed that his real goal in life was to be a Broadway star. But he felt he did not have good enough talent when he would head out to the woods alone and listen to himself sing as a youngster, he said in a video played at his recent funeral.
But he still managed to put on quite a show during his life in terms of presentation in the floral and special events business with the Clay Pot. He also did it in a gentle and friendly manner while successfully fulfilling another goal of simply being creative.
And just like at a Broadway show, his life was applauded at the end during a memorial service at the Baylor chapel a few weeks back.
As the numerous Chattanoogans who knew him now know, Mr. Jumper had died on Jan. 18 at the age of 65 following a several-months-long battle against lung cancer. His somewhat sudden passing while seemingly in good health in recent years brought a sense of somberness. But plenty of celebration occurred at his service that drew friends, family and work colleagues and filled well over half the spacious chapel.
During the Jan. 25 service and celebration, a video of him discussing in recent years his life and work was shown, friends and family gave praising eulogies, a prayer was offered by officiant David Haskins of Young Life, and some of his favorite songs were played. The program ended with everyone doing Joe’s favorite dance.
I had attended his funeral and, sensing the appreciation for him from a lot of people, had sat on a back row during the service and took a few notes.
Although I regrettably did not get to visit with Joe a whole lot in recent years and did not get to learn the detailed story of his business and his sharing of his unique gifts, I had known him dating back to when we were in the same childhood Sunday school classes at Red Bank United Methodist Church. We then were at Baylor from 1972-78, when he was a standout defensive end in football and a center in basketball.
I was even a substitute for him in ninth grade basketball when our team also included eighth grader and future North Carolina Tar Heel Jimmy Braddock. We did not have any other players as tall as Joe, but the intuitive coach Gene Etter saw that maybe I could jump a little bit better than average, despite having no other special basketball gifts and being of average size. So, he had me substitute some for Joe to rest him.
Our Baylor class also learned in recent weeks that we had lost another well-liked classmate, former boarding student Trey Bryant from Sewanee, who died on Feb. 8 following a motorcycle accident in the Huntsville, Al., area near his home.
Regarding Mr. Jumper, his athletic talents came naturally. His father, Jim, had played football at the University of Chattanooga and was one of three brothers to play college football. Older brother Cal also played some at Baylor and Vanderbilt, and nephew Colton Jumper, the son of Jay and Dawn Jumper, was a standout linebacker for the Tennessee Vols in recent years.
But Joe, although somewhat outgoing, was never an alpha male like some standout athletes. He was more like a gentle giant. But his tall and handsome looks gave him a chance to do some local modeling for newspaper ads for The Leader clothing store, I believe it was.
Although his late mother, Ann Jumper, whom he called his greatest role model, was a Georgia cheerleader and diehard Bulldog fan, he attended UT. There he became a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and began to follow his dream of becoming involved in theater by helping put on skits as part of the school’s Carnicus competition.
After initially working as a display director for The Leader for a few years in the 1980s after finishing college, he started the Clay Pot in 1991 and ran it until his death. His mother, who had been the valedictorian at Ringgold High and did secretarial-related work for the Hamilton County Schools, helped him until her death in 2011.
I am not sure of the future of the Clay Pot. A visit to the business located in a former Riverview home at 1311 Hanover St. in recent days found no one there. A sign on the door probably posted several weeks back mentioned Mr. Jumper’s passing and added, “As we navigate this difficult time, we will be operating with limited hours.”
At the Clay Pot, Mr. Jumper had built up a loyal client base not through modern technology, which he was slow to adapt to, but through the timeless gifts of creativity and friendly customer service -- and a handy yellow legal pad.
At the funeral, Boofie Crimmins, who attended Girls Preparatory School at the same time Joe was at Baylor and later married Joe’s classmate and football teammate, Ryan Crimmins, said that she had worked with Joe periodically at the Clay Pot. She joked that he used to like to pretend he was younger and bring her into the joke as well.
And he was indeed young in spirit and in creative energy, she inferred. “He was young in all the ways that mattered,” she said. “This humble man used his magic to bring happiness to so many people.”
In another emotional remembrance, Clay Pot colleague Nikki Russell shared that he had a witty and creative side and touched many lives. “He could turn any idea into an experience,” she said, adding that he continued to share his love for the theater by taking her to see his favorite long-running Broadway show, “Wicked,” in New York. “Joe’s life was so profound that words cannot do it justice. We are all better for having known Joe.”
Baylor classmate and longtime close friend Doug Dyer said they had first met as elementary school summer swimmers and enjoyed a long friendship, despite being somewhat opposite. “We were different personalities but accepted each other as we were unconditionally,” he said.
The friendship continued after he met the former Kate Jackson at a GPS play. Mr. Dyer said they both later realized they loved Kate. For Doug she was someone he wanted to be his future wife, while for Joe, Kate was simply a dear friend. “Joe always showed up for us at every event of our lives,” he said. “He was always known as Uncle Joe to my family.”
He also said Mr. Jumper was a shining star, adding, “He designed and inspired and touched the lives of thousands.”
Niece Hannah Wilson and nephews Colton and Will Jumper – the children of Joe’s younger brother, Jay – all shared glowing memories of Joe. He never married or had children, and he took a special interest in them, they said, and was almost always there for their activities and important life events.
Youngest sibling Will said that Joe’s well-known Camp Joe Joe arts and crafts gathering started because Joe individually offered him some summertime activities after seeing Will disappointed because he could not join his older siblings at Baylor Camp.
Colton Jumper jokingly recalled that when he played his first spring football game at UT, his father and Joe excitedly came into the locker room to congratulate him afterward. He added with a smile that the UT coaching staff later had to make a special announcement to the team about proper protocol for fathers and uncles coming into the locker room, and made sure to include the word, uncle.
Jay Jumper said that after he began attending UT in 1981, he joined Joe’s fraternity of Kappa Sigma, and they became even closer. He also said Joe coordinated the fraternity’s participation in Carnicus, and that helped him become comfortable in front of people.
“Carnicus helped him overcome his fear,” Jay said. “Joe loved pottery, art and family” and added that he also loved many other people.
Just as he had once dreamed, he did end up putting on a show, a lifetime one through the Clay Pot, even if he ended up using his artistic hands instead of any singing voice.
But his funeral still did include plenty related to his love of theater, including through the playing of such songs as “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and “New York, New York” and a group participation in “Joe Joe’s Snowman Shuffle.” It was a line dance he liked to do for fun when one of his special events he had been involved with was finished and it was time to relax.
All the potters, including the UTC students who had helped him over the years, led the celebration of life attendees in the dance. Part of it included turning around, which might have been appropriate for this man who realized you only went around once in life and you should try to make the most of it in a way that brings smiles.
As the wording on the program that included one of his favorite quotes said, “The best lesson I’ve learned is when you give to others, it always comes back to you in so many beautiful ways.”
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Jcshearer2@comcast.net
The Clay Pot business in an old home