ROANE COUNTY, Tenn. — One Roane County family is coming together after tragedy, working to spread light while honoring their late brother and mother.
It's been three years since Jason Givens died in a motorcycle accident. Late last week, his family celebrated his heavenly birthday by buying birthday cakes for strangers.
“He was a good dad,” said Kingston Givens, 9.
“He had a smile that could light up a room,” said Jennifer, Jason's sister. “He had the best bear hugs. The life of any party. He would give anyone the shirt off his back.”
Now, Jennifer and her family have found a special way to honor Jason on his birthday.
“To just keep his memory going, and just not let people forget about the small stuff too,” said Justin, Jason's brother.
He said when his mother, Valerie, passed away from breast cancer this year, the family decided to start a new tradition.
“We've got to change our focus,” Jennifer said. “We've got to maybe do something positive.”
This year, on Jason's birthday, they called up local bakeries and bought cakes for strangers like Lyndsay Gettlefinger and Sharla Bowman.
“I was honestly shocked when I picked up my husband's birthday cake and it was paid for,” Gettlefinger said.
“This family has took a tragedy and made something special for another family,” Bowman also said. “So it was just, it was real touching.”
It’s a tradition the family plans to continue for both Jason and Valerie's birthdays moving forward, honoring their memories.
“She was the best Nana ever,” said Julian, Valerie’s grandson.
Valerie was a single mother of five children, who Jennifer describes as “amazing.”
“She taught us to be everything that we are,” Jennifer said. “To be strong, to stick together, to love each other, to treat people how we want to be treated. Everything we do is because that's what she taught us.”
Part of the lessons Valerie taught her children was to have a strong faith, Jennifer said.
“She truly loved the Lord,” Jennifer said. “Her favorite Bible verse was Proverbs 3 and 5, and that's something that she's instilled in us — like, life has a way of taking you left and right, and you should just stay on that path and follow the Lord and you'll be okay.”
As for this new tradition, it’s one that Jennifer said her brother and mother would be proud of.
“It made my heart happy, and I knew that it was something that Jason would have loved, and that he was smiling down on us as well,” Jennifer said.
Jason’s niece, Jaycee, agreed.
“[Jason] always had a smile on his face and like, if you were sad, he would make you feel better,” Jaycee said.
That legacy is what the family says it plans to continue each year, spreading joy to people on their birthdays.
This year, the Givens family says they bought seven cakes from a handful of different bakeries. In October, they’ll be doing the same for Valerie’s birthday.