The Fighting Spirit of Jill & Jeff Jarrett Report by Professor Newton Gimmick on 05/23/2007 at 05:04 PM
It's a sad note that brings me back to this column. After almost two months away from the website I'm back. While I do plan to go to tackle plenty of issues and even explain my absence in greater detail, this isn't the column for it. In sort I had to get a new computer and it took me a while to relocate all my passwords and websites.
Today though I wanted to do a brief column on the death of Jill Jarrett. It seems like an odd topic, but it actually says a lot about TNA and the fighting spirit of the Jarretts. I've mentioned in my column a few times in the past before it became public knowledge that Jeff's wife was battling cancer. She's had a war with it since around 1999 and perhaps earlier. It has went into remission several times and most recently it looked like she had beaten it. The Jarretts had a new baby and TNA was in it's infancy.
That's when her cancer came back. For most of TNA's five years, Jeff Jarrett has had to run the flagship of a incredible growing wrestling promotion and deal with the person he loved most in this world, battling a horrible disease. Think what you want of Jeff Jarrett and TNA in general, no one does more then him and he's had an awful lot on his plate since the beginning.
As things got worse with Jill, Jarrett finally had to take time off. Starting at Bound For Glory, a PPV that Jeff worked hard to finally get off it's feet and out to a new arena, he had to take time off. For six months he spent as much time as he could with his wife, while still working to maintain TNA and improve it's business model. Jill supported him in this and knew that it was Jeff's passion and love. Jeff was going through great lengths to be with her virtually 24 hours a day, including when she was in the hospital. Even since returning to TV, he had been flying straight to the shows, then leaving right after, so he could go be with his wife. They shared that in a sense. They are underdogs and fighters.
It's a bittersweet return to TNA for Jarrett, whom just got back onto television with a wildly successful face turn. His wife's battle with cancer has been the catalyst for this turn, both in storyline and out of it. Though it hasn't been mentioned directly on TV, it's obvious this is the case. Now the future is uncertain for Jeff, but one would assume he will continue to fight just as his wife Jill did.
Jill had just gotten a bit better, but it wasn't meant to be. She had only gotten better after being as bad off as you could possibly be. Her death today is a shock to the TNA family, but not one that is completely unwarranted. Hopefully her legacy will live in on in their beautiful children and their mutual dreams of overcoming the odds. To make matters even more heart wrenching, Jeff's longtime friend Owen Hart died on May 23, eight years ago. It is without a doubt a sad time in the Jarrett household and a sad time for TNA wrestling fans everywhere.
Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Arrangements and visitation should be sent to Hendersonville Memorial Gardens and funeral home in Hendersonville, TN. 353 E Main St Hendersonville, TN 37075
