Jeannie and Jerry have been volunteering at Resale Depot since Phil Tripp opened the store. Jerry is 78 and Jeannie is 77. “We haven’t met an age yet that we want to go back to. We like to look forward,” says Jeannie. They have been married for 58 years and have six children, fifteen grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren. They met when they were 16 years old, and were married at age 19 in 1961 while Jerry was serving in the Navy. “We are what you call soulmates I guess,” says Jerry. In 1968, they opened up an appliance store in Michigan Center called J&J Appliance. Jerry did the service work and Jeannie ran the shop. After 47 years, Jerry’s knee went bad and they decided to retire.
They come in almost every Monday and Wednesday to sort and price all sorts of linens: sheets, curtains, towels, comforters, blankets, placemats, napkins, doilies, and sometimes even sleeping bags. They started volunteering here because their son was the superintendent of Jackson Christian Schools. “We’ve always volunteered, it’s what we do.” They also volunteer for Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.
Jeannie likes volunteering here because she gets to talk and pray with people. Jerry says he volunteers here because “it’s nice to help out.” Resale Depot donates money to ministries for each volunteer hour and volunteers can choose which organization they want their hours to go to. Jeannie and Jerry currently give their hours to Quiet Place Ministries, but they switch between the different ministries every now and then. We are so blessed to have such selfless, dedicated, long-time volunteers such as these two. Thank you Jeannie and Jerry!
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