Jerry Don Self, 20
11/19/99
Jerry Don Self of Arlington was known during his years at Lamar High School for volunteering, showing his school spirit and being involved in student activities.
Mr. Self, a junior engineering major at Texas A&M, graduated from Lamar in 1997. In addition to being on the student council his senior year, he was in the Spanish club, on the track team and on the varsity football team.
"You always ask, 'Why do things like this happen to a good kid like Jerry?' but those are the kids that always get in and get involved," said Gayle Nelson, a Lamar teacher who was Mr. Self's student council sponsor.
His uncle, Delbert Self, said he saw a number from the university on his caller ID box Thursday and knew something was amiss. It was Mr. Self's mother.
"She was crying and said 'He's dead. He was one of them,' " Delbert Self said. "I was just so shocked I couldn't believe it. I still don't.
"Of course, I thought he was the best kid in the world because I'm his uncle. But he really was a good wholesome young kid."
An offensive lineman who didn't always get much playing time, Mr. Self was remembered by coaches and teachers as one who could be counted on.
Friends and faculty members at Lamar mourned the loss of Mr. Self, who was a close friend of Beau Riley, son of assistant football coach Bill Riley.
"This is more of a loss for the coaching staff," said Eddy Peach, Lamar head football coach and athletic coordinator. "From the coaching staff standpoint, he played here and he was such a great kid."
Mr. Self "was the kind of kid that everybody admired," said assistant football coach David York.
"As far as a football player, he wasn't the kind of kid that people were going to know about from being a star player," Mr. York said. "But he had the attitude and the ingredients of everything you'd ever want from an individual."
Mr. Self planned to become an electrical engineer after completing a stint with the Air Force, said Darwyn Fowler, Mr. Self's step-grandfather.
- Nancy Calaway
