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Jessie Grace Dygert, daughter of Jennifer Kaiser and Jeramy Dygert was born October 13, 2006 at Palomar Hospital in Escondido, California. She passed away January 29, 2020 in Shattuck, Oklahoma. She is survived by her mother Jenn Kaiser, stepfather Chuck Kaiser, brother Jake, sisters Jenna and Julia, her grandparents Linda and Larry Nielsen, Sue and David Kaiser, Dot and Terry Jurek, great grandparents Joan and Gene Reitz, birth father Jeramy Dygert, as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins that love her very much. Jessie is preceded in death recently by her grandparents, John and Pam Anderson. She attended school in Hutto and Buckholts Texas, and in Laverne Oklahoma then Epic Charter School.
Jessie came into this world on a Friday the 13th. We are not a superstitious family, but it was a pretty hairy delivery, however we were blessed with a healthy baby girl. She kept us on our toes from a young age, becoming hospitalized at 10 days old for RSV. Jessie is the only person in my life I’ve ever heard of who has broken their back falling out of an above ground pool. (she was 5) There were countless gray hairs and emergency room visits. She loved to live life to the fullest and experience everything first hand for herself. Even if it may not have been the best idea.
She loved Elmo when she was little, Littlest Pet Shop when she was a bit older, and Stranger Things most recently. She was an avid reader and was on a friendly first name basis with every librarian at every town we’ve lived in. Jessie loved science in school and had good grades. She played trumpet then French horn in band. She had a beautiful voice, although I could never get her to enjoy singing in public. She loved music and had an affinity for old music and devices. I recall when she found an old Sony Walkman in a box and asked how to take a picture with it. When I explained what it was for her face lit up. Each time we’d pass a thrift store for the next several years she’d ask, “Mommy can we stop and look for more cassettes?”. Imagine the joy on her face when she received a record player for her 12th birthday along with a bunch of vintage records. We hear her favorite bands, the Scorpions, Toto, Foo Fighters, the Village People and the Charlie Daniels Band blasting from her room all the time. She was most definitely a lover of rock more than country, listening rather than performing.
Many many hours were spent with her in the garden, the kitchen and the sewing table teaching her the crafts and homemaking skills passed down from my grandmother, from the women before her. Jessie was really good at growing things, she planted a couple black diamond watermelon seeds in our side yard last year (we’re in town so I didn’t plant a garden this year, though we usually have a big one) tended them and wound up with more than a dozen humongous delicious watermelons. She’s worked alongside us in the garden for years, but this was her first produce she’s done 100% by herself. She loved canning and making jams from the stuff we grew. She’s won several awards with her jams at the county fair. She loved cooking, creating desserts especially. She was my right hand in the kitchen, the first to stir a pot, chop something or create a new recipe. We always enjoyed Christmas especially, with our epic baking days and tamale making parties. She could eat it too, Jessie beat Jake most of the time on how much one could eat. She was known to have a hollow leg.
Jessie took up sewing and was excited to open a brand new machine of her very own this last Christmas. Over the summer she designed, purchased fabric, cut out and sewed together a top for a lap quilt on my machine, she was looking forward to finishing it on her own. She was very talented with yarn and could crochet anything. I taught her a few simple stitches and she took off on her own, creating countless animals (I got the first one, a horse) without one pattern. She was also very very good with art, drawing all kinds of animals, she was even working on a graphic novel. Her most recent career dream was to be a cartoonist or illustrator.
If you know anything about our family, it is that you better really like animals to live with us. Thankfully Jessie loved them all. Her first word was “cat. She loved cats, had several and bottle fed a litter of kittens last year. Her orange cat Stinker has spent many hours in her lap. Jessie rode for several years with the Texas Lost Pines Riding Club, competing in barrel racing and other speed events and won several buckles and a trophy saddle. She was a natural horseback. She rode several horses but her favorite was a naughty Appaloosa named Skip. She showed a pig last year at several local stock shows. She is a 4H member and this year chose to show rabbits at the Oklahoma State Fair, along with several other shows. Her first career plan was to attend Texas A&M and be a zoo veterinarian.
She was very active, on several soccer teams, figure skating, and swam like a fish. She loved fishing, camping (especially the smores part) and being anywhere outside. Beach or lake, she loved being on in or around water. She was the first kid outside at the first sign of snow, building some pretty awesome snowmen and animals over the years. She loved to climb, scaring me on more than one occasion in a tree or the top of a rope or somewhere scary high but she always got safely back down by herself. She liked to go fast. Fast on her bike, fast sliding down the banister in the house, fast on her horse. More than one time she got busted for flying down the stairs at high speed on roller skates. She was the kid standing on her tiptoes to be tall enough to get on the biggest scariest roller coaster at six flags a few years ago, of course she talked me into going with her. No screams of terror from her though, arms were up, mouth open in joy and her embracing each twist and turn with excitement and anticipation. I truly have never met a more fearless person.
In addition to all these adventures, Jessie was one of the kindest souls to ever cross this earth. She loved her brother and sisters so so much. This family is, always has been, and always will be very tight knit. Jessie and her younger sister, Julia, have shared a room their entire lives and are as close as siblings can be. She was sweet, kind, and had a great sense of humor. Trust me, I do not expect her pranking to stop now one way or another. She loved Jesus and at 5 begged me to let her get baptized. I held off for about 3 years, making sure she wasn’t just doing it to get a quick swim, but she was persistent in her prayers, so we had her baptized at our church in Hutto, Texas when she was 8.
Jessie meant a lot of things to everyone here. To some of you she was a good friend, some of you knew her from helping at the pet store. Some know her from school, some from church, and many are friends and family. We are shattered with this loss and pray to be able to move forward. We will see you again someday. Fly high our angel. We love you forever.
A celebration of life was held Wednesday February 12, 2020 at 11:00 am at the First Christian Church, Laverne, OK. Condolences may be made to the family at shawfuneralhome.net. Shaw Funeral Home of Shattuck
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