By Craig Murphy
Springfield Times Editor
Jan Jamison wasn't keen on the idea at first.
Which is to be expected when a son talks about painting ads on his own urn.
Last year Jan's son Aaron Jamison, battling a terminal colon cancer that has spread to his liver and lymph nodes, first brought up the idea. With a new round of chemotherapy, doctors have given him nine months to live. No more chemo will shorten that to three months.
Aaron, living on disability since last summer, didn't want to add another financial burden to wife Kristin. So the former graphic artist came up with a unique idea: selling sponsorship on two urns. He's selling ads for $100 each, and hopes to hand paint eight ads on each of two urns – one for his wife and the other for his parents.
As of Monday afternoon, Aaron had sold three ads: Terese's Place in downtown Springfield, Cry Baby Ink in the Valley River Mall and Harper Valley Photography. The family was at Terese's Place Monday to sign a contract with co-owner Dustin Remington and to collect the $100 check.
"When Aaron first told me the idea, I said, ‘You've got to be kidding me,'" Jan Jamison said Monday, breaking into a chuckle. "Once that initial thought passed, I thought about it some more and realized it's really him. It's pretty standard. It's Aaron. Aaron just has a different way of doing things. You never know where he's headed. You just stand back and watch. We're along with him on his journey."
Aaron admitted the idea started off as a joke, shortly after being diagnosed with the cancer early last year.
"It seemed like more and more of a better idea as I thought about it," he said. "Not to my wife, but to me."
Before moving forward, Aaron had to get Kristin on board.
"As any married man knows, it's best to get approval first," said Aaron, displaying the humor that, along with his faith in God, has been getting him through the difficult days.
Like others, Kristin went along once she had time to digest the idea.
"The more we joked about it and I realized he was serious, the more I realized it was him," Kristin said. "He's quirky like that. This is more him than a traditional urn. So I was okay with it."
Those interested in sponsoring Aaron can contact him at 541-337-4614 or at aaron@judasforgiven.com.
For more news from around the Springfield area, be sure to pick up a copy of the April 23 issue of Springfield Times, available at news racks and stores all around the area. Look under the 'Newspaper Locations' link on this site to find out where. To subscribe to the paper, call 741-7368 or stop by 741 Main St.
