Bio for

Jessica D. McClure                                                                                                     

  Jessica was born to David & Karen McClure on June 25th , 1984 @ Northwest Hospital in Seattle Washington. My parents were together for many years before I came into this world but only stayed together about 1 year after I was born. So, from there I stayed mostly with my mom in Seattle (Ballard) WA. Until I was in 5th  grade then my mom and I moved up north to Lynnwood. I hate moving up north. By this time, I was seeing my dad regularly on the weekends when he would allow.  Then when I was about 11 my dad met my stepmom, Hellen. I really liked her because not only did I have a cool 2nd mom but now I have 2 sisters and a brother. My brother Joe was the oldest, then my sister Miqua was next, then me and I also had a younger sister Krystal. I remember this time of my life as some of the best times in my life. My dad re-married Hellen and they lived in Ballard, I would go down to stay with them anytime I got the chance & would spend summer break there. I remember I really hated the fact that my mom wouldn’t let me move in with my dad, she was totally against it. So, I eventually ended up graduating from Lynnwood High School in 2002 and moved down to Ballard right before I turned 18 years old. I was eager to start my life in Seattle as an adult. I continued working at McDonalds after school for a couple years until I got a job at Jack in the box where I became a manager. I worked there for almost 4 years, but eventually I wanted out of the food industry but was not sure what I wanted to do. By the time I was 19 my dad and Helen had broken up and the entire family went different ways. I guess we all just grew up in separate lives. Hellen did not make any of the separation easy, still to this day her own children do not talk to her. I have learned to forgive her, but I will never forget what happened. She broke our family up in ways that we still must deal with today. It makes me sad because I know my dad really loved her, and her kids were like they were his own. After they broke up a piece of my dad died when we all went separate ways, and he went into a deep depression that lasted almost 4 years. But I got him a job at Jack in The Box with me where I was his boss, and we started to build our relationship again. He became my best friend until the day he passed away in 2012. I was so shocked by it; I had never imagined my life without my dad in it. He spoiled me rotten; I didn’t even know how to pump my own gas at 25 years old. But reality sunk in when he died and honestly, I don’t think I will ever be the same after losing somebody so close to me so unexpectedly. But before he died, in 2009 I met Jimmie. Who is my daughters’ father. Boy was I so in love with this man. There is something about the bond that comes with making a human with another person that I can’t explain. I was madly in love and about to be a mom. So, after Jordynn was born on 12/1/09 I decided to go back to school, and I graduated from college in 2011 for Medical Insurance Billing and Coding. From there I started my career at a Chiropractic office in Seattle where I worked for many years.  Everything was perfect or so I thought. Then when my daughter was 4 Jimmie got arrested and ended up going to prison for 4 years leaving me to be a single mom. It broke my heart and still makes me sad to think about, my daughter wanted him around, she didn’t understand why he wasn’t there. We made it through it somehow but not before I met a man that changed my life, Erroll Richards. We were friends for a while and he knew my situation with Jimmie and that I was planning on trying to be a family when Jimmie got out of Prison. But Erroll was different, he treated me like I was a princess, He made me feel good about things I never did before, he showed me how women are supposed to be treated. I was so in love with him, but deep down I knew I had to still try at my family for my daughter’s sake, she missed her papa. No matter how nice Erroll was, he would never be her papa. So, me being naive allowed Jimmie to come back home and we tried to be a family again. But things were not the same, I was very much in love with Erroll and Jimmie knew it. So, after some tough times with Jimmie going back to jail a couple times, I decided to leave Jimmie and be with Erroll. Jimmie was still in Jordynn’s life all the time, but deep down I felt like I failed as a mom, I failed as a girlfriend, and I failed my family.  It took me a long time to be ok with that, but Eventually I realized I was where I was supposed to be. Jordynn was no longer witness of our fights and she didn’t have to hear us yelling at each other no more. Now, to this day Jimmie is my best friend, we just didn’t do well as a couple. But we make great parents, and I think that is all that matters to Jordynn. Then one day my mom called me to tell me my stepdad (the father that raised me financially and provided for my mom and I my entire life) died. Jordynn and Gene (my stepdad) rode bike the same day that he had died, I couldn’t believe it. So sudden, so final, so heartbreaking. Him passing intern flipped my mom’s life completely upside down, she became homeless, we lost the house I grew up in and Gene died. Jordynn was sad too; they were very close. So, I tried to be there for my mom as much as I could, she ended up moving in with me and Jordynn eventually. But she was never the same after losing Gene, none of us were. But life keeps moving forward……Erroll ended up proposing to me, & I said yes! But unfortunately, with Jimmie still around a lot and me feeling like I let my family down, we never got married.  I was with him for almost 8 years before we broke up (mutual agreement.) But I still was in love with him, and we remained very close up until about 1 year ago when he suddenly passed away at 42 years old. I was broken hearted all over again, my daughter was devastated. Over the years Jordynn & Erroll became super close, and she took him dying hard, we all did! I truly believe that I lost the love of my life when he died. He was such a good man; it is such a big loss for us. He made me feel like I was on top of the world, he carried himself with such confidence that it was contagious. I felt like a million bucks when I was with him. I don’t know if I will ever be the same without him honestly, I ask myself all the time if I will die alone. Does God only give us 1 soulmate, did I mess mine up already? Will I ever find that kind of love and happiness again? I have so many regrets about Erroll, maybe if I would of just married him, he would still be here? Why does everybody I love die?  Oh, and I forgot to mention when my mom came to live with me, I moved into a wheelchair access apartment because she couldn’t do all the stairs at my old apartment. She was there for 3 days before she went to the hospital and later died. So now I feel like death is just a common thing in my life, I felt almost numb to the pain after losing so many people I love and cared about so much! It was hard trying to explain it to my daughter why the ones we love die before us, I had a hard time talking with her about it because I was in so much pain too. But unfortunately, it is a part of life, we will all die someday. When Jordynn was young me and Jimmie decided to start going to Philadelphia Church in Ballard, she loved it so much! I was never raised in a religious home, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted that but after going and seeing how much my daughter enjoyed it, we were regular members. I felt the power of God and it made me emotional, still does sometimes. Church has been a good outlet for me to get through all the pain that I have been through, I feel closest to the ones that I lost at church. God is so good, and I am truly very blessed. Still to this day Philadelphia is our home, Church. I feel the closest I have ever been to God these days since I started working at Wallingford UMC. I was blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing congregation here at Wallingford UMC. I just recently celebrated my 1 year here. I am looking forward to many more too. I am so grateful for how flexible Melissa has been with my schedule because now I also am the office manager for Sandpoint UMC. Life keeps getting better even though we lost some great people on the way. I am very blessed. If my daughter is healthy, happy and doing what she is supposed to, we have food on the table, a roof over our heads, I really can’t ask for anything else. God has blessed my family and continues to do so every day! I hope I will get to see all the ones I lost someday again, but until then they keep watching over Jordynn & I. Jordynn just stared her first year of High School at Rosevelt High, I am excited to see her graduate and become a woman. She is truly the best thing I have ever done in my life; I thank God for her every day! But as she gets older and closer to becoming an adult, I find myself questioning my purpose after I have raised her. She has been my entire life for so long I am terrified to think of my life without her. So, I have been praying about that frequently. I pray that I find my purpose besides being a mother, and that I won’t feel so alone when she does move out. I recently turned 40 and I feel like I may not ever be married the way things are going these days and that makes me sad. Makes me ask all the “what if’s” and can’t help but think of all the regrets along my way. But the only thing I can do is put my faith into God and ask him to guide me in the right way, help me to understand why I have gone through what I have. Help his light continue to shine through me and Jordynn’s life and pray about it often. God is good, I truly believe if I have faith in him everything will be ok. Even if it doesn’t make sense today, it will eventually make sense. I pray for patients and strength, for all my loved ones to be happy and healthy, and to continue to bless me and my daughter. Amen!

1. Erroll & Jessica 2016 2. Jessica, Step Dad Gene & Mom 2004 3. Jordynn & Jessica 20011 4. James, Jessica & Jordynn in 2010

1. My dad David, Step mom Helen, Sister Miqua, Brother Joe, Jessica, and Sister Krystal 2. Jessica and her best friend Anna 3. James, Jessica & Jordynn on Jordynn’s 1st birthday 4. Jessica & Her Dad David in 1984