Dad-I recently got to spend time with Jake and was very pleased to be in his company. Pursuing schooling for a career and raising a family are not easy tasks but Jake knows where he is going and how to get their. I told Mr. Huning I was going to Florida to see Jake and he shared a story that I didn't know. One summer Jake worked for him doing computer stuff. In fact both Jake and Luke were working for him. He said that both boys would sing musicals back and forth as well as together while they were working and he commented that he
never enjoyed working with anyone as much as he did those boys. Jake and I went to Little Rock for a chess tournament when he was in 6th grade I think it was exciting to be rubbing shoulders with the big boys of chess. The following season he went by himself to Michigan or Wisconson or Thailand I don't know for a tournament. We called the Bishop in the area to see if he would take him to church and we sent him off. I trusted Jake. I felt he would be fine. I love having such awesome children. We are a family with multiple talents and gifts. Who loves Jacob??? I dooo!
Aaron-A couple of memories I want to share about Jake are ones we have enjoyed together recently. They took place over this last Easter weekend. My family and I were fortunate enough to be able to visit with Jake and his family and I got to spend some time with him. One of the memorable moments from the trip was the night Jake afforded Brandon and I the chance to play x box live. Prior to that we last played 18 months ago, but my joy did not reach it's zenith until I was able to hear my brother Kurt on the head set playing on his x box in California. When I get the chance to play with my brothers like that it doesn't seem that we are thousands of miles away from each other but are just rooms away from each other. The other lasting memory from this trip was being able to be a part of malachi's blessing. I
t was great to share the joys of fatherhood with my little big brother. I am so pleased with the man Jake has become I love having such good example just hours away from me instead of days. I am super excited about being able to create many more memories with him and his family now that they live so close, I love you Jake love #1
Nate-One of my favorite memories of Jake technically isn't a memory cuz Jake erased it, but once we were boxing, knowing his record I thought that maybe I’d get lucky…So I hoped for a Marty Mcfly moment with Biff, but… this isn’t Hollywood this is real life. The few times I got good hits in, Jake’s eyes just got more meaner and his punches more stronger. Soon I began to understand what it means to see stars. After I folded like an accordion and ate some dirt, I got up and my vision was accompanied with about 20 tiny cross-like shapes of black spots or maybe white spots it was hard to distinguish.
I feel like I’m tougher (although in my current physical state I am about 1 step up from Gozer in his final years) just cuz I can brag about being knocked out by my younger brother…Even though that statement may seem counter intuitive, it’s kinda like that Robot cartoon with Robin Williams where even the little puppet wants to get slapped by “his majesty” before he lets them in to Mr. Bigwell’s Ball.
I have many others but one that always makes me laugh, unfortunately it’s at Jake’s expense. I also don’t want to minimize the fact that this was likely a scary experience for Jake, but once again for me it was so freakin funny and scary at the same
time and since he didn’t die or anything I mostly remember how funny it was!!! Has anyone seen the hilarious You Tube Video of the news anchor lady crushing craps and she falls and gets the wind knocked out of her? Well this is better!
(NATE WOULD LIKE TO READ THE REST)
Once when we were selling alarms I picked up Jake in a cul-de-sac. He got in the car and started saying really loud “Uhhh, uhhh, uhhh Nate Dog I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe Nate Dog. My rib is stabbing me what do I do Nate?” (I understand that big brothers are supposed to know how to fix everything, but how the F was I supposed to know what to do? Here’s what happened next. We both get out of the car…mind you we are in broad daylight in the middle of a neighborhood with a car with Utah plates, and Jake is making some pretty sweet sounds like a dying animal “ I can’t breathe I can’t breathe Heeeh, Heeehhh, Heeeegh.
So we get out of the car and Jake says “try to crack my back” and we try real fas
t but that doesn’t work so he loudly suggests that I punch him in the back a bunch of times and that doesn’t work, mind you the whole time he saying “hheeh, Hheeeeh, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, heeeeh, heeeeeh, heeeeh. So after the multiple Back rib punches don’t work (which to a person from their home probably look like kidney punches) Jake decides to lay on the concrete sidewalk and put his legs straight up in the air and hope for the best.
In the end that seemed to work really well. I just wish I could have been a complete stranger watering the lawn with a front row seat to this once in a lifetime bizarre occurrence. While typing this email, I remembered one more quick funny story: When Jake laughs he often tightens his lips and blows out air right before he lets out his big high pitch laugh which is very contagious by the way.
Anyways, one night on New Year’s Eve he joined me and my roommates for a party at a rich member girl’s house. When we left at 1 or 2 in the morning we stopped at convenient store and grabbed some snacks. Jake got crumb donuts and a big chocolate milk. So we are driving and telling stories and Jake and I are in the front of my Honda Accord and my crazy roommate Kenny was in the back telling us about how much he hates cops. Then Kenny tells us about 1 time a cop beat the crap out of him late at night on a sidewalk. I guess the cop pulled up in his car and Kenny was walking and the cop said in a very condescending tone: “What are you doing, where are you going, and where have you been.” After Kenny spoke those words (and nobody being prepared for the grand finale of words about to follow) Jake decided to shove 2 crumb donuts in his mouth as well as a huge swig of chocolate milk. Basically Jakes cheeks were puffed out full of milk and donut particles.
So to answer the cops snide remark, Kenny recounted his defiant reply: (this is the PG-13 version by the way) “ I’ll tell you where I’ve been, I’ve been at your house with your wife, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” Imediately all of us started laughing as hard and loud as we could because we did not expect anything like what we had just heard and sure enough Jake in all his chocolate milk and donut glory let out his signature laugh and shot milk and donuts all over my front dash, windshield and floor. Even though that was the last thing I needed in my nice car, it made everything even more funny and we all laughed for about 5 minutes straight.
Thanks for all the memories bro, I love you man!
Kurt-OL Jaker! One of the many things that brings me to thinking of Jake is the temple. Some where along the road Jake and Caroline decided to gift Amy and I temple clothes. They didn’t just give us a part of the clothing set or some hand me downs they had come across. They gave us the slickest nicest temple clothes I've ever seen. Every time I go to the temple I think of my younger giant brother Jake. Jaker and I have gotten really close over the years and it’s been a pleasure to be able to call up Jake whenever I have a moment and just chat about ideas, theories and life principals. Jake has been a great example to me and I love him very much.
Luke-I love singing the song of trend setters in this family and if you're looking for people who stand out, Jake is by far one of the most fascinating case studies. From a very young age Jake was, and I think still is the only child from the Bill Shillig posterity who had absolutely no qualms with being obedient and emulating Dad. It is uncanny how loyal Jake was to Dad, I remember many times when the older brothers were doing things that were blatantly against the standards of morality that Dad had set for them, but Jake would simply tell the brothers flat out, "this is not appropriate, and I am telling Dad." The brothers all knew that if Jake hung around them while they were doing things that openly violated the standard of conduct that Dad had set up for us, they would be in big trouble. I on the other hand was the opposite, I craved that relationship with the older brothers that they would only offer on the grounds of betrayal of all that we had been taught from a young age. So any thing that ha
ppened while Dad and Mom were away, was swept under the rug, and this gave me a right of passage into the brother's room that was permanently locked. For this period of darkness, Jake was a beacon of light, and there was a time in our family when Jake was completely ostracized by all its members but Mom and Dad. The best part was that it didn't even phase Jake, he just kept on chugging along like nothing had ever happened. I always admired Jake for his ability to do the right thing when he knew it was right and good. Jake is definitely one of the people of Lehi's dream who were not persuaded by the prideful people of the building on the other side of the river. That being said, I would also like to mention how Jake changed my life forever. As was mentioned above, Jake was great at emulating Dad, he was so good in fact, that he was the first in our family to go to BYU because Dad, had gone there. Dad said that BYU was so much better than high school, and if one were to attend BYU the opportu
nities for fun and entertainment far exceeded any at the high school level. He was right, and Jake knew it, so Jake focused all of his efforts into achieving that goal. After Jake attended BYU others soon followed, one of which included myself. My attending BYU had nothing to do with myself though, it was all Jake's doing, when I came home from the mis
sion, I thought I would like to learn a trade, something that I could fall back on no matter what happened in my life. Jake had other plans for me, he had Caroline apply to BYU, and BYUI for me and to my surprise I was accepted at BYUI for the winter semester. I later transferred to BYU under the advise of our brother Jake, and it was there that I met my amazing wife. I would love to go on and say so much more, but I think I will conclude by saying that Jake has done an irreplaceable service to the family by stressing the importance of education, and leading by example. We all owe Jake a debt of gratitude for contributing to our families advancement in the social, spiritual, and cultural realms. Thank you Jake for being such an amazing example of how to obey and be happy all day
Larkie-
Audrey- Ask the Farm
Kailie- It’s interesting to look back at the advice Jake has given me throughout my life. He counseled me to make friends with the most spiritual g
irl in my ward, and Now I’m best friends with Caroline Evans. He told me to just focus on college in High school and had I done that instead of screwing around my last 2 years of High school I’d be a lot better off right now. The methods in which he delivers his advice is oft times a little odd, and frustrating, there is still some advice that I won’t take, and I may regret it later n life, but I really do appreciate that Jake tries to share whatever knowledge he has acquired in his life with me.
Isaac-
Elliana
