'He was Action Jackson': Friends, teachers mourn, remember South Fort Myers grad Jackson Eyre

Those who were close to Jackson Eyre saw the promise and positivity he displayed at such a young age.

Eyre was one of five teenagers that died in a single-car accident late Sunday night on Topgolf Way.

A graduate of South Fort Myers High, Eyre planned on becoming a welder and enrolled to attend Fort Myers Technical College this fall. Eyre just had his orientation at the school last Friday.

A celebration of life for Eyre will be on Saturday, July 1st with an 11 a.m. viewing, followed by a service at noon. The service will be held at Summit Church in Estero according to a Facebook post shared by Eyre's mother, Rachel.

"Jackson lived each day authentically so please be unapologetically you!" the graphic read. "Wear what you want and come as you are!"

'He was a kid you looked forward to seeing every day'

Kevin Schell saw Jackson almost every day.

Schell taught Eyre in a Jobs for Florida Graduates class. It was a hybrid between an entrepreneurship and a business class to put students on track with what they wanted to do after graduating.

"He was very, very intelligent," Schell said. "He was very family oriented. This is why I really hurt because his parents adopted kids. He was really about his family. He loved them... He was just a great kid. He was a kid you looked forward to seeing every day in your class. He was just a very kind soul."

Schell and Emily Lincolnhol, a College and Career Specialist at South, saw him find a passion in welding upon taking a tour to Fort Myers Technical College, asking questions and doing research on the profession.

“We took Jackson on a field trip to FMTC, and he seemed to gain interest in welding, and from there, he got attached to that school,” Schell said. "He loved the Stock Market game. If I would've done that all year, I think he would've loved it. He loved doing research and looking at it every day and seeing if his gain went up or down... He was highly ranked throughout the game."

Schell remembered that Eyre would quietly think about information he was being told by teachers, using it to make informed decisions.

"He always seemed to ponder things a lot," Schell said. "He would think about them, and when you spoke of Jackson, you had his total attention. The thing that was so sad when I heard about it, was that he finally found what he wanted to do. He was so excited about going to college. He found his niche in some way. It wasn't going to be everything he was, but it was going to be a small part. I think that was really important to him."

"... Any time anyone gets excited about something, you root for that as a teacher. He was really looking forward to that at FMTC."

'He was Action Jackson'

Ex-South Fort Myers athletic director Chris Harris hired Jackson's father, Willie, for the Wolfpack head baseball coaching position in advance of the 2021 season.

While primarily serving as a baseball coach, Willie Eyre was his athletic secretary, with the two sharing an office. Jackson would drop in to have conversations with Harris and Eyre when time permitted.

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"Jackson was a leader, man," Harris said. "You see him in the hallways at South, and he always had a group of kids around him. Or, if he was by himself, he always had a presence that you always remembered about him. He wasn't a man of many words, but he led by his actions. His presence alone, you always knew Jackson was there.

"He was Action Jackson. I'll always remember his presence of being around, his energy, and he was always a big brother. When Willie asked him to take care of his little sisters, he wouldn't argue about it. He just did it. He was their protector."

Jackson also grew up the son of a former professional baseball player as Willie played four seasons in the Major Leagues for Minnesota, Texas, and Baltimore. His parents never pressured him to follow in his father's athletic footsteps and supported him after he opted to not take up baseball as he entered his teens.

"It speaks volumes on Rachel and Willie," Harris added. "They could've easily said that he was going down his dad's path, but they supported their son in anything he wanted to do. I look up to Willie and Rachel so much. I have young kids. They have older ones, but I would watch them talk to his son when they came into the office. I'd sit there and just watch how he handled any situation. He never forced him to do anything. It was always pushing him to do the right thing and the little things right. That's the advice Jackson took, and he made his own path. He had to figure it out.

"... That's the future of our country. He's looking at making an impact somehow, some way by keeping our buildings and roads safe as a welder. He was the nicest kid ever. He would come into the office to see his dad. They'd joke with each other, crack jokes with me whenever he stopped by. He was just a kid, man. It's tough. It's one of those things where why do bad things happen to good people? All of these families are just sitting there at a loss for words."

'He could talk for hours about anything'

Lylah Law, 18, went to South Fort Myers High and was friends with Eyre.

They'd occasionally sit together at lunch. They’d chat and he’d often bring out his phone to show her memes he saw on Instagram. “He could talk for hours about anything,” Law said. “He was very smart.”

After their May graduation ceremony, Jackson called out, “LYLAH!” when he saw her outside the arena. He ran up to her and they made the long walk back to the cars together.

The two then hugged goodbye.

“It was nice being your friend,” he told her. “I’ll miss you.”

Reporter Janine Zeitlin contributed to this report.

Follow Southwest Florida Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Jackson Eyre: Friends, teachers remember teen who died in fatal crash