2017 Jacob Travis La’Mar McCollum

JACOB TRAVIS LA’MAR MCCOLLUM

Organ, Tissue, and Cornea Donor

Age 14 ~ Spartanburg, SC

Donated on 2/18/16

at Spartanburg Medical Center

Honored by BridgeToLife.com / LifePoint-SC.org

Jacob McCollum was an active teenage boy who loved playing football, riding his dirt bike, and spending time with family and friends. Jacob was a boy who kept everybody laughing and could talk about anything from NASCAR to the NFL. He was a linebacker and wide receiver on the football team at Fairforest Middle School in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He also trained under the Warrior 101 program by the Spartanburg County Sherriff’s Office where he set an example for other boys. Even in death, Jacob was a Warrior when he became a donor to so many others. His heart went to a 15-year-old boy; his lungs saved a 52-year-old man; his kidneys went to 48- and 58-year-old men; and his liver saved the life of a 61-year-old woman.

Jacob’s Story

Jacob McCollum was a typically active teenage boy who loved playing football, riding his dirt bike and spending time with family and friends. Members of his family describe Jacob as a boy who kept everybody laughing. He was in the eighth grade at Fairforest Middle School in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he played linebacker and wide receiver on the football team.

Jacob also completed training in Warrior 101, a course taught by the Spartanburg County Sherriff’s Office. This program is a boot camp, military-style program focusing mainly on discipline and authority. It builds confidence, improves physical fitness and instills discipline while teaching young people confidence and integrity. After completion of the program, Jacob requested and was granted the opportunity to return to assist with future cadets as a Guest Warrior Instructor to set an example for others boys in the program.

Jacob tragically died after a crash on his dirt bike in February 2016 at the age of 14. Because he loved helping others, Jacob’s family knew that allowing him to be a donor was what he would have wanted. Jacob saved five lives through organ donation, and improved the lives of many more through tissue and cornea donation. His heart went to a 15-year-old boy in Ohio; his lungs saved a 52-year-old man in Pennsylvania; his kidneys went to 48- and 58-year-old men in South Carolina; and his liver saved the life of a 61-year-old woman also in South Carolina.

“Jacob was a great kid who always showed up to workouts and had a great commitment. He worked hard, had a good sense of humor and was very respectful,” states Fairforest Middle School Athletic Director, Clarke Maxwell. “You could talk to him about everything from NASCAR to the NFL. His favorite driver was Jimmie Johnson and he was a huge Carolina Panthers fan. Jacob was taken from us way too soon.”

Captain Allen Freeman of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Department says, “The Warrior is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others. Even in death, Jacob was a Warrior, when he became a donor to so many others. In a very short period of time, he touched a lot of lives.”

“Jacob was truly an amazing boy who touched many lives and was loved by everyone,” says his mom, Kimberly Gist. “Words cannot express how much I loved and miss my youngest son.”