A Tribute to Jerry McEwen

In the summer of 1967, Jerry McEwen was a member of Sing-Out South, along with his sister Dianne. I distinctly remember Jerry being a part of the cast when we went to the World Sing-Out Festival that summer. While the photo above is a little fuzzy, if you click on the picture and view it in an enlarged form, you can see him playing the guitar, on the far right next to Dave Cannon, as we performed on the steps of the War Memorial Auditorium before boarding the bus to leave.

I remember one story about Jerry from that trip. There were Coke machines all over Fort Slocum and David's Island where the the World Sing-Out Festival was held. But everytime most of us tried to a buy a Coke, the machines were out. That apparently was not true for Jerry. He almost always had Coke can in his hand, even when all the rest of us couldn't find one anywhere. We never did figure out how he did that.

After Jerry left Sing-Out he went on to a very interesting career as "a musician, windsurfer, master web page craftsman and a true friend." I know this because there is a tribute blogsite to Jerry on the internet (http://rememberingjerrymcewen.blogspot.com). It was created after his tragic death back in December, 2007.

Jerry died a hero. He was a Good Samaritan, stabbed to death with a butcher knife after chasing a man who stole a woman's purse in the parking lot of a Kroger store in South Nashville.

Recently the robber was sentenced for his crime. Robert Williams pled guilty to felony murder in the case and was committed to serve the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole.

An accomplice in the case is still awaiting trial.

A few months ago, Diane McEwen got the opportunity to meet the woman who was being robbed when her brother intervened. She told Channel 4 News at the time that words can't express what she will miss about him: "Absolutely everything," she said. "Jerry had charisma. Jerry was somebody who was larger than life."

Indeed, while most of us hoped to change the world while we were in Sing-Out, Jerry actually did it. He saved a life, and gave his own to help someone he didn't even know.

Rest in peace, Jerry. The community will always remain in your debt because of your selfless actions.