Sunday, November 23rd was the 9 year wedding anniversary of Jimmie and Becca Sanders. Jimmie is a guy I’ve known since my childhood, having grown up in the same apartment complex as him. And Becca was his wife. I met her a few years back when she and I lived in the same building. She and I were friends after that, and I even carpooled with her to community college classes out of town for 1 semester. Jimmie and Becca had 3 daughters pretty close to my boys’ ages.

Sunday evening at about 5:30 I got a phone call from a number I did not recognize. I usually screen calls and I don’t answer numbers I don’t know, but that time I answered. It was Becca’s mom. She told me Jimmie and Becca had been in a car accident that morning… and they both died. Jimmie was 31, and Becca was 29. Their funeral was a joint funeral. It was yesterday. I would estimate hundreds of people turned out. The whole place was absolutely grief-stricken. There was a viewing area, which I was actually surprised to see since it was a hard death for the both of them. The service was respectable.

All of the other people I have known that have died have been my mom’s friends. I have never experienced the death of my own friends. Even though I wasn’t extremely close with either of them, I have taken it very hard. All week long I have been back and forth from extremely depressed, to numb. I keep thinking of the memories that have been created with both Jimmie and Becca in my past. And the fact that all 3 of their daughters are now without parents.

I know I’m not very eloquent with my words right now, because even a week after their death I still can’t really wrap my mind around the reality of it all. I thought seeing their wrecked vehicle, the crash site, and attending the funeral would bring closure for me. Those things have made it more realistic, but it all still seems too surreal to accept.

This just goes to show how fragile the human body is. How quickly our loved ones can be ripped from our lives. And how deeply you should appreciate every moment you share with those you love.

This is a true account written in my own words during the time it happened. I’ve lightly edited it for clarity in the present day (2026), with minimal exclusions, while keeping the original voice and meaning intact.