Telling the story of a life saved and the man who was the hero

Jerry Hitchcox

My name is Denny Golden. I was born, grew up, and went to school in Sparta. After school, I moved away and only visit Sparta on occasion for vacation and emergencies.

I lost touch with most everyone I grew up with and only rarely saw them on visits. A few times a year, I check the obituaries for people I might know who have passed away. Recently, I was reading the obituaries and saw where Jerry Glen Hitchcox had passed away, on August 9th, 2024.

When I was a child, we moved to the side of town where Jerry lived. I was introduced to Jerry by the group of boys our age that gathered in the summer to play baseball and in the winter to play board games, card games and watch TV. We became very close friends.

One winter day when we were having our third or fourth consecutive snow day from school and getting very bored with nothing to do, someone had the brilliant idea to take a Polar Plunge in the Calfkiller River. Only three of us agreed and set out to do the deed. At the river, there was a boat dock where we visited often. We decided to dive into the river from the boat dock.

When asked who would be first, it was finally agreed that all of us would start at the back of the dock, run to the edge, and all dive in at the same time. So that was what we did ... except since I was the youngest and smallest and had the smallest BRAIN, I was the only one that actually dove into the water. The river was running very swift that day due to the snow that was melting and running into the river. The water was muddy and very rough.

About the time I hit the water, I realized I had made a terrible mistake. My small frame was no match for the river. I started washing away down the river, yelling for help. I had gone underwater three or four times and was on the verge of being completely out of air. Jerry ran along the river bank to get ahead of me. He dove into the water and tried to swim out to where I was. I felt something under me attempting to lift me from the water. I got as much air into my lungs as I could before the river became too much for Jerry, and he had to abandon the rescue to save himself. Remembering from my swim training that water is not as swift at the bottom of the river, I dove straight to the bottom and clawed my way toward shore through the mud and stones until I felt tree roots growing into the water. I pulled myself up above the water so I could breathe. I climbed to the shore, almost frozen and cramping so bad I couldn’t stand. I crawled on my hands and knees through the snow approximately the distance of a football field to get back to the boat dock. Jerry was already there and was building a fire to warm me up. I finally got warm enough to walk, and we walked to his house.

That day, Jerry Hitchcox saved my life, and I wasn’t even a teenager yet. I would not be here today if he had not jumped in and helped me get a few breaths of air. We agreed to never speak of this incident except to our group of friends.

To Jerry’s family, if you have never heard this story from Jerry, I would like to share this with you. Jerry is and will always be my HERO. He offered his life to save mine. I am very saddened to hear that he passed away. I haven’t seen Jerry for more than 60 years, but the day he saved me is as clear in my mind as yesterday. He will never be forgotten because I think of him often and have told this story to my family many times.