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Jesse Patrick Thyne (aka El
Hadge Abdoulaye Diallo-Bah)
July 8, 1975 - January 7, 2000
Jesse Thyne, a fallen Peace Corps Volunteer from Pasadena,
California, continues to touch the daily lives of those he knew and those he had
yet to meet during his 24 years of life. On January 7, 2000, Jesse and fellow
volunteer Justin Bhansali perished in a bush taxi accident on a rural road
outside of Pita, Guinea. At the time of his tragic death, Jesse was a
second-year PCV teaching math in the Fouta Djalon village of Diountou. His
legacy continues on in Diountou, where the Peace Corps has constructed and
dedicated a village library in his honor. A
memorial
was constructed in Pita in the memory of Jesse and Justin, and many PCV's also
participate in the annual
Memorial Walk For
Road Safety
.
Before joining the Peace Corps, Jesse was a popular student at
the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he excelled in his studies of
Psychology and Education. His favorite activities included cooking, tutoring
local elementary school students, playing harmonica, and making everyone he met
laugh. During his time in Guinea, Jesse remained close to those he left
behind by writing hundreds of letters to his friends and family back home. At
the conclusion of his Peace Corps service, Jesse planned to continue his life of
public-service by moving to Washington, DC where he had accepted an invitation
to teach math to inner-city high school students.
Despite his earthly passing, Jesse remains vibrantly alive in
the hearts and minds of all who knew him.
Read more about Jesse:
Teacher Hero,
Jesse Thyne
Pita Memorial Inauguration
Jesse's father, Rick, speaks at his son's memorial service
Pastor Ed Beacon speaks at Jesse's memorial service
Peace Corps workers share stories about Jesse
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To help
build the Jesse Thyne Memorial School, you may donate funds to:
The
Jesse Thyne Memorial Fund
1111
20th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20526
Attn:
Eric Zander
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Elton John's "I Need You to
Turn To"
"I've strayed from the cottages and found myself here,
For I need your love, your love protects my fears.
And I wonder sometimes, and I know I'm unkind
But I need you to turn to, when I act so blind
And I need you to turn to when I lose control
You're my guardian angel, who keeps out the cold.
Did you paint your smile on, well I said I knew
That my reason for living was for loving you
We're related in feeling, but you're high above
You're pure and you're gentle with the grace of a dove."
*photos and text shared by Jesse's friend,
Michelle
Comments
Visit
www.deathoftwosons.com to learn more about a
film documenting the lives of Jesse Thyne and Amadou Diallo.
Date: 08 June 2009
Date: 28 May 2009
Date: 05 July 2006
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