It’s been nearly five months since Abigail Jenks, a paratrooper from Gansevoort, died after a hard landing during a training exercise at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
“While Abby was passed out, the wind came up behind her parachute and the strings around her parachute wrapped around her neck,” explained her mother, Mary Jenks. “She chocked to death.”
Abby Jenks was 20 years old and fascinated by art at an early age, which helped to reveal her wide-ranging imagination on paper.
“The same pieces that have helped Abby through some hard days are helping me,” said Mary Jenks, who spent weeks compiling more than 70 pieces of her daughter’s artwork.
What You Need To Know
- Abigail Jenks, a paratrooper from Ganesvoort, was killed on April 19 during a training exercise at Fort Bragg in North Carolina
- Jenks, 20, was fascinated by art at a young age, which reveals her wide-ranging imagination
- Jenks’ mother, Mary Jenks, compiled more than 70 pieces of her daughter's artwork for an exhibit at The Wesley Medical Center, where she is a nurse
To keep her memory alive, Mary Jenks decided to put it all on display at The Wesley Health Care Center, where she works as a nurse.
“You can see animals, babies, cars, you know the skeletons,” she said. “I just feel like there is something here for everyone.”
Abby Jenks also liked designing tattoos, which are part of the exhibit that will be displayed in the center through the end of the month.
A number of Abby Jenks’ drawings portrayed life, and that's part of the message her mother wants to convey while paying tribute to her daughter.
“She would probably wonder why they’re up because she never thought of herself as an awesome artist,” said Mary Jenks. “She would be proud of me, and she would be proud of her work displayed.”
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