My name is Grace Kotalik.  I am a member of Scouts BSA Troop 1777, chartered by Trinity Episcopal Church in The Woodlands.  My four older brothers all became Eagle Scouts in recent years.  I am the youngest in our family.

 

When it came time to plan my Eagle Scout project, I knew that I wanted it to be a tribute to my 2nd oldest brother, Jarrett.  He died unexpectedly at his Army base in July 2023.  He was a volunteer for our other brothers' Eagle projects. Because Jarrett was deeply patriotic, I drew inspiration from him in my planning. 

 

I selected several elements for the box design as reminders of Jarrett.  The blue reminds me of the Chicago Cubs, Jarrett's favorite professional baseball team.  There are 13 stripes around the box.  While that is also the number of stripes on an American flag, Jarrett always connected that number to me because I was born on February 13. When he went through basic training, he wrote 213 inside his combat boots because he knew I was his cheering him on. Each of the flag boxes has a silhouette painting on the front. I love to paint silhouettes as gifts to my family and the last one that I gave Jarrett depicted him catching a fish in the pond by our house.

 

Because Jarrett loved military history, each box has a silhouette of a symbol related to a United States memorial that he visited with our family. 

 

If you have an opportunity, I invite you to visit all four boxes in the collection.  They are located in Butler Hall at Trinity Episcopal Church, Interfaith, the South County Community Center, and the Timber Lakes Timber Ridge HOA. There is special significance to Jarrett at each of those locations. 

 

Jarrett spent several years Scouting at Trinity.  He assisted with several food drives and service projects to benefit Interfaith and the Community Center.  When Hurricane Harvey devastated many homes in the Glen Loch area in 2017, Jarrett helped residents in the area. He set up and cleaned the nearby Red Cross Shelter, he delivered supplies and helped with packing and clearing flood damaged homes in the Timber Lakes Timber Ridge community.  

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Sadly, we became a Gold Star Family on July 10, 2023.  Since that time, I have become an Associate Member of the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. and I have been introduced to other Gold Star families who have lost their heroes.  Other flag boxes in my collection are dedicated to them.

 

Thank you for helping to honor Jarrett and other fallen heroes.  I appreciate that you visited this site.  If you have donated a flag for retirement, please complete the form. To learn more about each box's dedication, please click on the tabs at the top right of this page.