THE MILITARY FAMILY: Gold Star Mother helps others facing grief amidst her own
Heather Skold
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Mother’s Day takes on a different tone for JoAnn Madorran, who lost her son to an improvised explosive device while he was deployed to Iraq.
Madorran is a Gold Star Mother. A title she never asked for– yet lives with courage.
Jeffrey Allen Avery had not been in Iraq a year when he was killed on April 23, 2007. He was just 19.
“He was very determined. He was very proud or what he did — and he should be,” said Madorran. “He always went by the book.”
Jeffrey Allen Avery, prior to his deployment to Iraq
Avery, who was posthumously promoted to Private First Class, was a military policeman and wanted to follow in the footsteps of so many of his relatives serving his country.
Madorran remembers when Avery came home during that brief break between boot camp and his deployment, and how he had matured, both emotionally and physically.
“They leave a child, they come back a man,” she smiled.
When she was told he would be headed to Iraq, it didn’t sit well, said Madorran.
“I had kind of a strange gut feeling when he told me that I didn’t take it that well.”
Avery was in the country on patrol for less than a year when she received the news that would change her life.
“It was quick, they said, that he didn’t really have a chance at life.”
Grief crippled her many days; sometimes she didn’t feel like leaving the house.
Jeffrey as a child
“It’s something that’s changed me for the rest of my life. It’s always going to be there,” she revealed. “What’s worse is, I’ve been robbed of knowing him as an adult.”
Madorran is actively invested in the local Gold Star Mothers chapter, where she mentors other mothers who’ve more recently lost their children in combat. It’s there she finds comfort in their commonality, while supporting veterans in the Pikes Peak Region as they do community service. It’s in that role, she tells fellow Gold Star Moms they’re not alone.
“I tell them, you can pick up the phone anytime, day or night, I don’t care if it’s 2:00 in the morning. I’m here for you.”