PUNGO — The late Jerry Culpepper was kind, funny and generous, qualities that people have spoken of since his death in September — and which were the sources of many stories shared among more than 100 loved ones and friends who gathered for a celebration of his life on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Pungo.
The gathering at the Culpepper Barn was a celebration of life, family and friendships.
“He loved meeting new people and making them feel like family,” Carmen Joyner of Back Bay, Culpepper’s step-daughter, said during remarks — adding that “step” was not a word he cared to use.
During an interview, she said Culpepper’s family and grandchildren were his world, and he’d make a point to do something special with each child – and even fill their gas tanks up once a month.
“He was just a kind soul,” she said. “He was funny. He would give the shirt off his back to anybody. He just loved people.”
Culpepper worked over the years in property management and for the city, as well as at BayBreeze Farm along Sandbridge Road. He was an avid outdoorsman, loving to hunt and fish. He even modeled in his younger days, though some people didn’t necessarily believe that story.
“They just thought it was another one of his stories,” Joyner said.
During the celebration of his life, some modeling images of Culpepper were on display, along with photos of the outdoors, family and Post-It notes and poems he wrote for his wife, Debbie Craft Culpepper. All memories of his humor and goodness.
“He meant so much to so many people,” Joyner added during remarks. “I want everyone to remember what type of man he was, a man who would do anything for anyone, big or small, even if it was just to put a smile on your face — to remember him, and to honor him by doing the same.”
Brooke Buffington, 19, remembered that she loved the TV character Hannah Montana when she was younger, so once her grandfather wore a Hannah Montana wig for her.
Some knew Culpepper from early-morning gatherings at the 7-Eleven in “downtown” Pungo, where folks often socialize, speaking about fishing, hunting, family and matters of the day near the coffee pots. For years, members of the coffee club might help out by starting a pot of coffee, and Jerry Culpepper is remembered for another tradition: buying donuts for young people, if it was okay with their parents.
One of the people at the gathering was Lexia Hann, now 21.
“She got her first donut when she four,” Joyner said.
“I knew Jerry my whole life,” Hann said. “He saw me grow up from four to 21.”
She said she hoped people would remember that Culpepper cared about others.
Among the attendees of the celebration were Bucky Archer and Daniel Sexton, who knew Culpepper from their friendship growing up in Deep Creek and attending high school together.
“We played football,” Archer said, noting that Culpepper was the quarterback and Archer played end. “I was pretty famous for dropping passes he threw.”
But they enjoyed a 9-1 season, and, more importantly, camaraderie.
“I can’t think of one time we ever got in trouble, but we always had a good time,” Archer said.
“We were just school chums and good buddies,” Sexton said.
They recalled Culpepper was sometimes a homebody who was happy watching Roy Rogers on TV while sitting in a rocking chair, but then he would be fun as could be once you got him out of the house. They socialized and enjoyed the outdoors together.
Sometimes, people grow apart over the years, but the friends seemed to reconnect.
“We were friends no matter what,” Sexton said. “That stays to this day.”
Archer recalled a definition of a true friend.
“When you see them, you don’t have to start over again,” he said. “You just pick up where you left off.”
Jay Buffington of Blackwater had known Jerry Culpepper since Buffington was a child. “I’m the one who told my mom she should go out with him,” Buffington said.
An obituary many in the community have read about Culpepper was written by Culpepper himself years ago, and it was kept in a lockbox, Jay Buffington said. It read:
Jerry W. Culpepper, 74, a Deep Creek native, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. I leave behind my loving wife Debbie Craft Culpepper whom I love and will always love more than life itself. My daughter, Amy “Niki” Culpepper; whom I wish lived near so I could have watched (her) grow up. My children: Carmen Joyner, her husband, Lee, and their son Dylan & stepdaughter Bethany, James W. Buffington, III “Jay”, his wife Caroline and their daughters Brooke Logan and Kendall Rae, all of whom I have loved as my own. Everyone listed here was my family and made my life complete. These grandchildren brought joy and happiness to us from the day they were born.
I have tried to be a good person, a faithful husband (and cook) to Debbie, a supportive and loving father and grandfather, and a true and loyal friend. I also know that I have failed on occasion, but my intentions were always from the heart.
I want to thank my momma, Mary Parker Culpepper, and my daddy, Beverly Brooks Culpepper, for bringing me into this world, and at this moment we are together again.
Finally, I want to thank the Supreme Being for allowing me to visit this world for a brief stay.
Culpepper is remembered, too, by many people at the 7-Eleven in “downtown” Pungo.
“We tried to solve the world’s problems,” said Don Brinkley, a retired shipyard refueling manager who lives in the Sigma area. He befriended Culpepper in and out of the 7-Eleven. “We talked about politics and everything else. It was just a good time.”
He remembered Culpepper as “president” of the club and a good man with a big heart.
“Jerry loved kids, no doubt,” Brinkley said. “Jerry would always greet them. He would say, ‘OK if they have a donut?’ He’d help them pick it out, get it in a bag and pay for the donut.”
After Culpepper’s death, a collage of photos of him was taped up at the coffee pots in the 7-Eleven in Pungo.
“The air’s a little thicker in there,” Brinkley said, “if you know what I mean.”
The community has figured out how to keep up the tradition of covering the cost of “Jerry’s donuts” there by using gift cards.
“We’ll keep the tradition going,” said Thomas King, a friend of Culpepper’s and a member of the coffee club. “The main thing is letting everybody know the kindhearted person Jerry was.”
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