Harry James Jenkins II

Harry James Jenkins II

October 27, 1948 - October 9, 2026 

As is likely the case for all people, Harry’s life is a blend of truth and folklore, both of which he composed about himself. Some details are anchored in truth from evidence, while others are compiled from living history of those who were there to tell the tale, or at least their version of his folklore. His life has been a mystery to most of us, full of adventures and wonder.

Harry was born in Winchendon Massachusetts as James McCombs on October 27 th , 1948. We were told that shortly after his birth, his birth-father Gerald M. McCombs left the family, and his mother Naomi Ruth Hardy married an Air Force pilot named Harry James Jenkins. My father and his older sister Lynn were adopted by this man who gave him his own name.

The family moved to Los Angeles, CA where Harry finished High School, was active in sports like football and baseball, member of the Los Angeles Junior Fire Department at Fenton Avenue, attempted some college, and during the late 1960’s joined the Air Force. Unfortunately, his service was limited, and he was honorably discharged due to an unstated medical reason.

Sometime after that he began work as a truck driver. Although Harry Jenkins Sr. had been a pilot in the Air Force, he completed his career in the Air Force as an Organist and travelled the world playing music for the top brass. Sometime in the early 1970’s they decided to join the circus together. Harry Sr. intended to play the organ, and Harry II drove the trucks that hauled the circus from one town to another. After less than a year, Harry Sr. was recalled home by his wife, but Harry II stayed on the road. Between arriving in any given town, and leaving it was usually a matter of several weeks, and in between those weeks Harry II had little to do, so he started absorbing skills of those around him in the circus.

Harry’s job descriptions for this era of his life included: roustabout (putting up and taking down circus rigging and tents), elephant trainer, magician, juggler, mechanic, Gorilla parody act (he wore a suit and did some stuff in it), whip artist (snapping newspapers in half from a distance while our mother held the papers), and likely numerous other small jobs within the circus.

In 1975 Harry met Jackie Mitchell, a member of Mid-America Circus in Dallas Tx, and he quit the Big John Strong Circus and settled into their cozy new home in the back of his Ford F100. They were married at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Oak Cliff and were offered the opportunity to rent the Rectory of the parish as the priest already had his own home. That parish was at the time the seat of the Diocese where they helped put together the binders for the “Happening” and “Cursillo” programs being developed with Bishop A. Donald Davies, and were among the first to start those renewal programs to reinvigorate youth and adults in their faith.

Harry and Jackie had two boys: Jon born in 1978, and Sebastian in 1981. They lived in Oak Cliff until about 1985 when they moved to Cedar Hill, Texas. Harry had numerous other jobs delivering electronics and satellite dishes (when they were the size of your house), trucking for a chemical delivery company, and various warehouse jobs to include the print shop at Mary Kay Cosmetics for a number of years.

During these years, when he had free time, he dedicated himself to serving the Church, he was also a Freemason at multiple Masonic Lodges in which he held multiple positions, the highest being a Past Master. Later he poured himself into the Boy Scout programs once the boys were old enough to level up from Cub Scouting. In Scouting, Harry drove the troop bus and demonstrated leadership and proficiency in wilderness survival, cooking, fishing, camping, and snoring. He was particularly adept at shooting archery, rifles, black-powder rifles, and outside of scouting, he was an enthusiastic hunter both with rifles and compound bow in his later years, although there’s not any evidence he hit anything. He also survived the high-adventure experience of Philmont Scout Ranch with his son Sebastian.

In the late 1990s, Harry became somewhat of a nomad. He lived in various locations like San Diego, Ca, Springfield, OR, and North Carolina. In these various locations, he always supported his family, the local community in various aspects, he participated in various rallies to support the troops and was extremely active within the churches he attended. However, none of these places were really home and Texas always called him back.

When Harry returned to Texas in 2006, he eventually entered the Catholic Church through St. Vincent DePaul of Arlington, Texas where he attended mass regularly. He also became a trusted security guard with Allied Universal until his retirement in 2023. In March of this year, he began attending mass at his son’s Catholic church of St. Thomas Becket. His declining health prevented much participation in the Church, but he came as he was able.

In September 2026, Harry was diagnosed with incurable stage four esophageal cancer. Due to multiple complications, he eventually chose not to fight his cancer any longer. He was at peace with his decision, and died on October 9, 2026, at 7:58 pm in a state of grace while living out his final days in Vitas Hospice of Ft. Worth who were tremendously pastoral to him and his family in these final days.

The virtues of Harry to be remembered are:

● Harry was a dedicated son. He moved to Eugene, Oregon to be a caregiver of his aged mother and stayed with her until her natural death at 79 years of age.

● He loved his boys dearly along with all the young men and women who had been in contact with him throughout his life.

● Loved deeply, was kind and was a very humble man.

● A dedicated friend to many.

● He was a generous man who would give all he had to assist another.

● He demanded integrity and honesty of others, but struggled in telling any story the same way twice. He was notorious for making up many a tall-tale around a campfire about any subject you can imagine, and owning it as his own personal narrative.

● He couldn’t spell to save his life, but invented many words or turns of phrase for many people, places, and things. For example: he called restaurants by any name other than the actual name of the restaurant. I asked him one Thanksgiving Day where we were to eat, as there was nothing in the fridge nor in the stove, and he answered: “The Copper Cow.” He just meant the nearest place that was open.

● Forget leaving a message with him, as he would just tell you to “call the guy from the place about the thing…”

● Internally, Harry was a deeply broken man with a lot of sorrow from life choices, but he never quit until his fight with cancer and was deeply redemptive. He could be sweeter than honey one moment, aggressive the next, but usually deeply apologetic to follow.

● In his later years he chose silence over arguments and felt it was better to say nothing then to say something out of character.

● Harry was a deeply religious Christian man who worshiped Jesus daily.

● In the last 2 years of his life, he spent a lot of time in prayer, journaling, and sharing insights from his prayer life. He was at peace at the end of his life, and for that reason, so are we.

Harry is preceded in life by his parents: Lt. Col. Harry James Jenkins Sr. and Naomi Ruth Jenkins (nee: Hardy) and his sister Lynn Magallon. 

He is survived by his family: The Rev. Jon C. Jenkins and Claire Jenkins, with his grandsons, Aaron, Thomas and David; Sr. Chief Sebastian M. Jenkins and grandkids, Ryan, Andrew, Lily, and Anna.

In lieu of flowers: make any memorial donations to St. Thomas Becket’s Building Campaign for the furtherance of the Gospel at: Stbecket.org/give

A Funeral Service is scheduled for Thursday the 29th of October 2026 at 2:00 pm at St. Thomas Becket Catholic Church.