DUBLIN, Ga. — A community gathered this weekend in Dublin to remember a beloved Georgia principal, his wife and their young son who were killed in a fiery crash.
Dublin High School principal Dr. Jaroy Stuckey, his wife Elysea and their 3-year-old son A.J. died on March 14 in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 16.
Georgia State Patrol is still investigating but determined a tractor-trailer didn’t see a slow down ahead on the interstate and crashed into the family’s car.
Jaroy and Elysea would have celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary in May. The couple was also expecting a baby girl later this year.
Dublin City Schools held a celebration of life for the Stuckey family at the school’s Shamrock Bowl stadium this weekend. Hundreds attended the ceremony where family, friends, school officials and local church members honored their lives.
The school district shared a stream of the services, which you can watch in full below.
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Jaroy Stuckey grew up in Dublin and led the high school to state basketball championship during his senior year in 2006. He later earned his degrees from Georgia Southern University, Georgia College and Nova Southeastern University.
He returned home to teach in Dublin City Schools and worked his way up to principal of Dublin Middle School in 2017. Two years later, he took over at Dublin High School.
“With a mentoring spirit and a genuine love for children, he was a natural as an educator. Dr. Stuckey was fun-loving and known as a leader who seriously embraced the school system’s responsibility to mentor and educate its youth,” his obituary said.
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Elysea Stuckey also grew up outside of Dublin and graduated from Treutlen High School in 2005. She pursued a career in cosmetology and worked at the Career Academy as a cosmetology instructor.
The wife and mother was also active in the family’s church and loved to cook.
“As years passed, she not only loved to eat, but she enjoyed cooking for herself, AJ, and JaRoy. She had a love-hate relationship with hair, and if you had too much, she would tell you she’s “not gone do it!” Elysea will be remembered by many for her beautiful smile and her bubbly personality. She loved to seek out the positive in any situation,” Elysea’s obituary stated.
The couple’s son AJ would have turned four in September. He loved to dance, listen to music and watch the Avengers, according to his obituary.
“He loved the Avengers and would often dress up in their costumes. His favorite character was Captain America. AJ loved his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. You would often find him attached to his mommy’s hip. AJ also loved playing sports and he spent hours playing outside with his dad,” it said.
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