Jon Allard Jr.’s Story
Even days or weeks leading up to that fateful day, the face of depression is often not obvious.
The Day We Didn’t See Coming
On September 12, 2018, at 12:15 PM my brother Jon Allard Jr walked through my front door just as the St. Louis Cardinals were throwing the first pitch of an afternoon game. I didn’t realize that this would be the last time. He got up to go give our mom a hug before he said “well, I’m going to go get some fresh air before I head back to the salt mine.” Instead, he apparently went out to his car where he grabbed a 9 mm pistol and took his own life.
In retrospect, he did seem a bit sad and I know he was going through some normal life challenges; however, even his closest friends and family did not know that he suffered so deeply from depression. He was a good and kind man whom everyone loved, and he was always helping others even throughout his own struggle. Shortly before he took his own life, he sent a text to a dear friend asking that word be spread about the signs of depression. So that will certainly be part of the mission of TheTenthMan.org.