Slaton’s short life leaves lasting memory

Jaris JoLynn Slaton died Wednesday, Aug. 6, in Dodge City from injuries sustained in an all-terrain vehicle accident.
    In her 14 years, Jaris Slaton touched many people's lives and left a lasting memory of her vivacious personality, friendliness and contagious laugh. 
    "All her friends know her laugh," said Jaris' mother, Bonnie Slaton. "It was very memorable."
    Jaris was born in Dodge City and later moved to Nebraska with her family. Last summer she returned to Dodge City and started her eighth-grade year at Dodge City Middle School, where she excelled in both academics and athletics.
    Raymond Small was Slaton's eighth-grade science teacher and basketball coach at the middle school. In only one year, Jaris made a huge impression on him.
    "She always had a hug and big smile for you," Small said. "Her smile was a killer."
    Small said Jaris said "Hi" and smiled to everyone, even if she didn't know them. He said he believed this part of her vibrant and friendly personality helped her do so well in everything she was involved in.
    Small described Jaris as an intelligent, hardworking student who consistently got A's in her classes. She always got her work done, but she also knew how to have fun and experience the world around her.
     "Once she was finished with her work, she was so fun to be around it was unbelievable," Small said.
     Small said starting a brand-new school did not stop Jaris from being popular and flourishing in school and athletics.
    "She was very easy to get to know," Small said. "She had a lot of friends. Even teachers who didn't have her in their class knew who she was."
    Jaris was quickly well-known around campus because she showed everyone an incredible amount of kindness and respect, including all the teachers at DCMS, said Small.
    In all of her actions, Slaton demonstrated a maturity far beyond her 14 years. At the end of last school year, she gave thank-you cards to her teachers with a detailed personal message to express her appreciation for them.
    "She had a gift for writing," Small said. "You should see what she wrote. All the teachers are devastated because she's a kid you really wanted in your class."
    Small, who is beginning his 33rd year of teaching, said he loves teaching because of the camaraderie he builds with students like Jaris. He enjoys watching his students grow and succeed.
    "The reason I teach is because of kids like this," Small said. "I don't teach for money, this is the only reason I teach."
    He added: "I love the kids, all of them, but she was special. Teaching kids like her... it's like the icing on the cake."

Shining on the field
    All of Slaton's family and teachers agree that she was an excellent student, but she really loved being active and competing in sporting events.
    Slaton's bubbly energy and athletic prowess gave her the ability to play any sport available to her. Volleyball, basketball, track and field and softball were a few of the sports she enjoyed.
    On her eighth-grade track team, Jaris was one of the top sprinters, performing exceptionally well in the 100- and 200-meter runs, as well as other events.
    On the basketball court, Slaton was aggressive and very competitive, Small said.
    Small remembered one particular game where he told Jaris she couldn't just go foul a girl or knock her over to get possession of the ball. Then she went on the court and did it anyway.
    "She just looked at me as if to say, 'That wasn't a foul,'" he said.
    Jaris' competitive fire gave her the ability and drive to accomplish all of her goals and live life to the fullest.
    "You had to rein her in a little because she wanted things so badly," Small said.
    The spark and vitality in Jaris was contagious, spreading to her teammates.
    "She always hustled as much as she could," Small said. "People always wanted to be on her team because they knew she would give 100 percent and make them better."
    Small also said Jaris spent a lot of time talking about softball and was looking forward to playing it in high school, in addition to volleyball and basketball. Although she did well in volleyball, track and basketball, softball was her favorite sport. 
    "Softball was her passion," her mother, Bonnie Slaton, said.
    Jaris played on the 14-and-under Dodge City Magic softball team this summer.
    "She pitched for us and did a really nice job pitching," coach Phil Stephenson said.
    He said she just joined the team this year and was a very good athlete who enjoyed spending a lot of time at the ballpark, whether or not she was playing.
    Jaris enjoyed being there so much that she was always volunteering to help, and she worked at the concession stand at A's games this summer. 
    "She always seemed to have a smile on her face and always seemed to enjoy being active and playing," Stephenson said.
    Stephenson said Slaton's teammates have been deeply affected by the loss of Jaris and her joyful presence. 
    "To have somebody die so young really makes you take stock of life," he said. "It can be so short, so precious. It's just such a shock."

An outpouring of love and
support
    On the field and in the classroom, Jaris spoke of her family often.
    She played with her two little sisters all the time and spoke highly of her family members, including her older brother, who is a senior baseball player at Dodge City High School.
    Small said she would come into class and talk about the latest brother-sister event that had occurred. 
    "She talked about her brother all the time," Small said.
     Small attributed much of Slaton's success to the love and support of her strong network of family and friends. 
    "A kid doesn't end up like this by mistake," he said. "She had a great family behind her. Her mom and dad did a fantastic job. They are really great people."
    Small continued to speak of the amazing outpouring of love and support shown by Jaris' extended family and friends during this past week.
    Jaris was truly loved, Small said. This fact was made even more evident when several vans full of teammates and friends drove from Nebraska to pay their respects to Jaris and say their goodbyes.
    "If every kid had that much support, we'd have no kids who could fail," he said.
    Both Small and Bonnie said that Jaris was looking forward to everything in her future, especially starting high school this month.
    Jaris was getting ready to take her driver's test, play high school sports, attend school dances and make more friends who shared similar interests and goals, Bonnie said.
    "She was looking forward to everything," she said.
    Small said that Jaris talked about going to college, but she was more excited about what was happening this year, this month.
    "She knew what she wanted, but she also lived in the moment," he said.

Reach Cherise Forno at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at cherise.forno@dodgeglobe.com.