Throughout our lives we all meet special people. My life changed forever following the passing of someone very special to me. My "uncle" Jody was a man with Down syndrome who my family and I have cared for since I was born. At the time of her passing Jody was sixty-five years old. Jody lived a long and rewarding life. The impact Jody had on the lives of many people was immense and immeasurable. Jody Snell will never be forgotten because he had the innocence of a child, always beat the odds and loved everyone he met. Jody Snell was born into this world on June 14, 1942. He was born with a genetic condition known as Down syndrome. At the time of Jody's birth this condition was relatively unknown and her future was up in the air. Doctors had no idea what his mental abilities would be, and no one expected the impact his initial "deficiencies" would have on many memorable moments in the years to come. Without a doubt, Jody was born into a family that cared for him and loved him. His mother became a stay-at-home mother and cared for him immensely every day. Jody was the eldest of his three brothers and has always been their big brother. Jody was a great protector, who cared for them more than anything. However as time passed, the other children aged both physically and mentally. Due to his condition, Jody has always remained at the age of five in terms of mental capacity. While most teenagers already understood the truth about Santa Claus, Jody Snell never stopped believing it. Jody never stopped trying to figure out what she would get from Santa Claus. He would always sit around the tree and shake his presents violently to try to figure out what he was getting. He spoke with curiosity, often wondering aloud "How does Santa Claus deliver all the presents to all the children in the world?" Every Christmas Eve, Jody would sit and try to wait and see Santa Claus come in. You had to be careful, because Jody was very alert and easily woken up by loud noises. So while we were bringing the presents, one of us stood by Jody's bedroom door to make sure she couldn't get out while we were putting the presents away.