Jacob Sibley, 29, Air Force veteran who battled depression
Mr. Sibley took his own life May 11. His mother hopes that going public with his story will help other veterans struggling with mental illness.
Jacob Sibley appeared headed for his dream career.
After logging six years with the Air Force, the 2006 Upper Moreland High School graduate had reenrolled in Tulane University to complete coursework in the field of homeland and cyber security.
"He had a lot of friends, was active in campus and church activities, and was doing well in his classes," said his mother, Andi M. Sibley.
On Thursday, May 11, alone in his apartment in New Orleans, Mr. Sibley, 29, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His mother said he had been seeing a therapist and was in treatment for depression through the Veterans Administration.
"I thought he was doing better," she said. "He had been hospitalized for mental-health issues related to service injuries in November 2016, and I had been to New Orleans to visit him. He seemed to bounce back and was stable when I was with him."
"I am so sad that he was stuck in that dark place where so many have lost their lives," Lt. Col. Keven Coyle, Mr. Sibley's commanding officer at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, wrote to Sibley's mother. "He was a kind soul."
Mr. Sibley enlisted in 2010, interrupting his college classes at Tulane. He was deployed with the 960th Airborne Air Control Squadron. In 2015, he was transferred to the 552nd Operations Support Squadron (OSS). He attained the rank of staff sergeant and received the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and other decorations.
"We only send our best to the OSS, so Jacob going there means he was hand-selected because of his talents," Coyle wrote.
Trained to operate the long-range radar system for air defense that is carried by plane, Mr. Sibley became a technology ace. He earned an associate degree in information-systems technology from the Community College of the Air Force last spring.
Mr. Sibley served two deployments flying 100 combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan from a base near Abu Dhabi, and a third deployment in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, as a supplemental military policeman. He was honorably discharged last June.
He never sought the limelight. "I remember trying to present him with an award for superior performance during an inspection, and he didn't show up to the ceremony, so I hunted him down in his office and just gave it to him with a solid handshake and a thank-you," Coyle wrote. "He just preferred it that way."
Mr. Sibley's mother said she believes her son was coping with a traumatic brain injury and cognitive impairment, plus PTSD and depression. He spoke of sustaining two concussions while on duty.
"I know that he had flashbacks to his military experiences that he did not always share with me. He did not complain, but suffered in silence, protecting me from his deepest struggles," his mother said.
Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Sibley lived in Willow Grove before moving to New Orleans in 2008.
During high school, he worked part time at the Upper Moreland Library and at Authorized Camera Repair on Old York Road. After graduating, he worked for a year at Men's Wearhouse.
He was a devoted son and brother. His younger brothers were adopted during his teen years. Sibley, a single mother, said he was always willing to play games, take his brothers on excursions, and mentor them.
He enjoyed photography, as well as music and dancing, video games, movies, and cooking.
When in the Philadelphia area, he frequently went to South Street to meet up with friends, hang out in Rittenhouse Square, or dance in the clubs.
Helen Tiller, a Philadelphia friend, said Mr. Sibley texted often while away and visited when he was in town. "He had a great spirit," she said. "We are saddened by the thought of not having him around."
While growing up, he attended the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Hatboro. He was active in the Church of the Annunciation and NOLA Wesley, which is Tulane and Loyola University's combined campus ministry.
"He jumped into church activities, attended services, and volunteered in the office and around the building on several projects," his mother said.
She said she decided to go public with her son's story in the hope that it might help other families and veterans who are struggling with mental illnesses.
By taking his own life, Mr. Sibley joined the ranks of U.S. veterans aged 18 to 29 who have committed suicide at a rate that has steadily increased since 2001, while the rate for their civilian counterparts has remained the same. A 2016 VA report that aired that finding called for a renewed effort to find all veterans at risk for suicide and take steps to help them.
Besides his mother, he is survived by brothers Anthony and Marquis; father Raymond R. Baker Jr.; maternal grandparents Larry and Lois Sibley; stepmother Kia Connelly-Baker; sisters Hannah and Rebekah Baker; and paternal grandparents Raymond R. and Beverly A. Baker Sr.
A funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 31, at St. Anne's Episcopal Church, 2119 Old Welsh Rd., Abington. Interment will follow in the church memorial garden.
Because Mr. Sibley loved dogs, his mother requested that donations in his memory go to Alpha Bravo Canines via http://alphabravocanine.org/donate/. The nonprofit trains and donates service dogs to veterans.