Jay mourns loss of JHS grad

The town of Jay mourns the loss of 25-year-old Eric Godfrey, who was electrocuted Monday, Nov. 11, while working in Yalobusha County, Miss.

Godfrey was on a construction site in Oakland, Miss. and was laying a pipe underground when a machine made contact with an overhead power line, according to the Yalobusha County coroner.

A 2018 graduate of Jay High School, Godrey started playing football there in eighth grade as a starter and soon moved up to varsity. He received the Challenger Award in 2017 and was selected to play in the Subway Classic for football, where he played the receiver for that game, almost the entire game, according to his mother, Carly Enfinger.

"In his younger years, he played basketball on the Jay Recreational League," said Enfinger. "He played baseball with his stepdad, and coach, Greg, who raised Eric since he was 4. Greg got Eric into racing go-carts, and that took a lot of convincing for me because of safety,"

Enfinger said she only agreed to let Godfrey race go-carts if he had a roll cage, which she said were her terms, because of her safety concerns.

Godfrey was in Boy Scout Troop 408 and stepdad Enfinger was the scoutmaster.

"Eric was a very well-mannered kid and teen," said Carly. "He was a typical teen, which caused many gray hairs, but just a good kid. He has two brothers and a sister who lives in Louisiana, and although he didn't grow up with them, he loves them."

Enfinger says Eric was 7 when she and Greg married so it was him and one brother, JD, until a sister came along in 2008. She said there is two years between Eric and JD, who is an adult with disabilities. She said JD learned from watching Eric as the two grew, through normal daily living skills.

"Eric was patient with JD, helping him with his clothes, his shoes, brushing his teeth, washing," said Carly. "I was there, of course, and doing, but Eric didn't mind helping at any time."

Enfinger said when the family heard about Special Olympics, Eric was involved in his own sports, but as time went on, he was able to play football and run track with JD. She said they won medals together with their team.

"One year, they were recognized as the athlete and partner for our area and walked in front of the crowd for opening day at Special Olympics," she said.

Eric participated in the long jump, the 4 x 1 relay team and the 100-yard dash, but a pulled hamstring kept him from running at state, his mother said. Football was his passion, and he was both a wide receiver and safety who was really fast.

Enfinger said that at one of the Friday Night Rivals, Dan Shugart, there was a highlight of Godfrey running down the field for a touchdown and Shugart said," Man, look at those wheels, Godfrey in for the touchdown!"

Enfinger described her son as loyal and a defender, a supporter for those who were picked on, or those who didn't seem to have a lot of friends. She feels his athletic ability never went to his head, that he maintained a humble but fiercely strong stance and was quiet on the field.

Godfrey was raised at Cornerstone Christian Church, very involved with the youth. He sang in the youth choir and prayed for others, his mother said. At age 18, he and a friend got a tattoo, much to his mother's disapproval.

"I marched right into his room and said 'what are you hiding on your arm?'" said Enfinger. "He tried to squirm out of it, but I lifted his shirt sleeve up and there it was Phil 4:13. I mean, how can you get on to him for him getting a scripture? Ugh."

Godfrey moved out of his parents house at 19 to move in with a friend. He found out his biological father was diagnosed with cancer, so he moved in with him to take care of him. When his father passed in 2020, he moved to Birmingham and worked for a year before he loved to Louisiana, where he stayed about six months and met a young lady. The two married a year later, in August of 2024, shortly after Godfrey made the decision to come back to Florida and start a solid career.

"Yes, he was a great young man," said Enfinger. "He saw people as people, no matter how much money you had or if you had none, he was your friend. I'm proud of who Eric was, how he got to be the man he was."