Christopher Sparkman wanted to continue his career as an air traffic controller after he left the Army, but in the meantime he worked as a security guard.
Sparkman, 28, remains in the hospital recovering after being shot last week while on duty at the FedEx distribution center in Kennesaw, where he was perhaps the first person encountered by a gunman identified by police as 19-year-old Geddy Kramer.
“Prayers for my family please. Prayers,” Sparkman’s sister-in-law, Jenna Lee Brannen, wrote on her Facebook page.
In less than a month, Sparkman is due to celebrate the first anniversary of his marriage to Brannen’s sister, Jamie Lynn.
He courted her from Kuwait, where he was serving as an air traffic controller, after her older brother, Jared, introduced them on Facebook. Despite the distance, their relationship quickly took off.
“With an 8 hour difference, sleep no longer mattered for these two — Chris would give Jamie early morning wake up calls and Jamie would stay up late to be on Skype when he woke up,” their wedding website recounts.
“They encouraged each other, shared a special connection through their love of music, and Jesus. Jamie was attracted to Christopher’s joy. Christopher adored Jamie for her sweet demeanor, and her fun-loving, confident disposition.”
Their first face-to-face date was in September 2012, when Sparkman came home on R & R. He picked her up at sunrise, took her to breakfast, and then to the church pastored by the Rev. Richard Hemphill, Trinity Fellowship in Marietta.
Just five months later, after his deployment ended, he “surprised Jamie Lynn with a beautiful ring while sitting in his truck at sunrise one chilly Sunday,” their website says. They sealed their engagement by returning to the same breakfast spot and going to church at Trinity Fellowship.
Hemphill presided at their wedding. His son, Timothy Hemphill, was one of the groomsmen.
Tuesday, the pastor described Sparkman as “a very likable servant personality. He is very strong, and that is going to help him in the situation he is in now.”
Sparkman was being treated at WellStar Kennestone Hospital, according to family members and friends. He underwent surgery twice during the day, Hemphill said.
Officials had not released the identities of any of the six victims from Tuesday’s FedEx shooting, but the hospital listed a 28-year-old man in critical condition.
“The next 48 hours will be crucial to him,” said Hemphill, who spent the day at the hospital with the family.
Sparkman was born and spent his childhood in Thomasville. He moved to Acworth when he was 14 and graduated from North Cobb High School.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he took courses at Southern Polytechnic State University and Kennesaw State before enlisting in 2009. In the Army’s air traffic control school, his profile says, he graduated No. 1 in his class.
On the couple’s wedding site, Sparkman confessed that he enjoyed working out “so he can eat sweets all day long.” He professed himself a fan of music from the 1990s and “all Butch Walker,” as well as the “proud owner of an ’87 Chevy Silverado.”
When the gunman entered the FedEx facility Tuesday morning, Sparkman’s shift was almost over, Hemphill said.
“We really don’t know much about what happened,” he said. “A person approached the front door three minutes before he was to get off his shift and started shooting.
“He was about ready to get off. His relief was there standing beside him.”
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