Wednesday, May 12, 2021
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Jeff was a caring son. Jeff was a loving husband. Jeff was a giving father. Jeff was a brother. A brother, not just to Missy, Elizabeth and Jessie, but a brother to me. Let me tell you about the Jeff I know.
In February of 1982 when I was 10 years old, I moved from Jackson, NJ to 51 Bellmawr Dr, in Chili, NY, or as I thought for at least a week after we got there, Chilly, NY. Unbeknownst to me, a boy my age lived across the street at 50 Bellmawr. The next morning, that boy came to my door. I get to the door, and he says, “Hi. My name is Jeff. Do you like to play matchbox cars? “ I thought to myself, “Do I like to play with matchbox cars?!? You gotta be kidding me.. I had the biggest collection of matchbox cars, along with several different ramps that you could play with the cars on.” I said yes, gathered up some of them, and we spend most of that day playing with our cars together. I was SO excited to have met someone like Jeff that day. Here I am, a 10-year old boy moving to a different city and meeting a friend like Jeff on the second day of me being there meant so much to me. Jeff was always fun to be around. He was such a kind person. He and his family were so very generous.
As we got to know each other over the years, we did more things together. Jeff’s family would take camping trips every summer. Jeff asked me one of those first summers if I’d like to go with them for the weekend. I of course said yes. And we had a blast! I never camped before meeting Jeff. We played all day. It was so much fun. Then the family would make a campfire each night…that first night, I learned what a quickie pie was. It was awesome! You use this metal pie iron to make stuff in the campfire. I never knew you could do that. You use something called a pie iron…for those that haven’t used one before, is a way to cook grilled sandwiches and fruit pies over a campfire. You butter a piece of bread and put it face down on one side of the pie iron. Then you put whatever you want to make inside, you could do sauce, cheese and pepperoni for pizza, or you could fill it with fruit, then you butter the other piece of bread and put that on top and fold it together and stick it in the fire. Man, those were so good, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Then we’d go to bed and do the whole thing over the next day! I remember those days. I remember how fun they were. I remember feeling so thankful that Jeff’s family would bring me along each year. (I think one year I might have been a stow away. Not sure I had permission from any of the parents but snuck into their van anyway. And man did we have fun!
As the years went by, we played on the same soccer teams, rode the same bus, and were in many of the same classes together all the way through high school. We had so much fun together during those high school years and we grew much closer. Then came the summer after our senior year. Jeff broke his leg pretty badly, compound fracture, playing soccer for our travel team. Which is how our beloved friend Jeff took on the moniker “Crutch”. Jeff goes off to college at SUNY Oswego on crutches his freshman year. Oswego nation very quickly renamed Jeff “Crutch”. I’m still not sure most of his friends really knew his name was Jeff. I remember visiting Jeff many times in college. Had some great times in Oswego. From Barney’s freshman year to the Shack to Harborfest, I met some of Jeff’s really close friends, and for that, I am very thankful.
Around that time, I got to meet Laura. I knew from the moment I met her and saw him with her, they were meant to be together. I was honored to be one of Jeff’s best men at his wedding, as he was at mine. Yeah, that’s right...we were both so cool that we both had two best men! Crazy, right? (shout out to Todd Minnick, Jeff’s other best man) As we began to start and raise our families, it was my honor to meet Nick, Jeff and Laura’s son. Nick has grown into a truly exceptional young man. A brilliant engineering mind, which he is proving now while attending college at RIT. Very proud of you Nick, and know that Andrea and I will always be here for you.
Over the last 20 years, our families have enjoyed many dinners and game nights together. Nick introduced us to many new games that we wound up also getting. Jeff even pulled out the Karaoke machine one night and had us all singing! I believe maybe a little too much bourbon was enjoyed that particular night. But it certainly made our karaoke singing sound much better!! Man, we had so many good times together and I will cherish those memories.
While we all know how much Jeff loved his family and his friends, I think it would be remiss of me to not talk about Jeff’s other love....his love of going to concerts. I don’t know of anyone who has attended more concerts than Jeff. He LOVED seeing bands in person, and even meeting many of them. Anyone that was a friend with him on Facebook could tell. Seemed like every night he was at a different show. And that wasn’t too far from the truth. If I had to guess, he’s had to have seen over a thousand concerts. And I think 500 of them were Rick Springfield concerts! While Rick Springfield wasn’t Jeff’s favorite, he always loved enjoying those shows with Laura, who is Rick’s biggest fan. Jeff truly loved music, and spending that quality time with Laura was very special to him.
Jeff’s life makes me think of a quote that many attribute to Abraham Lincoln which I’m sure we’ve all heard…”And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count; it’s the life in your years”, and man, Jeff embodied this every day. He lived his life with fervor. He lived his life with passion. He squeezed all he could out of it. And during his time here with us, he touched each of us in so many different ways. I’ve been reading many of the tributes to Jeff over the past few days. Words like “loyal, smart, fun, talented and great friend are repeated many times. Jeff was indeed a great friend…a friend that I am very thankful to have known, and a friend that we will all miss so terribly.
To Laura and Nick, Andrea and I love you both and will always be here for you. You will always be part of our family. To quote my favorite movie of all time, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” Jeff, I hear the bells ringing, my friend. So as we say goodbye to our friend today, it’s not really goodbye, but rather see you later. I love you and miss you my brother, and I know we will see each other again one day. Godspeed.
