I am the sports director at the YMCA Jeff coached at. He was a great blessing to not only the kids he coached but also to the YMCA and our staff. Upon hearing about this tragic lose, I have heard so many great comments about Jeff. I’ve heard about his great love and dedication to his children. I’ve heard about how great of a volunteer he was for all those children he reached as a volunteer coach. I could not agree more. Jeff was an outstanding volunteer. His interaction with both the coaches and the participants was great. He made the game fun. You could always see the joy not only on the faces of the kids, but also on his. His love and dedication to his children could not have been more apparent, not only in the sports leagues, but even in his day to day interaction with Kaytlynn and Dustin when he brought them into the Y. You could see the love he had for them and the great attention he showed them. It was always refreshing to see. Jeff will never be forgotten at the YMCA. I have already had patches added to the sleeves of our upcoming sports leagues shirts with his initials and a clover, both knowing and sharing his love for the Irish. Jeff has been a true blessing to us as an organization and to me personally and we plan to carry on his story and honor him in many ways. Our prayers are with all those that mourn this tragic lose.

Jeff (Jake) was my older brother. I grew up looking up to him and idolizing him. As a child i admired his strength, his humor, his affection, and his ease of being with people. As an adult I grew to admire these and many other characteristics of his on a more mature level. He would do anything for his children. He was full of love and life. He had an ability to forgive and forget so much. He could always find humor to help ease difficult situations, a quality that I have been trying emulate to help get through this difficult time. He was a man of faith, especially upon returning to the Church in recent years, who wanted to impart that faith to his children. He selflessly coached his children and others without pay. He valued family and friends to such a high degree. These qualities among others made him a wonderful role model, father, son, brother, and friend to so many. I will miss him tremendously. He was too young. I know that he would want us to press on, keep the faith, and continue to live. That is what I plan to do. It is the best way I know how to honor him.