Yesterday was Jeffrey's birthday - he would've been 61. There's not a day goes by that I don't think of him, usually with a smile because no one could make me laugh like he could.

People who didn't really know Jeffrey probably thought of him as kind of a tough guy. And he was . . . if he had to be. But the "real" Jeffrey had a soft heart that most people never saw. That's why I'm going to tell you my squirrel story.

One morning during the process of renovating Mama and Daddy's house, I found a dead squirrel on the dining room floor. It freaked me out because, first of all, what is a squirrel doing in the house (???) and it looked so healthy - why did it die? Plus, it appeared to be the squirrel that use to regularly visit Mama at the front door. Sad. A few minutes later, I went to the garage where guys were working on drywall and there's a baby squirrel running around back and forth between their feet! Poor little thing . . . he was about 3 1/2" tall and obviously traumatized.

So what did I do? I called Jeffrey. He stopped what he was doing and was at the house within 5 minutes or so with a small box in hand. We managed to get Baby Squirrel in the box and Jeffrey took him home. After some online research, he went out and bought some Pedialyte, which Baby Squirrel devoured and then curled up in the scraps of cloth that Jeffrey had put in the box for him. After more online research, he decided that raising Baby Squirrel would be more complicated than he first thought so he called Walden's Puddle, and they agreed to raise Baby Squirrel. He drove all the way out to Walden's Puddle (and if any of you have ever been there, you know how far that is . . . its waaay out in the woods), and handed Baby Squirrel over to their care. Before leaving, he also gave them money asking if it would " be enough to get Baby Squirrel through grade school?"

Now, how many men do you know that would've done all that for a little baby squirrel?

Jeffrey was opinionated and could lose his temper, but for the most part he was funny, generous and kind. Even we, his family, were surprised to learn the depth of his generosity after going through his personal belongings after his death. (But isn't that the way it is suppose to be? Aren't we suppose to help people in need without telling others and bragging about it?)

The Jeffrey I knew was a soft-hearted teddy-bear; and in honor of his birthday, I just wanted to share that side of him with you. Also, I know that most people knew him as "Jeff". But to me, he'll always be my little brother, Jeffrey.

Some Interesting Facts about Jeffrey:

He was an expert marksman with both rifles and small arms. He was on the Navy Shooting Team for the 1984 National Championship competition winning three 2nd place and 1 third place position.

He was a talented gunsmith.

He was a private pilot. (He also enjoyed his collection of remote controlled aircraft.)

He was a John Wayne fan.

He hated Highland Rim Speedway.

His favorite TV show was The Price is Right. He watched it every single day.

His music of choice was David Bowie, Pink Floyd and other artists from the 70s. Its what he listened to when he rode his motorcycle.

The reason he spoke so loudly was because of his hearing loss (a casualty of living so many years on an aircraft carrier) - he didn't realize that he was much louder than most other people.

He considered his time spent in the Navy to be the single most important thing he did in his life. He truly loved this country.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jeffrey. You can find more in a photo gallery here and an earlier blogpost here.