JEFF'S PAINTING

When we moved into our new condo in November 1995, the man who lived across the hall came over to introduce himself. "Hi, I'm Jeff", he said in the friendliest tone one could imagine. He was a man who always had a twinkle of impishness in his eye. He had a genuine love for people and was always ready to praise those he knew and stood ready to lend a helping hand to everyone. We came to love him as a dearest friend and to enjoy spending time with him and his wife, Ann, even though he was fifteen years our senior. They were both such genuine Christians who loved the Lord. Jeff was what is commonly know as a lay person in a local church but he was a leader in service and evangelism and was very involved in the establishing and growth of many new church fellowships wherever he lived.

Jeff loved music, and had a rich baritone voice. We spent many hours in their condo across the hall talking about the Lord and everything else with much enthusiasm. Jeff bought an electric organ for Ann to play and for him to enjoy hearing her play. But when it came to Mary Lee and I, he most of all wanted to hear us play his organ, which was one of those that can produce many different sounds., organ, piano, jazz. etc. There were certain hymns which he would want me to play. Sometimes he would record on the organ so he could play them back later.

One day Jeff brought an antique picture of a country scene which his grandmother displayed in her home when he was a child which evoked many pleasant memories for him. But the picture was old and faded. He asked if he could commission me to do a painting of the picture for him. I agreed and subsequently showed it to him. He seemed overwhelmed and, to say the least, was quite pleased with the result. He hung the painting in his bedroom. Almost every time I would see him thereafter, Jeff would brag on the painting, saying it was the best one I had ever painted.

A couple years after I did the painting for Jeff, he contracted macular degeneration, and before long

he became legally blind and finally could not really see the painting with any real clarity. But this never deterred him from bragging about how beautiful the painting was. He continued to say it was the best one I had ever painted. Subsequently, Jeff and Ann moved out of our condominium, and then out of state to Maryland, and finally back to Salem . We visited them at every subsequent location where they resided. Jeff never failed to tell me how proud he was of his painting, assuring me that it was the best I had ever done.

In 2008, Jeff became very ill and was hospitalized. He requested to be taken home to die. The last time we visited Jeff, he was in and out of consciousness and more than likely did not know we were present with him. I held his hand and prayed with him and Ann and their two daughters. It was the last time we saw alive. The images I have of Jeff's painting will be a constant reminder of what a wonderful person he was and how great was our friendship with him and his dear wife. But even without the painting or images of it on my computer, we will never forget Jeff, his gentle ways, his humble spirit and his deep appreciation of the ones he knew and loved. As his obituary so aptly stated, he has gone "home to be with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

Jeff's Painting