Lisa' Eulogy is below and also available under the MEMORIES tab, MEMORIAL PROGRAM: First off what an amazing family and community John, Tyler and I have. We are blessed to have your loving support. Although the last week has been overwhelming, it has also been healing. As many of you know or have come to know, Jeff struggled with the disease of addiction. Addiction is an illness; it is a physical, mental and spiritual disease. What some of you may NOT know is that Addiction is also a family disease as it affects the relationships of those close to the addict: parents, spouse, siblings, children, long-time friends and employers. It effects every area of life and in Jeff’s case also affected his teammates and the community. The compulsive use of drugs is NOT a choice. Addiction does not indicate a lack of love to family, friends and teammates. It is not a matter of love, is it an illness. As John, Tyler and I begin our journey to recover from this extreme grief, John and I truly believe in our hearts that there was a reason that Jeff was taken at such an early age. We don’t know all the specifics of God’s plan, but we DO know that God guided us every step of the way during our last 72 hours with Jeff. As a result, John and I have committed ourselves to making sure that Jeff’s passing means something; and for sure one of those things is to remove the Stigma of the disease. Society finds it hard to speak about addiction. Perhaps it is because we feel shame or embarrassment. Perhaps we feel we will be judged if people associate us with an addicted loved one. But I have to believe that is slowly changing due to Jeff’s passing. The day after Jeff died, his Facebook account blew up with condolences. Many were angry that this disease took him so young. Jeff’s passing prompted one of his friends who also struggled with the disease of addiction and has been sober for 4 years to speak up and publicly post about his anger but also the joy he shared with Jeff at a time they both shared sobriety together. We know that Jeff was progressing and maturing toward that feeling of joy but was met with a broken system that still struggles to recognize that addiction is an illness. We need to work to fix that broken system so that the brief windows of opportunities when someone does choose to reach for help the response is immediate with no delays. We hope that Jeff’s passing can inspire others to take action to erase the Stigma. Give those suffering credit as they struggle; give them credit for attempts at progress, even if their changes are not apparent. If the community comes together and can save just one life then I can only believe that God has taken our hands and will lead us all toward a miraculous healing.