Today...

Today,
I went to a funeral...

For one Amazing kid...

Jeff Ashby Wood
Born May 12th, 1994
Graduated July 29th, 2009

Our first year here in Orderville, my husband, Jeff taught 6th grade. One of his students was a quiet, funny, freckle-faced kid who had the same name as him.. He was quirky, hardworking, fun loving, and had a fascination with lawn-mowers. :) He was nice to everyone and had this constant little smile/smirk wherever he went. He took a real liking to my Jeff and invited us to some of his family birthday parties.
Last week, on Wednesday, July 29th, this 15 year old kid went to baseball practice just like any other day. He was there, playing a game he loved, with some of his best friends. Before he went out on the field to catch some balls, he complained of a side ache, but decided to go out and have fun anyway. Coach started hitting some balls out to everyone to catch, and one came towards him. The ball got away from him, and hit him in the side, and he fell to the ground. The coaches started CPR within 30 seconds, and the Ambulance, which happened to be next door at a training was there within two minutes. One of the EMTs on that night was his Dad, the Principal of Valley High School. As much as they tried to save him, Jeff never woke up...
Jeff's death was quite a shock to everyone in Valley. It has hit everyone very hard. This amazing kid was taken from this earth far sooner than we ever imagined.
The funeral was today and it was a sad, sad funeral. I broke down many times, especially after seeing his family...

...But at the same time...

It was a funeral full of hope and happiness. Hope that we would all live lives in order to see him again. Happiness because of the knowledge of Eternal Families and Love.

Everyone gave wonderful tributes to him, and told of funny memories that all made us laugh and cry at the same time. His Aunt called and asked if my Jeff would write a few memories down, since he was one of his favorite teachers. I hope he doesn't mind if I write a little of what he wrote:

"First and foremost the things I remember about Jeff are how I felt about him. He was a very sweet, very pure individual. He was kind and gracious to talk to and when he was complimented he would beam. I remember being amused at his love of lawn mowers when I found out. I thought it was such a cool thing to be interested in. He was a different kid than many out there. I remember him being reluctant to take part in the Pirates of Penzance, this was most likely due to his being shy and also very modest. His grandmother and mother came in a few times to visit about his progress with school work, I never felt very worried about him, because I knew he was a kid who would try hard and that he had the skills in place to be ready for his future. Dedication to good. A desire to work. Kindness and humility. Love for others.
Being invited to Jeff's party (two times!) was quite an honor for Jenna and I, the first time was at their home, the second was up at the family pond in Alton. I was glad he would think to invite me and felt also that his admiration of myself as a teacher was not as much something to be proud of, but more of a responsibility to be worthy of the admiration from such an admirable young man.
It is a sad thing that it is Jeff's time to be gone from this mortal existence, but I feel strongly that he is not a person who would really want a lot of attention and that he would want to get busy with his next project he needs to work on. Too bad for him, because we are going to give him a lot of attention anyway! He'd better be watching, or I'll have a talk with him at a future day...
I hope these memories help with your message on Monday. We will be there and look forward to many positive and uplifting messages and stories about a boy who brightened every life he touched and will continue to influence us not only through his memory, but most likely even more so by his continued service to us and others on the other side. Don't be surprised someday to be going about your work and to feel very strongly his spirit and influence.
Sincerely,
Jeff Corry

At the closing. his funeral, our Stake President said that we all have a certain amount of time allotted for us here. Sometimes that time is completed far earlier than we would imagine. But as long as we're living right, we will live up to our full amount. We have certain tasks to fulfill, and certain lives to touch while we are here on this earth... And we also have a lot of work to do on the other side once we complete our mission on earth. I know, like Jeff, that Jeff Wood won't be able to sit still for long- he has some great work to do with our Father. I'm so grateful at times like these to have that knowledge of the sealing power and eternal families.

We love you Jeff. We'll see you soon...