Blog

First Day of Class

I'm sure it was my first class I walked into as a college freshman Monday morning at 8am. I walked across the mall from the cafeteria (Seay Student Center) to Smith Science Building (now Smith-Broyles Science Center) and into my first biology class in college. The professor was a short dark haired man, probably close to the age I am now, with a gleam in his eye. Thus began my biology major and the first meeting of one of my favorite professors of all time. I only took two classes from him, but he made a huge impact on me in only those two classes. Though, I was a pre-med biology major and my advisor was the other half of the biology department, Dr. Knight, I was convinced I was Dr. Jeffiries favorite student.

One of my favorite memories of Dr. Jeffries is of him telling a joke in class. He and I would be the only two laughing at his corny, witty, intelligent, and yes, funny joke. He would sigh, say "oh well", shrug, and continue teaching. All the while, his eyes are gleaming and shining brightly.

Memories

November 1st I attended his memorial service at University of the Ozarks. I still can't believe he's gone. I saw him this past spring as I was waterfall hunting near Clarksville. I met him at Russelville PetSmart during the pet adoption as he helped with finding forever homes for pets from Needy Paws Animal Shelter in Clarksville. He did this most weekends. While he loved cats, he did so much to find forever homes for so many dogs in the Clarksville area. We had a chance to catch up and visit. I still walked away feeling I was his favorite student from days gone by.

At his memorial service, I heard one of his other favorite students speak about learning she wasn't his only favorite student either. He had this way of making every student feel as if they were his favorite. He touched so many lives in Clarksville, at the University, at the shelter, among his colleagues, of his students, and (for a cat person) numerous dogs. He loved trees, lichen, animals, people, and planet Earth. His life was truly a life well lived.

Where to Begin?

How do you honor a life so well lived? How do you even begin to say thank you for the faith he placed in you? The belief that he and Dr. Knight had in you that carried you through some dark days in medical school when you thought you might fail or wanted to give up. How do you say thank you for that? Well, you start somewhere.

I have decided to join with Needy Paws Animal Shelter and to begin donating paintings for them to use as fund raisers. I'm going to donate each painting in memory of Dr. Douglas Jeffries. It's what I can do. It's a start. Read more about their organization here. 

I heard back from Needy Paws this week, and they have wisely chosen Cornelius Falls as their first painting. This was one of the falls I visited the last time I saw Dr. Jeffries. I think it's perfect for them to have this painting. They have decided to hang this in the shelter to honor his memory.