LOVE, JEFFREY DAVID – Jeff passed away peacefully on the morning of November 25, 2023 at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener.
Jeff is survived by his father Keith and his brothers Steven and Scott (April). He is predeceased by his mother Dawn. He is also predeceased and survived by several aunts and uncles, cousins, and in-laws. Jeff was an uncle to Marshall and Ruby.
Jeff was born in Guelph on July 24, 1972. Growing up, he had many friends in his neighbourhood and at school. He was outgoing, funny, upbeat, very bright, and an excellent student. One year, his Mom sat proudly in the audience when both he and Steven represented their respective classes at the same public speaking competition at Ottawa Cresent Public School. Jeff’s aptitude for learning was identified early and he was placed in the enrichment stream for Grade 7 and 8 students at King George Public School.
Not long afterwards, however, the trajectory of Jeff’s life changed profoundly. Sometime in his early teens, he developed schizophrenia, which would not be correctly diagnosed and treated for several years.
Jeff maintained an optimistic outlook despite the challenges he faced. He is remembered for being gentle, good-natured, courageous, and considerate.
Jeff had an exuberant approach to living and he expressed himself through visual art, creating new works until the end of his life. He played the piano and the guitar and he loved to sing – and even composed his own music. It’s a testament to Jeff’s unflagging positivity in the face of the challenges he endured that one of the many songs he composed included the lyric: “Ain’t it wonderful to be alive”.
Jeff appreciated spending time outdoors. He’d take lengthy walks throughout Guelph and later, in Kitchener, where he spent the last several years of his life. He always looked forward to visiting Lake Huron. In more recent years, he enjoyed camping up north. He loved movies. Listening to music was among his greatest pleasures.
Jeff is fondly remembered by the staff and residents of the Daring Residential Home in Kitchener.
His burial at Woodlawn Memorial Park, officiated by the Reverend Dr. Shirley Gale of Knox Presbyterian Church, took place on December 9, 2023. A celebration of Jeff’s life will be held in early 2024.
Jeff’s family is grateful for the assistance that he received from countless people in the health care and social services sectors: from staff at the group homes where he resided, to social workers and members of his Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team, to the people who arranged supportive housing for him, to the staff at the hospitals to which he was occasionally admitted.
To recognize the tremendous help that Jeff obtained from the two campuses of Grand River Hospital (Kitchener-Waterloo Health Centre and Freeport Health Centre) as well as its ACT Team, his family kindly requests that any donations in his memory be made to the Grand River Hospital Foundation to support its provision of mental health services.
Arrangements were entrusted to WALL-CUSTANCE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL (519-822-0051 / www.wallcustance.com).
A tree will be planted in memory of Jeffrey Love in the Wall-Custance Memorial Forest.