JEFF AND BUNNY LYNN

Jeff,

I have so many great memories of you that I could never list them all, and to choose my favorite would be simply impossible! One of my first memories of you will go back to a time when I was a little girl of 5, and you made Joey and I a wood swing in the front yard tree.  I remember feeling so excited I might as well of had Disneyland out front! Joey and I played for hours on that swing, with you pushing us and teaching me how to swing myself. The whole time I think you were having just as much fun as we were.  With a huge smile on your face, you never got tired of it, you never told us no, you just made sure we were having a great time! You have most definitely been the BEST Father figure a little girl could ask for. I felt so special and loved that you always included me as part of yours and Debbie's family. I spent countless times staying with you guys, and if ever there was a special place you were going, you always made sure to come and get me to go with you! Trips to the beach, to the park, Disneyland or just out for ice cream are memories I will always cherish! You were the one who taught me how to swim and how to ride a bike, you were the one that taught me to drive a car. We have laughed ourselves silly.  Remember our little songs and routines we would make up? Really good times.... You have been and still are such an important person in my life.  I thank God that He gave you not only to my big sister,  but to all of us as well! You have such a big heart Jeff,  that there is more than enough love to go around...you have the ability to make each one of us feel so special.  So here's to you, and your 60 wonderful selfless, caring, loving and teaching years on Earth.  Enjoy this season of life... you deserve it!
Thank you for being you! All my Love, Bunny Lynn

LIFE WITH "FATTY" AND "BALDY"

Jeff ,
The picture to the left, which hung in your office at Canon, will always remind me of all the great times we had working together. Through the 25 years we've spent in this business, the ones we spent together were by far the best. Our statement of "We'll never be 60 years old, wearing a plaid coat and soup-stained tie, knocking on doors have come to haunt us!" (at least you, I'm not quite there yet). Seriously, you have always been a great brother-in-law, mentor and friend. I sincerely appreciate the walk we've had through life together. Wishing you all the best Jeff (Fatty) on your 60th.
Dave (Baldy)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FATHER- IN- LAW!

Dad,

That name has never been awkward for me to say, as you give it it's true meaning. Although I did not get the honor of being your actual daughter, I am absolutely blessed to have you as my father in law. Your positive attitude towards life is my #1 favorite thing about you. Whenever I am feeling down, your voice always pops into my head with remarks like, "But on the other hand"...  You always find ways to look at things for the better, no matter what the circumstance are.  I am so fortunate to be a part of this family and will always look up to you and Debbie as my role models.  A special funny thing that we share and will always will stick with me, is of course the man voice saying, "Leah!"  It makes me laugh every time I hear it.  For those who are reading this and are wondering what the man voice is, I will explain.  One day I walked into our house with a REALLY deep voice shouting, "Joe Class!"  Joe had no idea who it was, and it scared him to death!  It was so funny.  Needless to say, he made me share my man voice with his family, and so from that day on, most of my conversations with Jeff start with his deep voice saying, "Leah!", and my deep voice coming right back, haha.  From your sarcastic but fun personality, to your welcoming open arms, Dad you truly are amazing, and I wish you the best birthday ever!

Love Always,

Leah

Uncle Jeff

Wishing you a very happy 60th (wow!) Birthday!

I am so blessed to have you as one of my uncle's in my life. Truely, I tended to spend a lot of time with you and Debbie growing up, as I seemed to spend almost entire summers at your house...I remember many days of swimming in your pool, playing ping pong on the side yard, and in fact, learned how to ride a bike out in front of your house! You were always there, in on all the action and I loved how involved you always were with your kids. After long days of swimming you'd be right there bringing popsicles out to Mel and I, and after long days of barbie games, we'd come down to dinner or fun desserts. You always made me feel as if I was part of the family, and even though I'm sure I'd managed to over stay my welcome...with spending the night at your house for at times, DAYS ON END, you always seemed happy and excited to have me there. As I've gotten older, my family and I still always feel that you are so excited to see us and are interested in what's going on with our lives. You have been such a blessing to my family and I and we all look up to you in so many ways...again, HAPPY 6oTH BIRTHDAY!!

Love always, Jess

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!

I like playing football with Grandpa!

Love, Cody

Happy Birthday Pops!

Here’s a few of my favorite memories and things I love about my dad.

Thunderlips - When I was little, every day when my dad got home from work we played a wrestling/fighting game called Thunderlips. I was Rocky Balboa and he was Thunderlips (a wrestler played by Hulk Hogan in Rocky3). To this day I can clearly hear my dad yelling, “you’re in trouble Balboa!”. I remember thinking he sounded just like Hulk Hogan. I also remember feeling so lucky that I had a WWF wrestler in my own house.

Farnsworth - My dad often told bedtime stories about a little boy named Farnsworth. There were several variations of the story, but it usually involved Farnsworth taking his dad’s gun without permission, and an inevitable encounter with a bear. All versions were similar, and I’m sure I listened to a few repeats, but each time I was totally into it.

Basketball - More Saturday and Sunday afternoons than I could possibly count were spent in our driveway playing Basketball. In addition to those weekend games, there were times during the week I would be playing with my friends when my dad got home from work. He would run into the house at a hundred to change out of his work clothes so he could get in on the action. Without exaggeration playing basketball with my dad were some of the best times of my life.

Spiritual Life - My dad has always been a great example of what it means to be a Christian man. He can make mistakes like anyone else, but he often puts the needs of other people ahead of his own. One of the greatest things I’ve learned from my dad is that you’re not too good, too important, or too busy to help someone. There is no doubt in my mind that this attitude is so ingrained in him because of the love he has personally received from Jesus Christ. This passage from Philippians kind of sums up what I’ve seen in his life, and what I will hopefully follow in.

Philippians 2:3-11 “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,  he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.  Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."


Happy Birthday!

Love,

Jim

Life with Jeff

Observations of the last 37 years

By Joe and Greta

Jeff Class where do I start?

Jeff joined Greta’s family 37 years ago.  He left Lincoln Nebraska on what he thought was a short trip. But on that trip he met a young girl named Debbie. His life was changed from a rowdy Big Red football star to a husband and father in a very short period of time. Greta has many remembered times of Jeff over the years as his life changed and more children were added to Jeff and Debbie’s family. He is a very loving and caring husband and father. He treats Debbie like a princess and his children will always remember him not only as their father but also like their big brother.

I (Joe hall) came into Greta’s life 31 years ago and an early memory was watching him play with Joey, John, and baby Jimmy in the entrance of the home they had in Cypress. This was the time when Rocky Balboa was one of the big movies. I remember Jeff with the three boys circled around him and he was pretending to be Rocky Balboa and had his fists up he would  face each of the boys in turn and  say Rocky’s famous words, "Come on sucker do your best."   Jeff would fall back with any punch the boy’s threw and they would all jump on him.  Whenever they rough house like that Grandma would shout stop it someone is going to get hurt. Of course they did not stop it, they were having too much fun.  Of course now that Jeff is an old man of 60 he has to back off or he could get hurt.  ; )  The boys can all hold their own now.  When Melody was born he now had a girl so he had to ease up on the rough house tactics. Melody has just had a baby boy and by the time he is ready to rough house, Jeff will be too old.

    

 Happy Birthday Jeff

60 Years old WOW

Happy Birthday

Jeff,

I hope you have a wonderful 60th birthday. You have been a wonderful Brother-in Law. I have so many wonderful memories. My gosh how the years have flown by. I remember the night that you and Debbie lead Dave and I to the Lord, and all the wonderful Bible Studies we shared over the years. I look back at all the wonderful family gatherings we shared, as our kids grew up together.
O.K. so some of the gatherings I am looking back with rose colored glasses, but I chose to only remember the good stuff. LOL. My memory is so limited any more that I have to eliminate some of it. So have a wonderful day and a wonderful year, Jeff. Enjoy being a Grandpa. You have been blessed with so many wonderful Grandchildren. You are a wonderful person. God Bless
Love, Rhoni

Uncle Jeff

Happy 60th Birthday!! I don't even know where to start with all the wonderful memories I have of you. You have always been one of my favorite uncles. I can remember playing in your pool and you letting us crawl up on your shoulders and then you would launch us into the water. It felt like we could fly! I loved how you were always right there with us splashing and having a great time. I remember how when all the guys were playing Basketball out front that you were always ok to let me play, even though I was normally one of the only girls! Then after growing up I was blessed with the opportunity to work with you. I loved coming to work and seeing you there, smiling every morning and say " Morning Crissy" You always had great stories to tell that were so funny my stomach would hurt from laughing. You have always been such a role model for me. You have shown me how much fun life can be and to always find the good in things, that even though your an adult its ok to get in there and play like your one of the kids. Thank you for all the wonderful memories and here's to many more to come! Love you Uncle Jeff!!
Love, Crystal

Grandpa

I liked when you took me to Disneyland and bought me my toy rifle.

Love Jeffie

Grandpa

Dear Grandpa,

Happy 60th Birthday to the BEST GRANDPA IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE! Wow, it seems like just yesterday those Buzzy Bees were attacking me no matter what. It's funny how they never seemed to stop buzzing.  Those Buzzy Bees were crazy!  It seems to me the older you become the more energy you have to keep a smile on everybody's face. You and I have had some really good laughs together from Buzzy Bees, to beating me at ping pong, to throwing me in the pool 1000 feet in the air on summer days, to beating me in basketball.  Its crazy how much I miss seeing you almost every single day when you lived right down the street.  I hope you know your not getting older, your becoming a better grandfather to everyone each step you take.  Hope you have the best 60th Birthday any grandpa could have! Love you super duper much! (:

Love Always,

Your Little Linds(:<3

Dear Grandpa,

You are the best grandpa that anyone could ever ask for. You have so much energy and you know exactly how to make every single person in the family laugh like crazy even if they are having a terrible day. I remember when my dad would pick me up and say "Were going to Grandma and Grandpa's house."   I would get so excited and jump around in my carseat.  We would always have so much fun! We would play tumbling towers or whatever it was called and I would make you play it with me over and over again. From buzzy bee's, to eating those yummy lime Popsicles on summer days by the pool, to long board games, to ping pong, and to basketball games that I always seemed to loose, I realize just how absolutly lucky I am to have a great grandpa like you. Happy Birthday and thank you for being such a great grandpa. I love you so much!

One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. Psalm 145:4

With lots and lots of love,

Annabel <3 (:

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Grandpa !

Grandpa, my favorite is when you call me "Buttercup Girl".

Love, Donatella

Grandpa, I love to play the Bee game with you!

Love, JD

Grandpa, my favorite thing about you is when you play tiger.

Love, Capri

Father In-Law

Dear Dad,

I thought long and hard about what to write here. I have decided to just list out my favorite things about you.

My favorite thing about you is how selfless you are. You go out of your way to serve all of us. You pick up our favorite things to eat at the store, and bring it to us at just the right moment. You miss important events to babysit sick grandkids. You stand off to the side of the really fun stuff we do just to hold the littlest one who can't participate. You clean up our messes so we can relax when we visit. No one ever asks you to do it, you just do. You're just so thoughtful and we love you for it.

Another of my favorites is just how safe we all feel with you around. You are the gentlest giant I have ever met. You are the perfect mix of strength and gentleness.

You make us so comfortable, we always feel like we can relax with you around. (Especially Tella)

I love that you wrestle around with my kids, and that at a moments notice can take on one of your sons and wrestle them to the ground. I love that you remember everyone's name, and every detail that they every told you. I love how friendly you are, and that you know someone everywhere we go.... and if by some off-chance you didn't know somebody, you make a new friend and leave with their phone number.

I love that you leave yourself annoying notes about how to put up Christmas lights, and will ride the imaginary bicycle in the window upon request. I love how you make us all laugh. I love the stories of you that James tells me from when he was younger, like the time some kids toilet papered your house and when they thought they got away they found you sitting in the back of their van. And the time you put up a reward for a stolen bike or something, only to have the thief return it and you confront them with that knowledge. I love that you are good at everything, and that no one ever forgets you once they've met you. I love it that we know you are looking forward to JD's sports career, and we just know you will be actively involved in whatever sport he chooses (obviously football!).

I love that all my friends are jealous that you are MY father-in-law!!!!!!

But the #1 favorite thing I love about you is this:

Your amazing son that is your exact clone!

Let me explain. It's because of you & the decisions you made in your life that your son is the man he is today. Because you chose Christ, James had your example to follow. It's because you loved and provided for your family that James does too. It's because you are a strong manly man not afraid to fight for his family, that James is too. Because you so selflessly love & prefer your wife, James does too. Because you hung Christmas lights every year, our house is beautifully decorated. Because you overbuy at the grocery store, James does that too.

Bottom line, I love the example you are as a son, father, and grandfather. You set a high standard, and I'm grateful for it!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Larissa

Awesome Uncle!

Uncle Jeff, there are many memories I have of you messing around wrestling with me and my brother. Many memories playing with you in your pool. Whether it was swimming competitions, chicken fights, seeing who can dunk whose head under the water first. I have many memories playing basketball in front of your house with all of the family. Playing football in front of your house and at the beach with all of the family. You know how to interact with kids very well with physical activities and an awesome positive/outgoing personality. You're a really a cool guy. There is just something that defines you as a macho man and a role model. You have a personality that likes to get down to brass tacks and also know how to have a great time messing around and being awesome and funny. I would have to say I don’t know anyone like you and that’s a great thing. We've had many great times together and that’s what life is about. Thank you so much for being such an awesome Uncle, Happy Birthday! -Love Ant

My dad IS the best dad!

It doesn't take a lot of time to see that my dad is better than most dads.  He's all the wonderful things that great dads are, and then some.  As a kid I didn't realize how good I had it.  I just sort of assumed all kids had a great dad.  Didn't all kids have a dad whose arms they jumped into the second he walked through the door?  Didn't all kids have a dad who would spend hours helping them put together a science fair project?  Didn't all kids have a dad who took joy in watching a bunch of kids play 6 games of softball in 100 degree heat after they'd been working all week?

I remember one of the first times I realized how lucky I was. We were on our way to New Jersey for a softball tournament. My dad was going with me, and I was nervous to fly. I remember sitting on the ground at the airport, my back against the wall, N Sync playing on my walkman. I heard a harsh voice above the music. It was my coach, yelling at his daughter. I didn't hear what he said, but I caught the hurt and angry look on her face when he turned his back.

"Gum, Melly?"

I looked up and saw my dad had returned with 3 different kinds of gum. If you know my dad, this does not surprise you at all. He wanted to be sure to have enough, and to have the kind that everyone would like. At that moment I realized I was so glad he was my dad, and my coach wasn't. In fact, I couldn't think of a single dad on that team that I'd rather have than my own.

I could tell a hundred stories like this one about my dad. Times that he has filled my car up with gas for no reason, made a special trip to the grocery store just so I would have the food I liked when I came to visit, or made me breakfast and coffee just because he wanted to. He is truly the most generous and giving man that I know.

I can't wait for Sam to get to know his grandpa, and to hear stories of Farnsworth.


Happy 60th birthday Dad!


Love,


Your Melly

BLESSED!

Dear Jeff

I don't think I could come up with a favorite memory (like I told everyone else to do haha) if I tried.   After almost 37 years together, there is simply WAY too many to choose from.  We have gone from kids really, to "senior citizens" haha, and everything in between.   Though many of our moments together might seem very ordinary, together they've made a whole lifetime of memories that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.  So then I began to think about what words I might use to describe you, and our life together best, and the first one that popped into my head was strong.  Not only unbelievably strong physically of course, but strong in every way I needed you to be.  Strong spiritually, strong emotionally, and strong in all the ways it is important for a man to be strong.  Someone I could count on no matter what life might be happening to throw our way.  The next word might be helpful.  I know it seems like a weird word, but it just soo describes who you are.  Always, and I mean ALWAYS ready and willing to help me with whatever it is I was needing.  I will freely admit I have always been a little high maintenance, lol, especially in these last few years where I honestly don't know what I would have done without you.  From doing our grocery shopping, to keeping my car full of gas, to making sure I have all of my "supplies", to cooking for me, and right down to letting me control the TV remote, haha, the list seriously could just go on and on.  But it goes beyond what you just DO for me to be helpful, it would have to include how you are always willing to talk me through something, cheer me up when I need it, and encourage me with whatever it is I am trying to accomplish. You just have a servants heart, and I have basked in the benefits of that pretty much our entire life together.  The next word I would chose would have to smart!  Now I know it isn't something I have probably let you know too much, smile, but it is just so true.  I guess I don't have to explain to you (of all people) how "challenged" I can be in some areas, and it always made me feel good to know, that you just  KNEW IT...The next word is provider.  This is an area I know that I have never really given you any where near enough credit for what you truly deserve.  The fact that you have always worked hard, is just that... a fact.  Your hard work provided us with a standard of living I really appreciate, and enabled me to never really have to work outside of our home.  I love that you always just considered it your responsibility and never seem annoyed or irritated when you came home from work (this has been just in the last few years of course, haha) and found me lying on the couch watching TV and still in my PJ's.  Now for any of those who might be reading this, it doesn't happen very often, but it HAS happened, and he greets me with a laugh saying, "Looks good to me."  I guess I could go on and on but I imagine it is time to nip this, so let me just say this, My life with you has just been blessed.  That truly is the best word to describe it.  I love you soo much more now than I ever imagined I could, and I thank God everyday for you!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  And may the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, now and always....

Debbie