Eulogy for Friend :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Friend Today we celebrate the life of my dear friend, Jerome. Jerome, you were my teacher, my mentor and my dear friend. You provided me your counsel and wisdom. You shared your joyous smile and laugh. You shared your zest for life and the passion for all those things that were important to you. I know you would want me to share my Jerome story with everyone. It is the story of a teacher and student, a mentor and a friend. In 1984, Jerome’s first year at Duke, I was a first year law student. Jerome was my professor for Torts. We all got to know Jerome as more than just a professor. He joined in our after class pick-up basketball games and ran the court with his students. I had no idea at that time how important Jerome would become in my life. During my first year of law school, I was particularly challenged by the workload and my concerns about my ability to do as well as my peers. Jerome and I had many personal conversations where he encouraged me and told me to keep working hard. He assured me my performance would ultimately be reflective of how hard I worked. The first year of law school was very difficult for me financially as my fathers business had previously gone into bankruptcy leaving me with very limited family support. I had to finance my entire first year with student loans. Although I had done quite well academically my first year, thanks to Jerome’s continued support, I made a difficult life decision to drop out after my first year due to my financial difficulties. The same day I met with the Dean to discuss my decision, I later ran into Jerome near the student lounge. He knew something was not right and asked me if I wanted to talk. We then had another one of those personal conversations where I so much appreciated his counsel and insight. After my semester off, I returned to school with a new scholarship from Duke but still no place to live or means to support myself. Jerome very graciously offered me the opportunity to live in the upper floor of his home adjacent to East Campus. This was rent free in exchange for helping him fix up his house. Jerome allowed me to stay there through graduation. Jerome became a great friend and mentor to me as I always turned to him to discuss life’s challenges and opportunities. Eulogy for Friend :: Eulogies Eulogy Eulogy for Friend Today we celebrate the life of my dear friend, Jerome. Jerome, you were my teacher, my mentor and my dear friend. You provided me your counsel and wisdom. You shared your joyous smile and laugh. You shared your zest for life and the passion for all those things that were important to you. I know you would want me to share my Jerome story with everyone. It is the story of a teacher and student, a mentor and a friend. In 1984, Jerome’s first year at Duke, I was a first year law student. Jerome was my professor for Torts. We all got to know Jerome as more than just a professor. He joined in our after class pick-up basketball games and ran the court with his students. I had no idea at that time how important Jerome would become in my life. During my first year of law school, I was particularly challenged by the workload and my concerns about my ability to do as well as my peers. Jerome and I had many personal conversations where he encouraged me and told me to keep working hard. He assured me my performance would ultimately be reflective of how hard I worked. The first year of law school was very difficult for me financially as my fathers business had previously gone into bankruptcy leaving me with very limited family support. I had to finance my entire first year with student loans. Although I had done quite well academically my first year, thanks to Jerome’s continued support, I made a difficult life decision to drop out after my first year due to my financial difficulties. The same day I met with the Dean to discuss my decision, I later ran into Jerome near the student lounge. He knew something was not right and asked me if I wanted to talk. We then had another one of those personal conversations where I so much appreciated his counsel and insight. After my semester off, I returned to school with a new scholarship from Duke but still no place to live or means to support myself. Jerome very graciously offered me the opportunity to live in the upper floor of his home adjacent to East Campus. This was rent free in exchange for helping him fix up his house. Jerome allowed me to stay there through graduation. Jerome became a great friend and mentor to me as I always turned to him to discuss life’s challenges and opportunities.