Jed and I lived fairly close together and so we often used to walk home at the end of the school day. We became very good friends. I was his best man at his wedding and he was mine at ours. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh and, having been in the Army ROTC program, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army.
We were both going to be officers in the Army. Unfortuantely, and it was a great disappointment to him, sometime after his officer basic training he was informed by the Army that he would not be going on active duty. He was separated from the service. The Vietnam War was winding down and the Army simply had too many soldiers. I suspect it was made worse for for him because I did become an officer.
1971 was the last time that we saw eachother. We sent Christmas cards for many years but eventually we both allowed that to stop. We had a brief telephone call in 2012. Then late in 2015 Jed surprised me by calling again. I thought it was great that we were talking again and I asked him a lot of questions. But it was a strange call. Jed's answers were short and he didn't seem to want to talk very much. Then suddenly he said, "You know, you were my very best friend." I began to reminisce but he didn't and our phone call ended soon after. I thought it strange.
We received a card and letter from Jed's wife Sandy in January of 2016 notifying us that Jed had died. It really hit me then - I was too slow to realize - Jed had called to simply say goodbye. He was dying. I wish he had just told me that. So much was left unsaid. I miss my friend.
Jed and I played a lot of baseball as kids. He was a pitcher and I was his catcher. That relationship formed a bond and trust between us. One baseball story I'd like to share is when we were playing Butler in 8th grade. I always talked to the batters and while Jed was pitching with two strikes on the batter, the batter turned around and said "What did you say?" The umpire said "Strike three." The ball was pitched as the batter was talking to me. We had a good laugh. Jim
After high school I used to run into baseball players from other schools we had played. They would always ask me : Who was that catcher you had.??? He talked to much when I was batting. lol Rest in Peace Jed. Didnt really get to know .
Gary Kirchberger
Jed and I lived fairly close together and so we often used to walk home at the end of the school day. We became very good friends. I was his best man at his wedding and he was mine at ours. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh and, having been in the Army ROTC program, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army.
We were both going to be officers in the Army. Unfortuantely, and it was a great disappointment to him, sometime after his officer basic training he was informed by the Army that he would not be going on active duty. He was separated from the service. The Vietnam War was winding down and the Army simply had too many soldiers. I suspect it was made worse for for him because I did become an officer.
1971 was the last time that we saw eachother. We sent Christmas cards for many years but eventually we both allowed that to stop. We had a brief telephone call in 2012. Then late in 2015 Jed surprised me by calling again. I thought it was great that we were talking again and I asked him a lot of questions. But it was a strange call. Jed's answers were short and he didn't seem to want to talk very much. Then suddenly he said, "You know, you were my very best friend." I began to reminisce but he didn't and our phone call ended soon after. I thought it strange.
We received a card and letter from Jed's wife Sandy in January of 2016 notifying us that Jed had died. It really hit me then - I was too slow to realize - Jed had called to simply say goodbye. He was dying. I wish he had just told me that. So much was left unsaid. I miss my friend.
Jim Ropel
Jed and I played a lot of baseball as kids. He was a pitcher and I was his catcher. That relationship formed a bond and trust between us. One baseball story I'd like to share is when we were playing Butler in 8th grade. I always talked to the batters and while Jed was pitching with two strikes on the batter, the batter turned around and said "What did you say?" The umpire said "Strike three." The ball was pitched as the batter was talking to me. We had a good laugh. Jim
Richard Otto
After high school I used to run into baseball players from other schools we had played. They would always ask me : Who was that catcher you had.??? He talked to much when I was batting. lol Rest in Peace Jed. Didnt really get to know .