My Friend Jeff Johnson - Davis, CA 1957 to 2011

On April 21, 2011, my friend Jeff Johnson passed away peacefully after a lengthy illness.

I knew Jeff from my childhood in Davis, California. Jeff lived on a street very close to West Davis Elementary School that is now named the Cesar Chavez Elementary School. At that time, there were many kids in the neighborhood our age. It was a time when the town of Davis was very small. During the lazy summers, there was very little for young teenagers to do so we found ourselves obsessed with sports. The front of Jeff's house was our football field, basketball court, baseball diamond and tennis court. At night, we played the game "Kick The Can". I can vividly recollect the sparks flying off the can against the asphalt street as Jeff booted it. Since we didn't have a X-box or Playstation back then, we would even play the APBA Baseball Board Game in his driveway.

Jeff and I use to take our bikes to the Ben Franklin Dime Store and buy packs of baseball cards hoping we could score a Willie Mays. When the Sacramento Bee Newspaper was delivered, we would read the sports section line by line including the SF Giants box score from the last game.

One of Jeff's favorite games during the summer was Wiffle Ball. Jeff put up a broken Baseball Pitch Back Net and Frame against his garage door. The rules, if the Wiffle Ball hits any part of the net, it's a strike. Jeff was the master pitcher of Wiffle Ball, he could throw a Curve that broke 6 feet, a wicked Slider and a Side Arm pitch that dropped more than a foot. I could never hit Jeff's pitches and he was always up for a game of Wiffle Ball.

In later years, Jeff had a natural golf swing that transformed to baseball where hit could hit or golf a low fastball over any left fielder's head. 

It's been many years since I've seen Jeff. His passing has brought back many of the fine memories I had with him and our buddies during those lazy days in Davis, CA. He was a very good friend.

You can read Jeff's Obituary in the Davis Enterprise at:http://www.davisenterprise.com/obits/jeff-f-johnson/

A graveside service will be held on May 14, 2011, 4:30 p.m. at the Woodland City Cemetery, 800 West A St.