I have this vivid and wonderful memory of Jeremy wearing his usual khaki pants and a white Tshirt. We are in 7th grade. I met him in Virgil Junior High School. We had homeroom together with Mr. Lee. I was a quiet kid, always played by the rules and mostly kept to myself.  He sat behind me and every day, he would always pull my hair! Lol! Like I had a sign in the back of my head that said "Pull here!" He was a little troublemaker. He would talk back to our teacher and always joked around in class. "Welcome Back, Kotter,"  the popular 70"s TV show, was big then and Jeremy seem to jump out of the TV screen to land in our homeroom as a real life jokester.  Class was a party ......and he was the life of that party! He just wanted to have fun and laugh. He was the kind of kid who didn't take things seriously.

Decades passed and there he was! In front of my parents' house! In uniform!  Jeremy grew up to be our carrier delivering mail to all of our block and the surrounding areas. Always seen in his mail truck cruising around our hood, he worked as our personable, friendly, fun mailman way before the area was even  known as Historic Filipinotown;   and he continued delivering our mail for decades. These short mailbox encounters over the years were our bonding time.  We went through alot of big life episodes together during these moments near the mailbox;  I met him there when I wanted to pick up my mail. Jeremy was there for my Lola's sickness, my parents' terminal illnesses, my mom's passing, my aged father's relocation to the Philippines, the challenging aftermath of cleaning up their lives as an only child, the agonizing refurbishment and remodeling of their old homes, my coming in and out of these homes after alot of moving and "escaping". (I always made sure he knew where to send my mail.) Together through the years, we saw the changes that happened in our area,  the gentrification of our block and the changes in our own lives.  Through it all, he was a patient, sympathetic ear. That little rascal I met in junior high turned out to be a great friend, a good man with a big heart filled with sincere empathy to life and its woes. Through all of life's transitions, he was there. Jeremy probably didn't realize how much it mattered.  I have fond memories of talking to him on my front lawn when he passed by in his mailtruck making his rounds. During the course of many years, we shared alot of conversations out there in front of my house. I am sure I speak for many Virgil and Belmont alumni living in the area who perhaps had the same experience;  Jeremy, our friend, was kind of a reliable, friendly, funny,  daily fixture. Whenever he delivered mail, he always stopped by to shoot the breeze, share a laugh and just check in. His steady presence was like family to me, to us and to the neighbors he served through his job at the US Postal Service. Sadly, when I finally moved out of the neighborhood, for good this time,  we lost touch.

I was stunned to hear of his passing. I had no idea that he was dealing with major health issues.

I will miss you, my friend. That memory of you in homeroom will always put a big smile in my face and in my heart. You rest easy and I will see you again at the pearly gates to share a few laughs - hopefully not anytime soon. 

God bless you and keep you, Jeremy. Heartfelt sincere condolences to your bereaved family and friends.  Thank you for being a part of our lives.             

💐🌿💛