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In memory of

TJ (Thomas Jason) Rafferty

West Hollywood, CA

September 19, 1975 - August 3, 2019

Sep 19, 1975 - Aug 3, 2019

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The world has lost a rare, bright light. Our beloved T.J. (Thomas Jason) Rafferty, age 43, of West Hollywood CA, peacefully moved on to his next adventure in the early morning hours of August 3, 2019 after a battle with bacterial meningitis.

T.J. was born on September 19, 1975 in Hinsdale, IL. He grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago and attended three different high schools including Homewood-Flossmoor, Crete-Monee, and finally Beecher, where he graduated in 1993. He subsequently graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1997, where he was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity.

T.J. lived for several years in Chicago IL, doing camera work for different sports teams, events, and venues. T.J. then took his show on the road and moved to West Hollywood CA, where he continued to refine his expert cameraman skills on a variety of A-list events, concerts, and shows. In his free time, T.J. was also a musician, a poet, and a writer, spending countless hours creating songs, stories, and scripts. T.J. was rarely seen without either a guitar or a harmonica in his hand. But the most important thing to T.J. throughout his life was his connection to people – his unconditional love and fierce loyalty to his large extended family and countless friends across the country was unmatched by anyone else in this world.

During his time on this earth, T.J.'s journey was like a rock thrown into a lake: sending ripples ever outward into the future and touching every single person he encountered along the way. T.J. was the most gregarious, free-spirited, and genuine person we have ever been fortunate enough to know. The amount of living he squeezed into his too-short 43 years is more than most people will experience in an entire lifetime. His imagination, spirit, and passion will live on forever in the countless hearts and souls of all who knew and loved him. The ripples of T.J.’s journey will continue to be seen forever through the impact he had on his family and friends who live on in his honor.

T.J. is survived by his dog, Walker; his mother, Carol Rafferty Dierkes; his brother, Michael Rafferty; his sisters Jane (Rafferty) MacAdam, Ann (Rafferty) Johnson, and Alice (Rafferty) Dennie; his 17 nieces and nephews; and his one great-niece. He is preceded in death by his father, George Rafferty.

Two celebrations of life have been planned in T.J.'s honor - please visit the 'Events' tab on this website for details.

We greatly appreciate all of the donations that have been received through the GoFundMe campaign that was set up on T.J.’s behalf when he first entered the hospital. Any further memorial donations in T.J.’s name can be made to your favorite charity, or to your favorite watering hole, where you are instructed to tie a few on and tell a few stories of the great T.J. Rafferty.
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