Lee Amsler
Jeff and I first met freshman year at Hopkins as new residents of Baker House. We became close friends over the next 4 years as roommates sharing off campus housing rentals and as brothers in the Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity. Our friendship grew out of many shared interests… comedy, music, good food, sports, classic game shows and sit-coms and spontaneous adventures. Jeff and I attended one of Bruce Springsteen’s first concerts at the then Capitol Center in MD and one of the last Doors concerts (with opening act Sha-Na-Na) in Columbia MD. We spent many hours with countless adventures and memories in my distinctive school bus yellow 1954 Chevy Bel-Air sedan. After the cars demise, I went shopping for my first new car and naturally Jeff wanted to come along and share in the experience. I chose a new yellow Porsche 914 mid-engine model (basically a glorified Karman Ghia, and the cheaper Porsche sports car version of its signature models). When I finished completing the sale, Jeff decided he wanted to share in the fun as well… so without hesitation he purchased his own new Porsche 914 in Orange. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, Jeff failed to remember that he didn’t know how to drive a manual transmission! Yes, he bought the car, but couldn’t drive it off the lot. So, I gave Jeff driving lessons right on the lot. We eventually were able to drive away without incident. We enjoyed solving the daily word jumble in the newspaper each day. After I graduated medical school from Georgetown in 1979, I travelled to the NW to Seattle (the other WA) where I completed my post graduate training and practiced Cardiology. Despite our geographic separation, we remained close friends. Every 5 years I travelled back to Hopkins for our alumni celebration and enjoyed spending time with Jeff, Diane and Ross. Each of our sons were the same age and Mitchell and I enjoyed sharing father and son times at Hopkins homecoming games with Jeff and Ross at the alumni reunions. Whenever I travelled back east, they were always gracious hosts and always “left a light on for me” to crash at their home. We would spend many late nights watching classic game shows and sitcoms and reminiscing our times at Hopkins. We would go many months without communicating. Then I would hear or read something that reminded me of Jeff. When I picked up the phone and called, he always had time to talk with me. This is the definition of a true friendship… one that transcends time or distance. I will miss you very much.