Jeffery Charles Land

"Come see the leaves of fall," he said. "Red, orange, yellow, and gold, with just a slight hint of green. Walk with me in the forest leaves; it will be my last after all."

With the howl of the wolf, Jeffery Charles Land was escorted on March 21, 2016, at the age of 45 to roam the forest halls and soar above the lakes and clouds with eagles before him.

Using the courage of a bear, he attacked cancer with all his might, and like the buffalo, he gave his life. Jeff enhanced his very being with the wisdom of the beaver, integrity of a raven, and truth of a turtle. Jeff found comfort in his Native American beliefs and valued greatly the faith it brought to him.

Jeff loved to create laughter, have a beer and a barbecue, gather wood for the campfire, where he would create desserts from peaches and marshmallows in tinfoil. Horticulture was his passion and music his relief. Put him on an ATV or give him a walking stick and he was not lost, just scouting new campsites. Fireside chats left you like him; deep in thought or dusting yourself off, reaching for the first aid kit.

In his youth, his crown was his hair. In his Peter Pan adult self, he preferred his hair near bald. I think the fireside chats may have had something to do with it somewhere along the way.

If you were his friend, you became his family; brother or sister, mom or dad. Of course, it also meant you were assigned a character from a movie he had watched. Often times, you could go from Dory to the theme song of SpongeBob SquarePants in the same week. To us, he was Cush from "Finding Nemo."

Jeff was brought on the wings of an angel on March 19, 1971, in Portland, Ore., to Anita V. (Land) Leathers and Norval C. Land Jr. (deceased). Jeff began his life path in Oregon before discovering Ironwood, Mich., as a teenager on a summer trip with his kinship family, followed by spending his life years, education and employment between his two home states and Seattle, Wash.

At the age of 24, Jeff held his newborn daughter in his arms and said, "All you have to do is have a little faith," and so named her Fayth N. Land, and his legacy as a single father began.

Jeff is continued in his brother, Don Land, of Thailand; sisters, Tanya (Wittwer) Land and Norvina M. (Rehrig) Land, both of Portland; and his nephews, Christopher Land, of Georgia, and Matthew and Daniel Rehrig, and Branden and Tyler Wittwer, all of Portland.

Jeff's kinship family includes his brothers, Tommy Gusman and Steve Oberst, of Ironwood, and Joe Grezik, of Rapid City, S.D .; sisters, Autumn Armstrong, of Georgia, and Lisa Campbell, of Ironwood; parents, Jim Oberst and Patricia Strachan, of Ironwood; and girlfriend of eight years, Angela (Bullis) Brian, of Ironwood.

His many friends, relatives, and lives he touched from the shores of the West Coast to the shores of Lake Superior in Michigan hold him in honor and humor.

A ceremony to join Jeff with the clouds was held privately. His daughter, Fayth Land, and girlfriend, Angela (Bullis) Brian, as weather permits, will hold a celebration of life. A separate honor of Jeff's life will be held May 1 at his Oregon home. I will see you later, my friend.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to cancer research linking HPV16 to throat cancer in men. For more information, visit oralcancerfoundation.org.