Early Easter morning 4-11-04  From Dad –

Greg was such a joy to be with.  I would always look forward to the football season, knowing that the family would be heading down to Champaign to see him play with the Marching Illini.  For some home games, the band would march from the Armory to Memorial stadium.  I would always look for him and he would do the same.  When I spotted him, he would always give me a wave and smile – he was so happy to have family or friends nearby.  When the band played before the game, you could always count on Greg to look up in the stands to try and spot us to say hi.  A small part of the band would head into the stands to play, and he would always stop by where we were seated and say hi.  After the games, we would often head over to Buffalo Wild Wings to eat an early dinner and watch some of the football games.  Sometimes we would be joined by some of his friends, and that made him very happy.  He shared the same interest in sports that I have, and we had so much fun just talking and watching the games.  It gave me such a good feeling to see him on those U of I football weekends.

Greg showed such faith and belief in others that you never wanted to disappoint him.  He always took an interest in family members and friends and made everyone feel special.

One of my best memories was when he and I drove to New York for the Duke Ellington jazz festival.  Mike was playing with the DuPage jazz band, which was a collection of some of the best high school jazz musicians in the Chicago area.  We dropped Mike off at O’Hare airport at 5:00 AM and drove straight through to New York.  It was great to be able to spend that much time together.  We stayed with Carol’s friend Mary Hickox on Long Island.  In between and after the concerts, we walked to Times Square and the area north of the Rockefeller Center, where the concerts were held.

Greg had such a keen intellect.  He showed a great appreciation of film, books, and music.  He was an outstanding student.  Greg said that his professors at U of I would often complement him on his writing.  I was so looking forward to see what he would do in life.  I had no doubt that he would be outstanding at whatever he attempted.  He had talked about attending law school at the University of Minnesota.  His analytical and critical thinking abilities would no doubt have led to success.

Greg was such a source of support and encouragement to his family.  He wanted to help in any way he could.  I had a chance to talk to Jenny at Greg’s graduation and she told me how much Greg was looking forward to coming home to be with us for a while before his planned move to Minnesota with Jenny in July 2004.  I remember when we dropped him off at school for his first year at U of I.  He had tears in his eyes as he looked at me, and so did I.  It was hard for him to leave the family that he loved.

He was such a loving person.     

Greg was such a source of support and encouragement to his family.  He wanted to help in any way he could.

Love, 

Dad