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This AMAZING man was born to Lloyd Morris Crites and Ida JoAnn Stacy in McMinnville, Oregon. He grew up alternatively in both Amity and Jefferson. He spoke fondly of the weekends with his father, with brothers Jake and Jeremy, fishing on the Umqua River. He worked with his step-father and mother at the family businesses, the Snappy Freeze restaurant and at Rick’s Market in Jefferson. Jeffrey was such a hard worker, even as a kid and everyone said so.
After graduation, Jeffrey joined the United Stares Navy. He served for 5 years, and in many different countries during Desert Shield/ Desert Storm. He was so proud to be a part of protecting his country as an aviation electrician.
When he came back, he started in the automotive industry and boy, did he love that! Jeffrey had a way about him that made him a natural! He was a charismatic and outgoing man already, but this really showed his true colors. He could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves! He quickly rose to management and stayed in this business for many many years. He was so loyal and so honest. He was so funny and so clever. He was so handsome and so smart. The list can go on and on, as you all know.
On February 14, 2010, Jeffrey and Kamen were joined at the lips, because they were already joined at the hips. Their children were combined as well to make a big, beautiful family of five. They would make jokes about being the Brady bunch, but really they were the Crites bunch. It was a match made in heaven for all of them.
Tragedy struck in 2016, when Jeffrey was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and it was already stage 3. For personal reasons of Jeffrey’s, he did not tell everyone including his side of the family. We fought this with him,just us. It never went away and he ended up having a total of 5 different kinds of chemotherapy, 1 round of 6 weeks of radiation, 3 surgeries and a whole lot of being sick. The oncologist told him “ Jeff, we are going to take you to the brink of death, and then bring you back.” The nurses would call him ‘Superman” because Jeff never missed one day of work, not unless he was actually admitted to the hospital. Not one day! Who can say that? No one I bet! In August 2019, we found out it had metastasized to his lungs and actually the left lung collapsed completely. In December 2019, we found out, it went to his brain, and he decided hospice was best. He did not want to die in the hospital and his final wishes were made clear to me. We talked about this for many hours, just him and me, in front of a fire, in the final days. I’m so grateful I got this time with him. Just him and me. I’m so glad I got to care for him. It was an honor.
Jeffrey is survived by his loving wife, Kamen, his sons, Cameron, Conner and Joey, his brothers, Tony and his wife Beth, Mike and his wife Shelley, Jake and his wife Lori, his sisters, DeDe and her husband Mark , Sherrie and her husband Russ, nephews; Jeremy Jr., Ryan, Sean, Kaden, Kaleb, Justin, Gavin, Zach, Joshua, Matthew , nieces; Cassidy, Chelby , Uncle David and his wife Anne, their children Amanda and Ian, Bill Crites, Jerry Crites, his mother and step dad- Ida JoAnn and Rick DeBus. Preceding him in death is his father, Lloyd Morris Crites “Jake” , Grandma and Grandpa Crites and Grandma and Grandpa Stacy, Uncle Delton Crites, his brother Jeremy Crites and his wife Carrie.
Celebration of Life for Jeffrey will be on January 4, 2019 at 1:00 pm at Salem Heights Church.
Celebration of Life
January 4, 2019 at 1:00 pm
Salem Heights Church
375 Madrona Ave S, Salem, OR 97302
Jeff was an incredible man,so intelligent, witty and compassionate!I am so proud to have been able to call him my friend and to have had him as my sales manager and golf buddy!his work ethic was second to none but his sense of humor was was over the top,he could find humor in any situation no matter how bad it seemed!I loved him dearly and will miss him forever!"rest in peace my friend until we meet again!I feel your pain so much kamen and am praying for God to give you the strength to get through this and I'm not going to quote any of the cliches like time heals everything because it doesn't just makes it easier to deal with after a while but there will probably be those triggers pretty often for some time because jeffy made such an impact on our lives!"GOD BLESS HIM!"
Thank you all for your sweet words of kindness for my husband. Thank you to Johnson family for being so helpful with our family....we are all so so lost without him.
We love you Kamen. You will make it through this and Jeff would want you to be strong and brave. You can do this. Make him proud. You took such good care of him, it's time to take care of you now.
Jeff, would always have a smile on his face no matter how he was feeling.
Dr's told him to stay home and get rest, Jeff, said he was't that type of person. He would rather be at work.He was a very hard worker and would give more then 100%.
Jeff, is no longer in pain. Jeff, is with his brother Jeremy.
The family will MISS them both so very much. We love them with all of our hearts.
It’s not very often that you meet someone and make a connection that feels like you’ve known each other your whole lives! I came to work at Power in late July and in just a few months the friendship that Jeff and I developed became just that.
I am thankful that I had the chance to know him in my life… And look forward to reconnecting with him in the next!
Jeff was a goof-ball, we had so much fun over the years. There were times, all we had to do was glance over at each other and we'd start laughing. I miss you brother. <3
He is truly one of a kind person !
if you're lucky you'll meet a few like this in your lifetime, I'm glad to have known him, he will be missed greatly
He was a great father to our boys Cameron and Conner
My family and I got the joy of meeting Jeff through my supervisor when she sent me to him to get a car. He was a joy to work with and he really knew his stuff. His saying to his salesman this last time in February was "you make her happy makes my mother in law happy". I know first hand the struggle of losing someone with cancer. May he rest in peace and love. Thank you for being a part of our lives.
God bless you Kamen and your boys as you walk this path of sorrow and joy. Hold on to those amazing joyful memories of your beloved Jeffrey. You are right..... he is free ♥️