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Memorial letter to Jeff, friends, relatives and loved ones!

                                                                         from his mother

How can I put into words what kind of person Jeff was and will always be in our hearts. He has touched so many peoples lives and he doesn’t even realize it, or maybe he does. He always joked with me and said “Mom, everyone knows me, I’m Jeff Rauch!” So maybe it was me that didn’t realize how many people he really did touch.
He was always so independent when it came to doing things. When he was a baby, he never crawled, he just stood up and started walking! The day he learned how to ride a bike without training wheels, he didn’t have anyone holding on to him, he just got on it and started to ride around the yard. He always wanted to grow up so fast, I remember one Christmas we got him a battery operated car he could ride by himself, well, he didn’t like it because it didn’t go fast enough!!! He was always full of life and energy, and I mean energy, he about wore everyone out sometimes! But that was ok, because he was Jeff.
He always was so competitive when it came to sports, games, etc. We used to have one night out of the week that we would play family games, I believe it was every Tuesday, Jeff would be losing, and of course in his eyes, we were all cheating!! He would get so frustrated, he would go stomping off to his room, but when he would calm down, he would come right back out to the kitchen and try to win again!!! We ended calling Tuesday nights, (family fight night), in a joking way.
When he started sports in school, he always wanted to play the whole game because he could not stand to sit back and not participate. His favorite sport was basketball. He played all through high school.
When he was 15 years old, he was diagnosed with cancer and basketball played a big part in that diagnosis, if he didn’t get hit with the basketball, we might have never known he had cancer until it was too late. But he made it through all the surgeries and chemo-therapy like the trooper that he was. Even all the nurses said that they could not believe how good Jeff acted, they said he did better than a lot of the adults they treated. Of course Jeff entertained everyone in the chemo therapy treatment room. He was the youngest patient there. I would pack a picnic lunch of several different items because he never knew what he would be hungry for and he would offer to share his food with everyone else in the room. He beat the cancer within 6 months and came right back on the basketball court and finished high school playing his favorite sport.
I remember the award ceremony for the basketball players and when it came to Jeff getting an award, his coach stood there and said “ I have never in my coaching career ever coached a kid with more heart, determination and commitment to the game than Jeff Rauch” We were all so proud of him. . I remember a teacher saying that you could never tell that Jeff had cancer because he was always smiling and joking. He graduated from Riverview High School and left a lasting impression on everyone there.
He was always smiling and joking, “he loved to make people laugh”. I always told him he needed to be a stand up comedian. He was always so full of energy, he loved to fish, hunt ducks, ride 4 wheelers, and just be outdoors. Even though he has left this world physically, he will be with each of us that knew him forever. He has left the most precious gift of all for all of us to watch grow and become everything that he wanted to be and that is his son, Peyton. He is the spitting image of Jeff, and everyone needs to be watching for Peyton, because he is going to do great things in his life!
Jeff had such a big heart and would do anything for anyone. He is one of a kind. Even though the pain of this tragedy is in the pit of our souls, we can always think of something Jeff has done or said to make us laugh and that will help ease the pain just a little.

We all will love him and miss him forever.

Love always and forever 

Mom!!