Sing On, Jeannie

She loved to sing…and sing she did.

We were rolling through Los Angeles in August 2006 with the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill “Soul2Soul II" tour.  I had a free window for lunch one day, as our crew was still busy constructing the stage for our evening show.  Our hotel was around the corner from a cool little diner, so Jeannie Kauffman and Jen Ringler met me there.

It was my first time meeting the two of them.  We had a mutual friend in Jennifer Brusstar, the president of the Tug McGraw Foundation.  Jeannie had the inauspicious occasion to come to know us following her diagnosis of a glioblastoma – a brain tumor.  I do a lot of work with the Foundation and serve on the board of directors, but more importantly to Jeannie…I’m a musician.

So was she.  An impassioned singer and songwriter, she shared her gift of song in many a California coffee house.  She found many friends and fans along the way, even scoring as a Top Ten finalist in a Lilith Fair Talent search and appearing on the VH-1 music channel.

That day, in that diner, she sang a song for me.  Right there in the lobby, she slung on her guitar that she had conveniently carried in with her and sang her heart out.  Stopping some people halfway through the slurp of a soda, others in the midst of swallowing their hamburger. 

Sang her heart out.  Awesome.

As she grew through her battle with her tumor, her music took on more meaning.  Her songs came to speak of inspiration, of hope, of life.  When she joined us to perform her original song, “All In For A Cure” at the Tug McGraw Foundation Gala in November 2006, she embodied through song what Tug shared in spirit: ya gotta believe.

I had the privilege of running in honor of Jeannie as one of the first Team McGraw marathon runners last November 4 in the 2007 ING New York City Marathon.  Jeannie was a terrific cheerleader, helping me to raise funds for brain tumor research and rooting for me from across the country.

Sadly, Jeannie has since moved on, having lost her struggle on February 7, 2008.

While bittersweet, I count myself fortunate to call her a friend, and today, on her birthday, I look forward to feeling her joyous and unflappable smile as I run again in her memory…somewhere down the road.

Happy birthday, girl.  Sing on.
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Visit Jeannie's Cure for more on Jeannie's music, her mission, and her personal journey.

Comments

[Alesha Walker]

Nice tribute, Jeff! She was a great talent and will be sadly missed. So glad I had the pleasure of meeting her.

Jeff, thank you for your beautiful tribute to Jeannie. How blessed you were to have known her and shared in the same passion of being a musician.

She will be greatly missed, but her spirit will sing on forever, in heaven.

Christine

[Jeanne Hogan]

Jeff,
Jeannie's passion was her music; she was amazing, and I'm glad she got to do what she loved. We were all lucky to have known her and she has taught us all a great deal about appreciating life more. Happy Birthday, Jeannie!!!