About Jeff
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Jefffrey Ross Shaver was born October 22, 1977 in Sandpoint Idaho. He attended Kindergarten in Priest River Idaho. He attended grade school in Newport where he was in the Talented and Gifted Art Program and played soccer and was a member of Cub Scout pack 696. While in Newport he attended United Church of Christ and Vacation Bible School and Camp N-Sid-Sen. He spent his summers at Priest Lake with his family at Low’s Resort.
He moved and went through grade 11 in Omak. He was active in Boy Scouts; Track and Field; Wrestling; Football; and Baseball. He learned to Hunt and Fish in the Northwest and became an avid sportsman.
He returned to Newport to finish his senior year and graduate with his friends at Newport High School in 1997. He was involved in music and FFA. He lettered in Track and Field and went to State and received the Northwest “A” League All Conference in Track-Javelin.
After High School, he moved to Spokane and went to Spokane Falls Community College and was as a fitness instructor working at The Spokane Club, Sta-fit, and North Park Athletic Club. While in Spokane, he went to the Life Center Church. He was active in the church’s Frontline Youth group where he further developed his love of God. He participated in the worship team and would often MC the youth group retreats. It was at Frontline that he met his best friend, Dale Raschko. Through his church he went on a humanitarian mission to Roatan, where he helped clean up after a disaster and rebuild the community.
While working with his fitness clients he decided to join the National Guard with his best friend Dale to become a medic so he could serve his community. He and Dale went through everything together from Basic Training to serving in Iraq as medics, they went in under the buddy system.
He received Basic training at Ft. Sill and received the Distinguished Honor Graduate Award. He went on to Ft. Sam Houston and received his medical training and earned his EMT certification in 1999.
He returned to Spokane and worked for Occupational Medicine Associates as a Medical Assistant. Over the next several years, both through the military and in civilian life, he pursued many additional certifications and trainings, making him an even better medic.
He moved to Maple Valley in 2002 to be closer to his family. He worked for Bryman College as the Extern Coordinator and later attended Green River Community College pursuing a helicopter aviation degree so that he could do search and rescue work.
He met his fiancée, Charity, while living in Maple Valley. When they met, time stopped and they knew they were soul-mates. She was going to meet him this September in Paris while he was on leave and they were planning on marrying when he returned. Even from Iraq, they were planning their future together. In the time they had they condensed a lifetime of experiences and memories.
When he received notification of his deployment, he was attached to the HHC 161st, stationed at Geiger Field in Spokane. They were activated and combined with other units of the 81st Brigade at Fort Lewis. While in Fort Lewis, he completed a course in musculoskeletal injury management, which prepared him for triaging orthopedic injuries in the field.
When he first arrived in Baghdad, he was promoted in the field to Sergeant. This was not unexpected, as Jeff always excelled at everything he did. Most fulfilling to him, he regularly was able to reach out to the civilian populous and help with medical needs as well as normal medic shifts.
He said it was so hard to be over there in a 3 dimensional urban war where you have to be alert 24/7, but he still volunteered to go out with the medical team to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. He could never be inactive, he was intense, spiritual, and lived life to the fullest. He had a passion for everything he chose to do. This passion and drive led him to volunteer for his last mission. He is the first Washington National Guardsman killed in Federal action since World War II. He was in a convoy in the passenger seat of a Humvee. The Special Forces doctor who was driving said that right before the roadside bomb went off, Jeff had the biggest smile on his face. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. The doctor survived, he has some shrapnel left in his arm and will be returning home in June. Jeff shielded him from the rest of the blast. The final irony was that the mission was a humanitarian mission to a Baghdad clinic.
He was a very active outdoorsman. He was into mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, and snow boarding. His love, however, was being with his family. He enjoyed landscaping his family’s new house. He was also very artistic, he played bass, sculpted, and drew.
Most of all he was a very loving person and loved life. He was very strong in his faith. He placed his life in God’s hands. A quote from him is that he was doing it for his family. He was going to Iraq because he believed in his loved ones having freedom and to make sure we were safe here, and no matter what, it was all worth it for that. No one he met was not untouched by his passion.
He is survived by his mother, Jane Shaver, and his sisters, Gwen (Jennifer) Kelley and Sakura Thompson, of Maple Valley; his fiancé, Charity Canterbury, of Quilcene; and his father John Shaver, and his wife Connie Shaver, of Grand Coulee. He also leaves behind his best friend Dale, who is still in Iraq, as well as all his friends in Spokane, Newport, Omak, Issaquah, Seattle, and his unit in Baghdad.
Jeff believed greatly in education and was never able to complete his. In honor of that, we have established to Jeff Shaver Memorial Fund to help fund a scholarship. Donations can be made at any local Bank of America branch.
A memorial service will be held Saturday May 22nd, at 2pm at the Life Center Church at the corner of Nora and Indiana in Spokane. A military funeral with full honors will be held at Tahoma National Cemetery in Maple Valley, the date is yet to be determined.
Interests
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Autos - He loved his bmw!
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Rock Climbing - He hiked and climbed all over the state and country.
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Snow Boarding -
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Mountain Biking -
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Landscaping -
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Playing Bass -
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Sculpting -
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Drawing -