#ItsCoolToBeNice
February 25th is my late husband Jeff’s birthday. Jeff’s impact was outsized for just 36 years on earth, making everyone feel loved, heard, and respected.
His best friend put it best: he made it cool to be nice.
On his birthday, we honor Jeff by doing acts of kindness. Jeff was always checking in on those who may have been, or felt, forgotten. He lifted up colleagues, strangers, and friends with a silly joke or his goofy laugh or just a “hey, I’m thinking of you.” These days, it’s easy to be frustrated or angry with the state of the world, or even something much smaller. So, as our dear friend, his best friend, put it:
“Use Jeff as a guiding light. When it feels easier to be sarcastic or cynical, think about the guy who made it cool to be nice. And when life feels so cruel and unfair, and you feel that anger and bitterness creeping into your heart, take a deep breath, and smile.” Do the thing that brightens someone else’s day, and your own. Spread that love as Jeff would have. Keep making it cool to be nice.
If you’ve seen the hashtag, I’d love for you to read a bit more about Jeff. Feel free to DM me on Twitter @KaylieEHanson or Instagram at @KaylieEHanson_ to share your own acts of kindness.
Love,
Kaylie
—
Jeffrey “Jeff” Hammond Long of Washington, DC and Greenwich, CT passed away Sunday evening July 8, 2018. He was critically injured by a truck while riding his bike in Washington on July 7, 2018. Jeff is survived by his wife, Kaylie Hanson Long and his parents, Nancy Nesky Long of Greenwich and David Long of Rye.
Jeffrey was born in New York City February 25, 1982. After early elementary schooling at St. David’s School, he enrolled at the Brunswick School in Greenwich when the family moved to Westchester County. He was an admired student at Brunswick where he served as president of the student body, a mentor to younger students, and co-captain of the lacrosse team. He loved Brunswick and continued to serve the school after graduation. Jeffrey also served on the junior board of the Waterside School in Stamford, CT.
In 2001 he entered Hamilton College after a fall semester at the University of Salamanca in Spain. At Hamilton, he majored in world politics, was vice president of the student body and an Arthur Levitt Scholar; he interned for former President William Jefferson Clinton at the Clinton Foundation’s New York office as well as for Secretary John Kerry on his presidential campaign and in his U.S. Senate office.
After graduation, Jeffrey worked for technology startups in Washington and San Francisco, earned his MBA at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and worked on Senator Richard Blumenthal’s senatorial campaign as well as in his U.S. Senate office until April 2015. Afterwards he managed state and local sales development for a technology company providing early alert information to government agencies.
Jeffrey married Kaylie Hanson Long of Greenwich on May 28, 2016 at the most beautiful wedding made perfect by their never-ending love for each other… and the couple’s love of a great party. They resided in Washington, DC with their sweet dog, Layla.
Jeffrey was selfless, curious, community-oriented, and beloved by countless friends and family members. He loved telling and hearing great stories, and he loved a good joke, including his own.
He was an avid skier, runner, biker, and homebrewer.
Services will be Friday, July 20, 2018 at 2 p.m. at the Brunswick School Upper Campus gymnasium on King Street in a setting he loved and that loved him back. In lieu of flowers and in memory of Jeffrey, please send donations to brunswickschool.org/support-wick and watersideschool.org/support/ways-to-give.
Published in Greenwich Time on July 15, 2018
