Dedication to a Very Special Friend...

Hey there! I know it has been a few LONG months since I last made a blog post, a ton has happened in that amount of time, but I am back. I am dedicating my first post of being back into the swing of things to a very special friend of mine who I have known for quite some time from school and within the past couple years finally reconnected thanks to social media. He has always been a huge supporter of my beachbody business and my fitness capabilities even when I was doubting myself. Not only has he been a supporter of my life and so many other people out there, but he helped me through a major tough time in my life recently. He was the type of person who would do absolutely anything for anyone and would never hesitate

Jeffrey Michael Woodruff
Janurary 13th, 1988-August  28th, 2013

. I am happy and honored to say that he was a wonderful friend of mine and I will hold onto every cherished memory I have of him, he will always hold a special place in my heart. This is going to be one of the most difficult yet amazing things I will be able to tell everyone because my great friend Jeffrey Michael Woodruff passed away on April 28th, 2013 at the young age of 25, I hope to make him proud with this dedication.

He wrote that to me in my freshmen yearbook sophomore year.

Even though I didn't know Jeffrey his whole 25 years, but the amount of time I did was amazing. He was always into staying healthy and man in high school he loved wrestling! I remember going to some of the meets to just watch, a couple times I had to for cheerleading. It was definitely a great experience seeing the Spartans kick some major rear. I'm glad I got the chance to see the boys wrestle, you could tell they all had a special bond. Not only did I love seeing my high school team win, I will always remember the smile Jeff had when he finished a match whether he won or not. 

Right after high school graduation I lost touch with a lot classmates including Jeffrey. It saddens me that I didn't keep in touch with friends, but we all went our separate ways with school, jobs, and life happened. Looking back I wish I would have done a better job at staying in touch with friends.

However, I do remember seeing Jeffrey at a Halloween party in 2009. One of the most memorable occasions I think I will ever have of him and it makes me smile and laugh when I think of it because of his costume! His cousin Kyle and him

Oompa Loompa!

were dressed as Oompa Loompas for Halloween! Even though it had been years since I had last saw Jeffrey it wasn't awkward at all, he had smile on his face from ear to ear, hugged me, and talked to me like he just saw me the day before. He had that way with situations and people to make everyone feel comfortable. That night was extremely memorable because I was reconnecting with friends and of course it was the first Halloween that most of us were actually LEGAL to drink! :) Now you can see why I laughed at the Oompa Loompas by the photo!

Unfortunately again I lost contact with several people. I got married, I didn't go back to Rhodes (my hometown) very often, then my husband and I had our son. Life again got in the way, I didn't have the time like I once did to see friends like I wish I would have so I relied on social media. 

Insanity, the program he finished 

Luckily within the past year or two I reconnected with friends through Facebook! It was an awesome feeling to find the time for that. I also just became a beachbody coach in November 2012. Jeffrey of course was so supportive! He would comment on all my fitness statuses, photos, and even liked my beachbody page on facebook and was always interacting with me that way. It truly was amazing to know I had a friend who supported me and who would check in on me to make sure I was doing my workouts. Since he did that stuff for me I was also following his progress with working out too. Jeffrey actually completed Insanity not too long ago and at the time I was a week behind him. One day I asked him what his plan was after insanity, he told me he REALLY wanted to do asylum volume one, volume two, and then body beast...we both had the same end goal...BODY BEAST.

Jeffrey's goals

A couple months ago I was going through a tough personal time and Jeffrey helped me a lot to deal with it and all he did was talk to me. That's the type of person he was, he helped everyone in anyway he could. I even asked him how in the world could he be so positive all the time! While helping me he even got on my case about not working out! I know that's right, me being a coach I stopped working out and it

Always happy!

was insanity! He told me I needed to get back into the game and finish, unfortunately I didn't and all I had left was the last month of insanity to do. Instead I waited and started P90X (another beachbody program) on April 15th. My plan is to finish the last month of insanity with the last month of P90X in memory of Jeffrey. I do still plan on eventually doing body beast, have to keep my goal and word to him!

Jeffrey was also of course a son, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin, a friend, etc. He was an extraordinary person, if you had the opportunity to meet him just once his smile would be permanently tattooed in your mind. His positive attitude and outlook would make you want to be a better person and to never take anything for granted, live everyday to fullest like there is no tomorrow. Everyone who knew him we will always remember the good memories, his smile, his kind heart, positive thoughts, and everything he had to offer. Even though Jeffrey is no longer with us we have to look at his passing as a positive. It's almost as if he was showing us all to NEVER take anything for granted because you never know if tomorrow will come, life is too short. 

Until we meet again my friend!

From his funeral. 

Photographs of Jeffrey

Sophomore School Picture

Jeffrey and Chad

Freshmen Year
Left to Right
Jackie, Meaghan, Me, Jeffrey, Jessi, and Kayla

Jeff, cousin Corey, cousin Kyle, brother Jordan in the back

Ryan and Jeff

Brother Jordan, Brother Jonah, Sister Jillian, and Jeffrey

Jeffrey and his cousin Kyle...They were like brothers

Ryan and Jeffrey

After doing an insanity workout!

Jeffrey, Ryan, and Jordan...Survival Night

Song that will always remind me of Jeffrey Michael Woodruff is "Who You'd be Today" by Kenny Chesney

Click here for video.

Jeffrey Michael Woodruff's obituary.

It would mean a lot to me and those who knew Jeffrey if you would comment on this blog with memories of Jeffrey. You can also send me more pictures to add to this post. And I would love to do follow up post on Jeffrey and also visitor posts on my blog are welcome. Email me at toneyawithtonya@gmail.com

Live everyday to the fullest!

~Tonya