Jeb D. Partner

Sept. 8, 1985-Nov. 23, 2011

"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." - Ecclesiastes 12:7

MONTPELIER - Jeb Daniel Partner was born in Boston Sept. 8, 1985, the youngest child and only son of Margaret Lynn and Lee Daniel Partner, brother to Darby Louise, Brook Joanna and Promise Bradshaw. He spent his childhood in Old Saybrook, Conn., Groveton, N.H., and Peacham. Jeb adventured in the salt marsh behind his house and then snuggled next to his mother as she read to him "The Chronicles of Narnia." He was a skater, a soccer, baseball and basketball player, and an expert on the video game Quake. He displayed his vivid imagination and innate sense of perspective through his drawings. Loyal, Jeb would befriend those who were bullied or vulnerable. Adults were frustrated by his rebelliousness but loved his beauty, wit and intelligence.

After two years of high school in Sisters, Ore., Jeb earned high scores on the GED exams in the fall of 2002, and returned to his adopted home state of Vermont. Completing the Job Corps training program, Jeb was a night-shift nurse's assistant at a nursing home in Burlington, where he first encountered the reality of death. He then lived in Montpelier for the six years before his own death, gaining the esteem of residents of all kinds and working on construction, masonry and gardening projects. Proud of his tall, strong body, he often went shirtless in warm weather. Jeb said his natural high was lifting weights. He loved cats.

Jeb grew into a philosopher, engaging friends in discussions ranging from the existence of time to the purpose of humanity. He would summarize Schopenhauer or Nietzsche in emails to his family. As he wrestled with addiction and mental illness, Jeb found a community at Another Way, a center offering peer support and resources to psychiatric survivors and people at risk.

In the summer before his death, Jeb and his father took a seven-day, 160-mile canoe trip on the upper Connecticut River. At night, after hot, hard days of travel, they read and discussed the writing of Jungian psychologist Robert A. Johnson. Upon his return to Montpelier, Jeb planted kiwi vines with a good friend, anticipating the hundreds of pounds of fruit they would share with others when the plants matured.

In October and November, Jeb sought psychiatric care at Central Vermont Medical Center, attended substance abuse counseling, and conferred with his father regularly. Jeb died on the morning of Nov. 23, 2011, in Montpelier. He went to sleep and did not awaken. At the time of this writing, his family has no information about the cause of his death.

Last year Jeb told his sister, "I have lived a full life; no need to live long if you've had a life that was full. I could die at any moment, really. I don't have any college degrees or money or a car, but I've come to realizations that most people wouldn't even dare to consider, much less diligently investigate." A risk-taker and a caretaker, a faithful friend and a loving son, Jeb knew both the exuberance and the pain of life. Losing him will always grieve us; still we have comfort and hope. God is love and has a high purpose for all creation, including our beloved Jeb.

To honor Jeb's bold and generous life, we will gather at the Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 130 Main St., at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17. Please send gifts in Jeb's memory in the form of checks to Another Way, P.O. Box 264, Montpelier, VT 05601.

Contact Daniel Partner, dpartner@gmail.com.