John “Jeff”Kennard  Eddy was a junior majoring in politics and government, attending a twelve-college Russian Studies Seminar at Oberlin College with several other Ohio Wesleyan students and professors, when a reckless driver smashed head-on into their car, killing him, Bill Kroener and Jay Riesz. The previous spring, his long term fascination with politics and history combined with a new maturity to turn him on intellectually. He had always read voraciously—magazines, novels, non-fiction—and watched TV and movies—all to fuel his mind for endless political debate. He was so excited about the Russian Studies weekend.

Born and raised in Short Hills, New Jersey, and a 1986 graduate of the Pingry School in Martinsville, he was the beloved son of John and Ellen Eddy and brother of Hilary Lafferty. He spent many summers in Maine, learning and then teaching sailing, his great passion. Jeff had such a distinctive style of dress, posture and speech that he was always noticed in a group and his keen eye for individual idiosyncrasies of speech or movement, perfect mimicry and outrageous word choice made his storytelling legendary.

He loved his friends, called them by special names, listened hard to their troubles and actively sympathized and helped. He was an enthusiastic Beta brother and social chairman at the time of his death. Jeff always knew how to create parties.

He was born with a strong sense of justice, honesty and a deadly eye for sham and pretense.  He lived by these values. His last summer he talked of a career in government service, maybe the FBI or Secret Service, in order to combat some of the evil in the world. After OWU he was going to law school or into the Navy.

It seems appropriate to us, his family and friends, to remember our intelligent, committed, witty young man by sponsoring this lecture on World Politics, the ruling interest in his life.