They came out to Exhibition Park on Saturday to remember a brother, a friend and a stranger known to most of them as Exhibition Park Jeff.
Jeff Eberhardt was someone who made the neighbourhood surrounding that park a better place one act of kindness at a time.
Whether it was shovelling driveways or leaving handwritten jokes in people’s mailboxes, Eberhardt made a lasting impression on those who knew him. He will not soon be forgotten.
Eberhardt, 49, died of pneumonia two weeks ago in a rooming house bed he had reluctantly moved into a short time ago.
Roughly 100 people gathered Saturday just around the corner from the park bench that he slept on for most of the past three years, singing and sharing in a celebration of his life.
“It’s one person, but how empty our neighbourhood feels now that Jeff’s gone,” said Pam Mundy, whose family placed a storage locker in the driveway of their home so that Eberhardt had somewhere to store his belongings.
Mundy said the main lesson to be learned from Eberhardt’s time in the community it is that kindness to others is what is most important.
“If we can’t be kind to one another, then why are we here?” she said.
A mostly homeless man who had his battles with alcohol and could be a “stubborn pain in the ass,” Eberhardt was also a kind, caring, funny and smart man.
“It’s sad to lose a friend, dare I say an institution in our neighbourhood,” said councillor Phil Allt, who organized the celebration of life.
“Jeff had another family. I call it his Exhibition Park family, and it was pretty darned big,” Allt said. “It was large and perhaps larger than any family than anybody has ever had.”
People gave him clothing, let him use their washing machines and dryers, filled Thermoses left on their porch with hot water for his tea, gave him food and checked on him during cold nights.
He taught children in the area how to play catch. He did odd jobs for elderly neighbours and kept an eye on houses late at night.
“Jeff must be a reminder of the homeless hundreds that surround us. Many suffer from mental illness. Many were dealt a bad hand. Like Jeff, some can be annoying sometimes … let’s not pretend that he, or any of us, are saints,
“But like all of us, however, we and all the homeless are God’s creatures,” Allt said.
The hour-long celebration included a pair of songs performed by local artist Tannis Slimmon accompanied by Coghill on guitar.
Friends and family shared memories of Eberhardt.
“It’s one person, but how empty our neighbourhood feels now that Jeff’s gone,” said Pam Mundy, whose family placed a storage locker in the driveway of their home so that Eberhardt had somewhere to store his belongings.
“We came to think of Jeff not as homeless, but who was homed differently,” Mundy said. “We learned so many things from Jeff.”
Barb McPhee of the North End Harvest Market, one of many social service offerings Jeff accessed, talked of how he would chat with all the others waiting to gather their biweekly food.
“He always made everyone feel comfortable,” McPhee said.
Guido Sartor was a Big Brother to Eberhardt for many years, starting when he was seven. He became friends with Sartor’s children and joined the family on camping trips.
“He’s probably up in heaven looking down and saying ‘thank you,’” Sartor said.
Pastor Kevin Coghill from The Life Centre said that sometimes when we look at other people, we just don’t understand.
“We’re confused. We can’t grasp those situations all the time,” the pastor said.
“We would probably describe Jeff as homeless … but as I look around, this is probably the most beautiful home in Guelph.”
Coghill said Eberhardt was an important part of the Exhibition Park community and beyond.
“He was a friend to many of us.”