Brent Jeffers II of Maynardville, Tennessee left this earth in the morning hours of April 10, 2023 at age 60. He passed peacefully in the presence of his oldest son, sister, and brother-in-law.
His three sons William “Brent” Jeffers III, Matthew Dell Jeffers, and Cody Aaron Jeffers survive Brent, along with his two grandchildren, Elizabeth Abigail Jeffers and Paxton Joseph Jeffers. His sister Rhonda Tatum, nephews Jason and Joseph Hudgens, and nieces Amanda Delaney, Kristin Brois, and Lorraine Brois also survive him.
Brent was born on September 14, 1962 in Charleston, West Virginia to parents William “Brent” Jeffers Sr. and Joyce Ann Cobb-Jeffers. Brent Sr. and Joyce sadly preceded him in death earlier this year.
As a young boy Brent loved living in the mountains, and was especially close to his cousins Rod and Rick Carnes who he always said he thought of as brothers. The three spent a lot of time together under the watchful eye of his aunt Jean who Brent thought of as a second mother.
Seeking better opportunities, in 1970 Brent Sr. and Joyce moved the family to St. Petersburg, Florida where they began a new life. The family remained close-knit and enjoyed homemade pizza nights, drive-in movies, camping, and long, scenic drives. Brent, still in love with the mountains, made it back to West Virginia every summer hunting and fishing with his cousins until he became a young adult. It was always his dream to return one day for good.
At 18, while working for Girard Jewelers, Brent met and married his then wife, Kim, and one year later they welcomed their first son, Brent III, to the world and settled down in Largo, Florida. They welcomed their other two sons, Matthew and Cody in 1986 and 1991, completing their family unit. As a young father Brent enjoyed fishing, canoeing, and hiking with his sons and taking the family to the Smokey Mountains every year. He never lost hope of returning to the mountains one day and talked about it incessantly to the horror of his children who very much loved Florida.
Then, in the fall of 1996, with the opportunity to begin a new career, Brent moved his wife and kids to Holly Springs, North Carolina, “just a few hours away from the mountains!” Brent would boast. In their new life came many new friends and new experiences. He continued to enjoy the outdoors, taking opportunities to hike through the local parks whenever he could, and driving his Jeep Wrangler to Carolina beach and the Smokey Mountain National Park. As his kids got older and started their own lives, family continued to remain important to Brent who hosted Sunday dinners with his kids and family game nights every week.
It would take nearly 23 years later, but finally in September of 2019, after much reassuring from his children, Brent and his wife moved to eastern Tennessee, at last at home to the mountains he’d always dreamed of. Brent spent those final years enjoying the mountain life he’d always wanted, tending to his chickens and new garden, enjoying his dogs, and continuing to hike through the Smokey Mountains National Park.
A celebration of life will be held for Brent in North Carolina at one of his favorite state parks, William B. Umstead State Park, and his remains will be laid to rest in the mountains that he so loved.
Friends and family are invited to share a memory and sign his guestbook below.
I wish I’d have been able to get to know you more. I’ve always looked up to your family.
Brent,
I can’t believe you have left us at 60. I will never forget coaching each other up in the game of life and business. We were each others cheering sections. I was impressed that you worked, were a husband to my sister, studied everything computers so that you could work in this emerging technology. I bought an IBM 486 because you told me to. That thing was like a Hubble telescope and I thought I’d wasted that money. You were my first computer teacher. I wrote my first training manual with it and I still have it. You installed “Word” and Excel and I was sending bills to people in my new business. I was thinking about you last night, during the Bucs draft. If you were here we’d be a Capognas Dugout watching or when you lived in NC, we’d text about the draft picks. Burying your mom and dad was an honor for me. You would walk in your moms living room, sit on the arm of her chair and she would light up, her baby was in her house. I want you to know, you and Kim did a good job as parents. I can promise you that I will look out for “little” Brent, Matt and Cody. We had no idea what you were going thru. Had I known how serious this was, I’d have tried to get you to come back home. I am resting on the fact that you were in church, you were learning about the kindergarten principals of our Christian faith and that the Bible says that we don’t look for God, it is God himself who draws us to him. God was preparing you. You were unique. You were smart, you were fun. Brothers forever, Jim.
Brent, Father-in-Law, where do I even start? I did not get the pleasure or privilege for knowing you that long, but the 3 1/2 years I did get to know you and your family, were nothing short of a blessing. I remember vividly one Sunday morning when you, me, Cody, Kim and little Brent all went to Barry’s cafe (one time out of the few times we did all get to go together), I ordered corned beef hash, and you looked at me from across the table with a smile on your face, put your head down a little bit and said.. “you like corned beef hash?” I exclaimed with enthusiasm that I loved it, and you looked at Cody and said “She’s a keeper!” You never failed to make everyone laugh, and all of the funny moments we all got at those breakfasts thinking of some funny line from an SNL skit, or several quotes from the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I loved those Sunday breakfast mornings with the family, and I also loved those Sunday dinner nights. I feel truly blessed that I got to be apart of those handful of family nights with you all. I pray for you everyday Brent, and I promise I will always be sure to tell Paxton what a good man his PopPop was, and the reason why we pray for him every night. I wish we could have been there, and helped you in your time of deep struggle, but I can’t help picturing you know resting comfortably, and out of pain. God be with you always Father-in-Law, I’ll miss you everyday.
You were just a baby when your Uncle Homer and I got married. We would come to Boone Co to visit and then to Sissonville when you moved there. When we moved to Beckley you all came up every Saturday night to visit. We missed you guys so much when you moved to Florida. I cherish every moment we spent together. I love you and miss you but know you’re in a much better place. 🥰
Cousin Brent you will Forever be in my Heart with all the Cherished Memories we had. I will never forget the fun we had through the years. I Love you Always ❤️
Cousin Brent you will Forever be in my Heart with all the Cherished Memories we had. I will never forget the fun we had through the years. I Love you Always My Sweet Cousin ❤️
Rhonda, I am so sorry sweet cousin.
We love you all.
Your cousins Tracy and Family❤️
Brent my Brother, I’m Truly sorry that I was not able to get up there to the house and do some hiking with you. I’ll cherish all the memories and deep talks we had when I was back and forth from the sand box. You have always been one of my closest friends and my aches, but knowing you are in a better place with no pain helps me. God bless you and keep looking down at us.
I will miss you. So sorry that I didn’t answer the last time you called. I will meet you when I see Jesus face to face. Love you. Your cousin, C
Dad,
Words will never be able to truly express the sense of loss that I feel. It’s overwhelming. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. There was still so much for you to do, still so much time you were supposed to have, and it’s all been cut short. Everything’s been left unfinished.
Along with the overwhelming sense of loss I feel are so many other warring emotions, each fighting for dominance over the others. Two seem to be gaining a distinct edge. One is anger, and the other is utter sadness. I’m angry, and hurt, that you’ve left us so soon. I’m angry, and hurt, that things are left incomplete. It’s beyond unfair. It’s beyond cruel.
My heart hurts. Every day that you’ve been gone, my heart has hurt.
I think about you every day. I talk about you every day. I wish you knew what you’ve left behind. You left a mark on so many people. Your life had meaning. You made an impact. And you were so loved. Even during times of great struggle and conflict you were loved. We miss you. I miss you. Every day, we’ve missed you.
I have to learn now how to move forward. I have to learn now how to live in a world without you in it. And I wish I knew how to do that.
Thank you, Dad. Thank you for giving me the childhood you wanted me to have. Thank you for all the life lessons you taught me. Thank you for being there when it mattered most. Thank you for loving me unconditionally.
I said a lot to you both in those final moments and after. I’ll say it all again. I promise I will take care of the family. I promise I will look out for everyone. I promise to do better, and be better. I promise to work on forgiveness, both for myself and for you. I promise to do my best to be happy and live fully. I promise to be the man you raised me to be. And I promise to see you again one day. I love you.
Brother Brent, I am shocked to be writing this here now. I thank you for your friendship and reaching out to me after many years aways from school. You messages and phone calls meant more then you will ever know. I got to live the Smokey mountain and farm life through you, was hoping to take you up on your invite and come see them for myself. Rest in peace old friend.
May you RIP Brent! I’m so glad that I met you and we were able to be friends when you moved into my neighborhood when you moved here. We would talk at the bus stops and on the bus and you were alway so quiet and sweet. I’m glad you had an amazing life with children and Grands! Until we meet again my friend! Lori
Brent, you will be missed brother. I am terribly saddened by your departure. I really enjoyed working with you. We used to take breaks and walk around the Cisco campus talking about life. You were generous, always willing to help your teammates. Your quiet demeanor brought calm to tense situations. I’ll see you soon.
To Brent’s Family: My sincere condolences for this terrible loss. May God comfort you in this time of grief. There is a large community of people who grieve alongside you.
Brent, you have always been an example on how to be an excellent father and I am going to miss our conversations so much, I still remember how we laugh at the expression “between us chickens” . Godspeed my friend you just went exploring before us.
You were always the younger guy to me. In AT&T Paradyne I remember first learning to use my computer you helping me with the A drive. I still recall calling you over and over on getting that file. You were always a gentleman.
Tom Ruddy
I’m going to miss you, Brent. I’ll remember you being an excellent supervisor at Paradyne and a good friend.