Jeff was born on September 1, 1964 in Oakland, California to Lloyd & Lorraine Hoselton of San Leandro, CA. His three older brothers, Dave, Ron, and Russ were thrilled with the new delivery and doted on their younger brother (accept for having to learn to change his diapers). Jeff brought instant joy to his family. Always smiling and giggling, it was a pleasure to be part of his life as he went from a wee child (I know, hard to believe) to toddler. Once he got control of his motor skills, Jeff took to his Tyke Bike, a harbinger of his love for Harley motorcycles in later years. He also took to making a running jump to flatten the family cat to the floor . . . the cat would just lay there squashed under him until someone pulled him off. You can probably relate. Jeff spent his life squashing people to the floor - but you could never get mad at him for it because he always did it with love.

He went to grade school at Fairmont Terrace in San Leandro, junior high at Edendale (nowadays referred to as middle school) and San Lorenzo High for a year before moving to Illinois to be with his father where he graduated from high school in Zion before returning to California. Jeff loved the years he spent in Illinois and made lasting friendships with the huge masses of Hoseltons in the Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan area. It was here, with his Uncles, that Jeff learned to hunt - a passion of his for the rest of his life - and also were he formed his initial bond to both the Harley Davidson and International Harvester companies.

In the early 80’s he returned to California and soon got a job as a loader at UPS in Oakland . . . and talked about the day he’d get his brown shirt (be a driver) from the start. He met his future wife, Kathi around this time and moved to Ceres, Ca to begin driving for UPS. Jeff and Kathi married in 1989, holding the ceremony in the backyard of their new house . . . typical of Jeff, he wanted a casual ceremony where everyone could be comfortable and feel welcome.

Jeff delved into his new life as a married man at a new job in a new town with the gusto he showed in everything he under took He helped found Scouts West, a group of IH Scout enthusiasts, and made friends with fellow scout owners in several states.

Jeff and Kathi’s oldest son, Lloyd was born in 1991 and was soon followed by brother Jake in 1993. Everyone who knew Jeff knew how important his sons were to him, and if you ever got to see the three of them together, you knew how special their Dad was to them, too.

Jeff continued to drive for UPS and was almost as proud of his safe driving record as he was of being fired 13 times in 13 years . . . if you knew Jeff, no further explanation is needed. Not surprisingly, he became a shop steward for his union, watching over and protecting his UPS brothers with the same passion and commitment he showed throughout his life whenever he accepted a responsibility.

Jeff died tragically the night of August 18, 2005 in an accident on his motorcycle on his way home to his family. He was with us for far too few years and will be missed by his family and the hundreds of friends he made throughout the country.

Since his death, as his friends and family have gathered to talk about Jeff, what comes up over and over is how Jeff lived his life with integrity and honor. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jeff was a man of principles and strong convictions. Things were pretty much black or white for Jeff (it’s a Hoselton thing). For Jeff, it was either right, or wrong and there were no questionable areas of grey. Jeff always sided on the side of right regardless of the consequences because he felt that if something was worth believing in, then it was worth defending. And the same held true in the friendships he formed. If Jeff found you worthy of being a friend he believed in you and backed you in your life 100%. He was always ready to lend a hand when needed, to listen to your worries and concerns, offer advice, or, typical of Jeff, to use his wicked sense of humor to make you feel better.

We all miss Jeff and are sad that he is no longer with us. But you know that if Jeff was standing next to you right now, he’d give you that little upward nod of his head and make some wise-ass comment . . . and you know it’d make you smile.