>President: Astrid S. Tuminez Trending
>As senior research consultant to the U.S. Institute of Peace
Jeffrey Stuart Tolk was born in New York, New York on September 10,1963to Marilyn Neubauer Tolk and Norman Tolk. He was precocious as a child, once asking his father, a physicist, where people go after they’re buried. “To heaven,” said his dad. “How do they get there?” continued Jeffrey. “Float, I suppose.” “How can they do that?” His father answered, “I don’t really know.” After a long silence, Jeffrey concluded: “I guess you need to learn a little more science, Daddy.”
At age six, his mom recorded Jeffrey’s favorite phrases as: “This is a good day, Mom.” “This is a good day—oh, boy!” “I know today is going to be good.” “Good” described not only Jeffrey’s days as a child, but all his days as a man. He lived a life of quiet intensity, kindness, service, hard work, humility, creativity, adventure, and unconditional love for his family. He was quiet and unassuming, but powerful in influencing family, classmates, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. As a husband and father, he was the central pillar of the well-being, happiness, and success of his wife and children.
Jeffrey attended Mendham High School in New Jersey, where he excelled in academics and ran for the track team. He played drums in a band called Glue, whose claim to fame was drinking “glue” (milk) out of empty Elmer’s Glue bottles at their performances. During his senior year, Jeffrey was accepted to Harvard University. After receiving so many awards at his high school graduation, the girl sitting next to him blurted, “Whoa, Jeff, I didn’t know you were smart!” He was extremely proud to have kept his achievements quiet. For the rest of his life, Jeffrey’s humble personality would endear him to everyone whose life he touched.
After attending Harvard for one year, Jeffrey served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Switzerland and France from January 1983 to June 1984. His mission was difficult because few wanted to listen to a message about Jesus Christ or religion. His stories of perseverance included an entire day of standing in the street with a church exhibit, and only one person stopped to listen. A brighter side of his missionary work included serving and baptizing many Filipinos in Geneva, falling in love with their humility, work ethic, and sense of fun. He was consistently astounded that his Filipino friends, in the absence of a stove, could cook a feast of pancit (noodles), lumpia (Philippine egg rolls), and chicken adobo using a mere hotpot.
At Harvard Jeffrey studied physics, but dropped the major because—unlike his dad—he was not inclined to do physics problems in his head while showering. He shifted to English, wrote poetry, and studied with Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney. Seamus advised Jeffrey on his honors thesis entitled,“The Language of Symbols: A Semiotic Approach to W. B. Yeats.” He recognized the quality of Jeffrey’s mind, commenting: “[the thesis] attests to the assiduity of [Jeff’s] commitment to his subject and to his capacity to focus an argument and then to hold it in mind as he addresses a body of work. As one reads, one recognizes the pressure of an intent mind directed upon its concerns and this constitutes the overall distinction of Jeff’s work: a nice purpose and conviction to the whole enterprise.” In May 2024, Jeffrey and Astrid visited “Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats” at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin, marking for Jeffrey a joyful moment of historical, intellectual, and poetic immersion.