OBITUARY - JEFFREY BRUCE HANEY

Jeffrey Haney was born in Dallas, Texas, on July 1, 1958. He was the fourth child of Frances and Jack Haney. As a little boy, Jeffrey could swim like a fish. Little wonder then that when his mother bought him a duckling for Easter one year, Jeffrey and the duck became soul mates.

Jeffrey named the little duck "Alvin," after one of the three chipmunks in a then popular television kid's cartoon series. Against all odds, the duck survived the Easter season, and Jeffrey and Alvin became a duo.

When Jeffrey stepped out the back door, Alvin came running - no need to call him. Alvin thought he was Jeffrey's dog, and he acted accordingly by following Jeffrey wherever he might go. That relationship, we believe, has followed Jeffrey into heaven, where Jeffrey was immediately greeted by his mother and maternal grandmother, numerous loving aunts and uncles and cousins, and Alvin. A treasured family Sunday school teacher always said, when someone's dog died, that "all dogs go to heaven." We figure that if dogs go to heaven, so do ducks.

As a kid, Jeffrey planted himself along the south side of Spring Valley Road just east of Central Expressway, where that area was still cotton fields on the brink of being consumed by Texas Instruments, to sell Tyler roses for 59 cents. He often sold out early and had to call for additional inventory.

Jeffrey graduated from Richardson High School in 1971. While in high school, he began working in the restaurant business, and eventually continued that as a career choice, becoming a sous chef at Jean Pierre's Upstairs, a highly regarded restaurant in Austin, Texas. In 1992, seeking to "expand his horizons," he moved to Venice Beach, California, and was a sous chef at Rebecca's restaurant, a "chic hangout du jour" on the beach.

In 1993, Jeffrey suffered a diabetic coma and spent six weeks in the hospital in Marina del Rey, California. He was never able to fully recover, and returned to Dallas, where he lived at Grace Presbyterian Village (now the Villages of Dallas) until his death on January 24,2026.

Jeffrey had a superlative vocabulary, loved old beautiful cars, as did his father and two brothers, and music. Perhaps in a more fulfilling life, he could have soared high. In this life, he did the very best that he could.

Bless his heart, in the best way that term was ever used, and he has finished his life, in the arms of God.

Jeff is survived by his sister, Diane Graifemberg of Dallas, his brothers Michael Jack of Dallas and David Lynn of San Antono, and two nieces Michelle Graifemberg and Sarah Waterman.

We all had lots of fun together at family gatherings and just visiting when we were all in town. He is missed.