Jeff Burhop, 81, made the most of his years after a 2014 dementia diagnosis, but ultimately succumbed to kidney failure after a difficult few months.

Jeff attended primary school in Glenview, and high school at Glenbrook, now Glenbrook North, class of '63. He graduated from Denison U. in Ohio in 1967, a proud member of the Lambda Chi fraternity. He studied for his MBA at Northwestern U., but left just short of graduation as his draft number came up. He landed in the army reserve in Chicago, 1969-75.

Jeff went to work in the family business, Burhop's Seafood, founded in 1926 by his grandfather, while serving in the reserves. His entire career, with one short gap, was spent as a purveyor of fine seafood and later wine, moving from wholesale to retail as markets changed.

His love for his family and many friends was only challenged by his passion for ice hockey. At Denison, Jeff was on their sole undefeated team, playing against opponents like Ohio State. He was a volunteer youth hockey coach in Wilmette and Evanston for years, and retired from playing at age 50 after 42 years on the ice.

Preceded in death by his parents, Vern and Janis Burhop and his brother-in-law Bill Ramstack, Jeff is survived by his wife and partner in life for 48 years Nancy (Ramstack), his beloved children Danielle (Seth) and Greg (Brenda), his adored grandsons Sebastian and Luca, his brother Jim (Laurie), sister-in-law Sue Ramstack Beck (Tom), and many nieces and nephews.

Growing up blocks from each other in Glenview, Jeff and Nancy spent their entire married life in Evanston, 45 years in the same house, where Jeff pursued his passion for gardening. (Pre-marriage he took Nancy on gardening "dates" at his garden plot, free labor). He was an avid runner and bike rider, competing in triathlons and many 5-10k races, as well as a half marathon in the UK. He also excelled at downhill skiing, which he pursued with college buddies whenever he could. Many summers when the kids were young were spent in Door County WI, where the extended Burhop family shared a cottage. As a couple, Jeff and Nancy traveled the world for work and pleasure, visiting friends and looking for birds, a hobby he happily took up to spend more time with Nancy.

A quiet guy with a great sense of humor, Jeff kept his friends his entire life, from kindergarten through college and beyond, many who kept in touch throughout his illness. He was always generous with both time and money, donating to Lambs Farm for years, helping his employees with their problems, volunteering at church. Kindness was in his genes.

A celebration of his life will take place on Saturday, June 20th, 11:00 am, at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2515 Central Park, Evanston IL 60201. Reception to follow. Phone: 847-869-9210.

If you wish to make a donation in Jeff's memory, he was a long time supporter of public media in Chicago, WBEZ, WFMT and WTTW. His family would also suggest The Alzheimer's Association, because dementia of any kind needs to be stopped. So far there's no real treatment and no cure. We need to do better.