John Raymond Jeffers

John Raymond Jeffers, 86, of New Hope, Minn., passed peacefully on Saturday, November 25, 2023. 

He was born in Kewanee, Ill., in 1937 and was raised on a farm near Peterson, Minn.

John is preceded in death by his mother Aletha (Young), father Lloyd, brothers Richard and William, and half-brother James Garvalia. 

He is survived by his partner Greg Kobylinski, sister Judith, brothers Thomas (Jane) and Edward (Deborah), sisters-in-law Carol and Camille, as well as many nieces, nephews and numerous friends. 

John graduated from the Minneapolis General Hospital School of Nursing. He worked at the hospital as a registered nurse and then became a nurse anesthetist. John worked with Dr. Claude Hitchcock and the Renal Transplant Program in its beginning stages at the hospital. The Hemodialysis Unit at the hospital was started in support of the Transplant Program. Dr. Fred Shapiro was the director and John was the manager of the Hemodialysis Program. John later became a nurse practitioner. He retired in 2011 after spending his entire career with the Nephrology Department at the hospital which later became the Hennepin County Medical Center. During his remaining active years, he and Greg travelled extensively. 

A memorial service is planned for late spring 2024. Memorials may be directed to the National Kidney Foundation or to a charity of your choice.