Eulogy

Jack Robert Loso

December 24, 2003 to December 2, 2023

Read at Jack’s funeral by his mom, Patti 

Rob and I had the pleasure of meeting the distinguished Jack Robert Loso the morning of my 37th birthday, December 24, 2003.It was a bit of a painful introduction – at least for me. Jack was impatient – and didn’t want to wait for the formality of being escorted in. In true Jack fashion, he thought it would be funny by making his appearance just as the OB came sprinting into the delivery room in her street clothes only able to yank on one glove before having to catch him. Rob got back at him, though, and put Jack’s first diaper on backwards. He moved in with us the next day. And hasn’t cleaned his closet since. 

We’re all familiar with the proverb "it takes a village to raise a child" – that an entire community must provide a positive and safe environment for a child to grow and flourish. Well let me tell you - Jack certainly had a village – and all of you here today are part of his village. 

Of course Jack’s family is at the center of this village. Jack spent his early childhood under the close tutelage of his big sister, Bailey. They lived in a world of imagination together. One day they would be orphaned sibling spies, the next day they would be Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia defending the house from The Dark Side with their light sabers. They spent hours playing their DSIs and the Wii – Mario Cart, Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Just Dance – a few of their favorites. 

I also have to mention that Jack absolutely loves Legos. I’m pretty certain the financial investment we’ve made in Lego sets over the years would easily have paid for a hefty down payment on his first house. 

Rob, Bailey, Jack and I are a typical family who muddle through the mundane day-to-day things, take joy in the simple things, and genuinely enjoy being a family. We love each other - along with our late dog Henry – and our new dog Georgie. And yes, Bailey and Billy we love Bean.

Jack loved our family movie and pizza nights. And boy did Jack love pizza. I think he and Rob tried just about every pizza joint in town – with Rocky Rococo’s being at the top of the list.

Jack also loved being outdoors and our family camping trips – and especially enjoyed eating on our trips. Hobo dinners are always top of the menu. Once Jack contributed to the food packing by sneaking in a can of unsweetened cocoa powder, thinking it was a sweet treat. On another trip Jack and I spent all day making a solar oven to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies in the sun. 

Jack and Bailey enjoyed swimming, hiking and geocaching – and loved our trips with John, Jenny, Adriana and Edison.

Jack has a large extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts & uncles, second cousins who love him. Jack enjoyed time with his extended family. They all know him as a kind, sweet, funny and polite young man.

The outing last Saturday with Bailey and their cousin Mary was nothing out of the ordinary as the 3 of them have been thick as thieves from childhood to adulthood. They loved making goofy iMovies, performing “holiday” shows, and going on countless adventures – both real and imaginary.

The next stop in Jack’s village is his formative educational years. He attended Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion, Plymouth Middle School, and Armstrong High School where he was surrounded by loving, caring educators.

Jack developed many friendships throughout his school years: Carter, Shane, Nico, Zerind, Brayden, Jeffrey, Matthew, Sam, Ian, Alex, James, Eric, Isaac, Viet, Jackson, Anis (and others we apologize for not remembering in the midst of our grief). Jack also befriended many others through his time in Cub Scouts and the baseball and basketball teams he was on.

But his closest life-long best friends are Diego Umana and Martin Michelli. I can’t even begin to scratch the surface of the deep friendship Jack, Diego and Martin have. They have grown into beautiful, kind-hearted young men by bonding through their favorite activities: Lego League, video gaming, skateboarding, ultimate frisbee. They are quiet, mysterious, and polite – except when they are video gaming – oh man the shouting “Dude! No!!!” Diego and Martin – please keep Jack’s light in your heart – and know that he loved you dearly and is watching over you.

One of the last stops in Jack’s village is college. We were proud that Jack chose to attend college at the University of Minnesota Duluth, following in his sister’s footsteps. While he really wasn’t certain what degree he wanted to pursue he landed on Marketing. But phone calls home were filled with excitement about his Jazz Studies class - and frustration, confusion and distain about his econ class. His freshman year was challenging but also very transformative. 

Ultimately his passion for music led him to Mankato State where he was just beginning work on a Music Industry degree. He was just wrapping up his first semester and said he was proud of the hard work he was doing. And we were so happy his seemed to have found his path.

Sadly, we can’t visit the next stop in his village – and that is his future. Although his life has been cut way too short, we all know what kind of husband, father and uncle Jack would have been: funny, sarcastic, private, patient, kind, and gentle.

This is our Jack

Our Jackastinker

Our Jackarooney

Our Jank

Our Doopkins

Our Doofenschmurtz

 Our sweet baby boy. May you rest well in Jesus’s arms until we all meet again.