'Jeff's Game Tree' brings joy to a family of ten

Intermountain Catholic

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Tom (left), Vanya, Merrilee, and Katya Wahl honor their son and brother, Jeff Douglass Cloward, by donating a tree in his name to the 2008 Festival of Trees. He loved games, so Merrilee started buying games to place under the tree or use the parts on the tree as ornaments. IC photo by Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — "Jeff's Game Tree" was sold at this year's Festival of Trees and donated to a family of eight children. The father of this family recently lost his job, so this tree is bringing joy to a family that is otherwise facing misfortune.

Jeff's Game Tree was donated to the Festival of Trees by the Wahl family to honor their son, Jeffrey Douglass Cloward, who died Aug. 17, 2003. He had a sharp mind and a competitive spirit, and was a witty 20-year-old with a bright future that was cut short by a tragic motorcycle accident in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

2008 was not the first time Jeff's Game tree was displayed in the Festival of Trees. Jeff's Game Tree was first displayed and sold in 2003 just after Jeff died. His mother, Merrilee, to honor and remember her son, as well as occupy her mind and her time from the pain and sorrow of the loss of Jeff, created the first Jeff's Game Tree to raise money for Primary Children's Medical Center. The tree sold for $1,800. It was then donated to the Orem Public Library by the purchaser. The library then sold the tree back to the Wahl family for $175, and the money was used to purchase books and games.

According to Merrilee, the day of the accident, Jeff had gone up Big Cottonwood Canyon with his biological father, his sister, Natalie, and her boyfriend, who was also one of Jeff's friends. It was Jeff's first day on a motorcycle. They had all been driving around a parking lot and decided to go up the canyon to get away from city traffic. It was on the way home that Jeff's bike swerved over into the lane of oncoming traffic and hit a truck. Jeff was not wearing a helmet, but the investigating officer said that his internal injuries were so severe that even with a helmet, he probably would not have survived.

"We are members of St. Vincent de Paul Parish. We were born and raised Catholic, and my thought of Purgatory was that it was like hell. The thought of Jeff being there was horrifying for me," said Merrilee. "It was the night before his viewing, and I was sobbing and praying to God to give me a sign where my son was. The next day, I called Jeff's dad to make arrangements for the funeral, and he said, ?You are never going to believe the story that was delivered to the funeral home.'

"At the time of Jeff's accident, the Barnes family were going for a Sunday drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon with their two granddaughters, Aleece and Taneesha," said Merrilee. "Aleece, a 2 1/2-year-old said, ?Look, there's Jesus,' at the exact location of Jeff's accident. The grandparents said they all looked in awe as chills ran up and down their spines. They felt an overwhelming urge to get that story to us knowing of our sorrow. I felt like God really answered my prayers, and I knew Jeff was with God."

Jeff made the choice as a young man to give the gift of life to others and be a tissue and organ donor. Both of his corneas were used to improve the sight of two adults. His heart valves were used to save the life of a 2-year-old boy in California.

"I can remember having that conversation with Jeff, and feeling a little superstitious about putting donor on my license," said Merrilee. "He said ?Oh Mom, it's a wonderful thing.' So he inspired me.

"He was a very smart boy in the gifted and talented program in elementary school," said Merrilee. "In high school, he preferred going to an alternative high school and just flourished at Valley in the Jordan School District. In his senior year, he was published three times and he won a scholarship to the Sawtooth Young Writers Conference. So the year after he died, we set up a scholarship in his name and three students were awarded a scholarship the following year at graduation.

"Jeff loved humor, off-beat poetry humor such as ?Where the Sidewalk Ends,' by Shel Silverstein, and he also loved to fish," said his mother. "When he was younger he played basketball, T-ball, and soccer, but as he got older he was more into writing, game playing, and friends. I was so proud of him when he graduated from high school. He had plans to use his talents in writing or in designing computer games. He wanted to pursue designing games in college. He had his whole life ahead of him.

"So when I do these tree projects, I feel like he is by my side helping me, and we can do this together," said Merrilee. "I do it to remember him and remember his sweet spirit. He could always make me laugh.

"A year after Jeff died in 2004, we got permission to set up the tree in the Cottonwood Mall and we partnered with Hammond's Toy Store," said Merrilee. "They were the collection sight. Any toy you bought at their store to donate to Jeff's Game Tree, they gave us a 10 percent discount. Then at the end of the Christmas season, we gathered up the toys and donated them to Primary Children's Hospital.

"The next year we were at Fashion Place Mall and partnered with Waldon's Books," said Merrilee. "We asked people to donate children's books. We had hundreds of childrens' books people had bought and donated. They actually encouraged people to buy a $5 gift card, then my son, Vanya, and my daughter, Katya, and I went down and purchased the books, boxed them, and took them to Primary Children's Hospital.

"The third year, we went back to Cottonwood Mall, it was the year before it closed, and kind of sentimental because Jeff and Natalie grew up in that area. We partnered again with Hammond's Toys," said Merrilee. "Then last year we contacted Trolley Square and partnered with the Old Spaghetti Factory. They had tents on the tables asking people to donate money by adding it on to their tabs toward Jeff's Game Tree. The tree was set up outside the Spaghetti Factory near Santa's Station. We collected cash and Primary Children's could not accept cash so I donated it to Shriner's Hospital for a scholarship for an amputees Un-limb-ited Ski and Snowboarding Camp.

"I loved doing that because Shriner's does not have the fundraising efforts that Primary Childrens' does," said Merrilee. "They really appreciated the contribution. They were all kids like Jeff. He loved skateboarding and then snowboarding. He would have just loved this.

"I was going to go back and help Shriner's again, and then I decided to buy a new tree and redecorate it with all the original ornaments and new games and donate it back to the festival and come full circle with this.

"I prayed a lot that this tree would find a good home and they would keep the tree," said Merrilee. "I prayed it would be a special tree for them.

"Despite the tragedies in my life, I have been blessed," said Merrilee. "God has been good to me and my family. I feel totally blessed. I just try to focus on the positives in my life and not dwell on the negative. I have a wonderful job, great friends, and a relationship with the Lord. So I really think it is your attitude in life that makes your life what it is. My faith has grown since Jeff's death, and I have changed a lot.

"One hundred percent of the proceeds from Festival of Trees goes to Primary Children's Hospital to benefit children at the hospital," said Merrilee. "The ticket sales, all sales from the gift shop, and all items sold at the festival benefit the children. It is an all volunteer effort. No one is paid for what they do. Every single person who works there or donates a tree is on a volunteer basis. It is probably one of the largest volunteer efforts in the country.

"It helps people on all levels," said Merrilee. "It helps the hospital, it helps families, like mine who are grieving the loss of a loved one, and it helps the children. There are many families who donate trees whose child was helped by the hospital and they are trying to give back. There are church groups, scout groups, school groups, communities and neighborhood groups, many people who gather together to decorate a tree and donate it to the Festival. So it brings together community efforts and a sense of service and giving. The Festival of Trees is very unifying."