Jeffrey Aurand

Jeffrey Lemoine Yuvich Aurand, 54, passed away on May25, 2020. He had recently moved with his wife Misti and mother-in-law Janice Petty to Weatherford, TX, from Fort Worth, TX, after losing their home to fire, and then foreclosure. Mother-in-law Jan Petty, 72, of Weatherford, TX preceded him in death by 4 days. As always, they left the bonds of this world as a “team”. Jeff and Jan had been fighting illness and complications of chronic kidney disease since 2012, with Misti caring for both of them at home.

Jeff grew up in Euless, TX. Born on 9-15-1965 to Harry Aurand and Veneta Valentine Aurand. He attended Trinity High School in Euless, TX, graduating in 1983. He attended some college at Tarrant County College, and was a graduate of ATI technical college. He settled into a career in network engineering, working for most recently Cyxtera, lInc, previously Centurylink, and Savvis, and prior to that, Layered Technologies, all located in the major Dallas internet hub near DFW airport, over the last 17 years. He was very articulate, learned quickly and maintained an interest in IT, especially data center network operations.

Jeff’s life revolved around music. Rock, Blues, some country, he was passionate about music and incorporated it into all aspects of life basically from the time he could walk, until only recently when his illness made it too difficult to play. Multiple times over the past two years, he had been critical and needed a ventilator to get through those incidences. Every time, by the grace of God, as he healed from those times that he was intubated, the first thing he spoke of when he could speak again, was going home with Misti and playing music again. He played drums from a very young age, even playing in his fathers band at times. He joked of being too young to play in Dad’s band, but would be on the stage, usually falling asleep with his head resting on a stage monitor. Recently he had developed problems with hearing, and he wanted it known it was the medication, not the music, that was robbing him of his hearing. Jeff had been in a variety of bands over the years: Outlaw Blues, and most recently, Filthy Habit, were bands that he was particularly proud of. He and Misti, Michael More, along with his best friend Daniel Shook, made up the core of the latter, self-producing one full-length album before the band was dissolved due to the passing of Danny Shook in 2012.

Jeff received a kidney transplant in 2012, at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, at the same time his mother-in-law was battling septic shock and was also in surgery at the same time in Fort Worth. Misti spent the rest of the following years caring for both of them, until the time of their passing, only four days apart. They had a joke among them that neither he nor Jan could allow the other to “one-up” them, so they had to do everything together. Misti takes some comfort knowing that they at least had each other as they transitioned from this world to the next, and that God was noticing things getting a little louder in Heaven.

Jeff was quick with a joke, having a very keen sense of humor, and never really knowing a stranger. He and Misti (a nurse in Fort Worth) met in 1996, both with a passion for music and technology, became best friends and eventually, when Jeff formed the band Filthy Habit, they fell in love. They were married on October 25, 2003, choosing the least complicated route for marriage of Texas Common Law, because they had both witnessed multiple friends and family who entered into marriage with formal ceremony ending up divorced. As Jeffs illness intensified, and it became clear that he might not every fully recover, Jeff and Misti wanted their union blessed by God, and were married again (this time in the eyes of God) with a minister in a small ceremony in his hospital room at Medical City Fort Worth, on October 6, 2019. Time and again, that love was tested, and every time they would emerge from those dark times with their friendship and marriage still intact.

His nickname at his job, and eventually among those close to him, was “Rockstar”. He truly was just that. Even in his frail state, he proved himself a warrior, a soldier who could fight with a tenacity and ferocious intent and sheer will that would rival even the strongest military soldiers, battling each set-back, coming back from conditions so grave, even doctors were left shaking their heads. That is no exaggeration. And no small feat. But he was growing tired of the fight, and he told Misti in October that it would eventually be his heart that would wear out even before all the other things that developed. And as usual, he was right. The battle-weary soldier was finally granted a well-earned rest, and He passed peacefully with his wife at his side, at Kindred Hospital Southwest on May 25, 2020. And the music just got louder in Heaven....

Jeff was preceded in death by his Father Harry Aurand, of Euless, TX. He is survived by his wife, Misti of Weatherford; his mother Veneta of Euless; his sister Tamela Phelps of Euless; his cousin Darla Donahue; several cousions, his nieces Dannah, Taylor, Jadie and Stephanie, and his great nieces and nephews; and his aunts, all local to DFW.

Services are at graveside, along with his mother-in-law, Jan Petty, on Thursday June 4, 2020, at E. Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford, TX, at 2:00pm. There will be a small gathering to celebrate Jeff and Jan’s lives at the property located @ 418 E. First Street - they both wanted to hear the families and friends gathered again and doing what they always did: playing music. So if you play, please bring your instrument, a blanket or some chairs, refreshments or snacks (as desired, not required) , and join us in a celebration of the lives of these two irreplaceable wonderful people, as we send them on to the next life in the way that they both loved.