I
had been in Jackson, doing business and attending meetings,
when I came back to Cleveland on Friday. When I arrived
in my office, I found a stack of messages, including one
from Jeff Piselli, one of our freelance writers.
I returned the call, to the Tunica office where Jeff worked
as the county’s public information office, and was
told he had gone home early, sick. Jeff was working on seven
stories for the issue you’re now holding and I asked
for his home and cell numbers. Unsuccessful at reaching
him, I left a message saying that he could get his stories
to me when he was able and to please call me at home over
the weekend.
When Monday morning rolled around—and still no word
from Jeff—I called the County Administration’s
office and asked to speak to him. When I was told that Jeff
had passed away, I’m sure my voice changed. “He...what?!”
I asked incredulously, surely thinking I had misunderstood
the young lady on the other end of the phone. Unfortunately,
I had not.
Jeff Piselli died at the age of 49, on Sunday, December
14, from what has been determined to be an apparent heart
attack. In perfect health, this had to have been a shock
to his many friends, co-workers and wife, Teresa. It certainly
was for me. In fact, I’m still in a state of shock.
The thing is, I really didn’t know Jeff that well.
We first met in 2000, when I came aboard with Scott here
at the DBJ and Jeff wrote for The Clarksdale Press-Register.
However, it was only in passing. I knew he was a good writer,
but that was about it.
Not long ago, our paths crossed again, as Jeff started working
with Ken Murphree and the Tunica County Administration Office.
Andy Ellis and I would call on Jeff if we ever needed a
story idea out of Tunica, or a photo or two. He was always
willing to help, providing well-written stories and fine
photos on time and free of charge.
In fact, Jeff was such a good and diligent writer, I asked
him two months ago if he would consider being a regular
contributor to the DBJ. I remember his answer well. “I’d
love to write more frequently for you all,” he said.
“But I will never write anything negative about Tunica.
I love it too much up here.” I assured him that he
wouldn’t have to compromise his dedication to the
new job, and he agreed to take on stories for us. (I was
so excited about this, I remember going into Scott’s
office to tell him we had landed one of the Delta’s
top reporters as a regular writer!)
In his first full month as a contributing writer, Jeff wrote
a moving profile of Eleta Grimmett, owner of Indywood Retirement
Community in Indianola, as well as a fine story on Patriot
Seafood in Tunica. When I called Jeff to get his mailing
address so we could mail him a check, he was a little hesitant.
“You don’t have to pay me for these,”
he protested, which, believe me, is not something we hear
everyday from freelancers. When I insisted, he compromised.
“I’ll tell you what,” he laughed, as he
usually did. “Pay me for the stories that aren’t
about Tunica. I will never take a dime writing about the
great things going on up here. Deal?” That was not
rah-rah hyperbole, either. That was how Jeff really felt
about his job and about where he worked.
In fact, one of the stories I assigned him for this issue,
the piece on the opening of the Greenville Flood Museum,
bothered Jeff quite a bit. “This could be a conflict,”
he told me. “We’ve got a museum up here and
I don’t think I should write this story.” When
I suggested he use an alias and proceed, he got a big laugh
out of the possibilities. “Could I sign my name “Dudley
Do Write’?” he suggested. When I told him, no,
that was my pen name, he laughed even harder.
Jeff always exuded kindness and joy over the phone, as I’m
sure he did in person. Holly, who takes our calls here at
the office, says he always kidded around with her, using
fake names and accents to make her laugh. There was a lot
of life in that laugh. That’s why I still can’t
believe that he’s gone.
Jeff Piselli was a fine journalist, a good and kind soul,
and a loyal worker. Now I only wished I had gotten to know
him better. How sad that I find out he was a runner, an
actor and a veteran only after he has died. It makes me
think that maybe I should take more time to deal with my
fellow workers as human beings and less as means to my deadline’s
end.
I’ll miss Jeff a whole lot. I can’t say we were
close, but we were friends. My sympathies go out to those
who were close to him, including Teresa, whom I’ve
never met. Jeff Piselli was a class human being. I hope
he rests in peace. We all do. Even Dudley Do Write. DBJ
Jack
Criss
DBJ Executive Editor
