Jeffrey Stuart Tolk

Jeffrey Stuart Tolk was born in New York, New York on September 10,1963 to Marilyn Neubauer Tolk and Norman Tolk. He was precocious as a child, once asking his father, a physicist, where people go after they’re buried. “To heaven,” said his dad. “How do they get there?” continued Jeffrey. “Float, I suppose.” “How can they do that?” His father answered, “I don’t really know.” After a long silence, Jeffrey concluded: “I guess you need to learn a little more science, Daddy.”

At age six, his mom recorded Jeffrey’s favorite phrases as: “This is a good day, Mom.” “This is a good day—oh, boy!” “I know today is going to be good.” “Good” described not only Jeffrey’s days as a child, but all his days as a man. He lived a life of quiet intensity, kindness, service, hard work, humility, creativity, adventure, and unconditional love for his family. He was quiet and unassuming, but powerful in influencing family, classmates, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. As a husband and father, he was the central pillar of the well-being, happiness, and success of his wife and children.

Jeffrey attended Mendham High School in New Jersey, where he excelled in academics and ran for the track team. He played drums in a band called Glue, whose claim to fame was drinking “glue” (milk) out of empty Elmer’s Glue bottles at their performances. During his senior year, Jeffrey was accepted to Harvard University. After receiving so many awards at his high school graduation, the girl sitting next to him blurted, “Whoa, Jeff, I didn’t know you were smart!” He was extremely proud to have kept his achievements quiet. For the rest of his life, Jeffrey’s humble personality would endear him to everyone whose life he touched.

After attending Harvard for one year, Jeffrey served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Switzerland and France from January 1983 to June 1984. His mission was difficult because few wanted to listen to a message about Jesus Christ or religion. His stories of perseverance included an entire day of standing in the street with a church exhibit, and only one person stopped to listen. A brighter side of his missionary work included serving and baptizing many Filipinos in Geneva, falling in love with their humility, work ethic, and sense of fun. He was consistently astounded that his Filipino friends, in the absence of a stove, could cook a feast of pancit (noodles), lumpia (Philippine egg rolls), and chicken adobo using a mere hotpot.

At Harvard Jeffrey studied physics, but dropped the major because—unlike his dad—he was not inclined to do physics problems in his head while showering. He shifted to English, wrote poetry, and studied with Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney. Seamus advised Jeffrey on his honors thesis entitled, “The Language of Symbols: A Semiotic Approach to W. B. Yeats.” He recognized the quality of Jeffrey’s mind, commenting: “[the thesis] attests to the assiduity of [Jeff’s] commitment to his subject and to his capacity to focus an argument and then to hold it in mind as he addresses a body of work. As one reads, one recognizes the pressure of an intent mind directed upon its concerns and this constitutes the overall distinction of Jeff’s work: a nice purpose and conviction to the whole enterprise.” In May 2024, Jeffrey and Astrid visited “Yeats: The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats” at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin, marking for Jeffrey a joyful moment of historical, intellectual, and poetic immersion.

After college, Jeffrey attended Harvard Law School, where he served on the editorial staff of the Harvard Journal on Legislation. He also participated in the annual Ames Moot Court competition in 1989. To prepare, he and his team were allowed to use the Law School library at Langdell Hall twenty-four hours a day! The competition culminated in an argument before U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Anthony Kennedy. After law school, Jeffrey served a clerkship at the Massachusetts Supreme Court, working for Justice John M. Greaney. He became good friends with the judge and considered his clerkship one of the most meaningful points in his career.

Jeffrey worked as a corporate litigator in New York City for six years, first with Jones Day Reavis and Pogue, and then with Harris Shriver and Jacobson on Wall Street. But what he enjoyed most was doing pro bono work for poor clients when he could. Realizing that being a litigator for a Wall Street firm would impede his ability to spend time with his cute baby daughter, he decided to leave the law and became an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. He was “present at the creation” of complex financial instruments called credit derivatives. He rated these instruments and wrote a seminal article that influenced market understanding of the risks in credit default swaps. While at Moody’s, Jeffrey completed three years of exams to receive the prestigious CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation.

Following Moody’s, HSBC Bank hired Jeffrey in their Structured Credit Group, which transferred him to Hong Kong in 2005 as managing director and Asia head of structuring. He loved the pace of his career in Hong Kong and influenced many colleagues professionally and personally. One of his former colleagues commented that “sitting next to Jeff on the trading floor made me a better man. He was one of the most important figures in my life.” In 2008, Jeffrey and his family moved to Singapore, where he worked as a portfolio manager and head of research at a hedge fund focusing on distressed debt, special situations, and private equity. He subsequently worked at Standard Bank as Asia head of institutional and corporate solutions, and at Resource Capital Markets. He also launched Eastgate Advisors Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based consulting and advisory firm.

In 2018, Jeffrey moved to Utah after his wife, Astrid S. Tuminez, became president of Utah Valley University. He loved UVU, where he taught as an adjunct professor of finance, mentored students, and found a welcoming community. He attended practically every athletic event and loved to cheer for the Wolverines. He supported the arts at UVU and stood beside his wife at all important UVU undertakings. Jeffrey believed deeply in UVU’s inclusive mission to educate every student for success in work and life. He also loved the dynamic startup economy in Utah and became an active angel investor. His wife believes that he was the true #1 fan of UVU.

His active and successful career notwithstanding, Jeffrey’s true focus in life was his family. He and Astrid met at Harvard in 1986 and were married in 1988 by Elder Marion D. Hanks in the Salt Lake LDS temple. The happiest moments of Jeffrey’s life included the birth of daughter Michal in 1996, son Whitman in 2002, and son Leo in 2009. Jeffrey loved his wife and children deeply and steadfastly. His fatherly devotion was exemplified by his reading all of The Lord of the Rings, all of The Chronicles of Narnia, and all of the Harry Potter books to each of his three children. That means reading eighteen books (approximately 8,000 pages) out loud, three times each, over two and a half decades! Jeffrey was the heart of his family: he listened patiently, drove everyone everywhere (including early morning seminary), planned unique and unforgettable trips, relished Michelin food adventures with Astrid around the world, got his wife and kids out of trouble when needed, forgave seventy times seven, told many jokes and wild fiction about himself and characters like “Manhole Mark and Manhole Molly,” and showed his family true love through selfless service. His favorite place to take his family to was Ubud, Bali. Jeffrey lived without ego, vanity, or pretense. Every life he touched, he touched for good. His wife and children know goodness because of him.

Jeffrey was an active runner and marathoner, having run full and half-marathons in New York, Kyoto, Phuket, Luang Prabang, Angkor Wat, Singapore, and St. George, Utah. In 2016, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, an incurable neurodegenerative disease. The doctor told him that his life would change drastically, that he could end up in a wheelchair, and that he might suffer debilitating physical and mental challenges. He was also told that exercise was the single most proven activity for alleviating the effects of Parkinson’s. After this diagnosis, Jeffrey started climbing mountains. He summitted Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mt. Whitney in the U.S., Mera Peak in Nepal, and Thorong La Pass on the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. He completed an expedition to high camp in Ojos del Salado, Chile. His last climb was Mt. Cotopaxi in Ecuador, where he passed away after suffering a pulmonary embolism and complications caused by high altitude. Jeffrey spent his last moments doing what he loved. He wanted to live fully, so he did. Just a few months ago, he jumped out of an airplane in Nephi, Utah. In the mountains and in the air, he felt very little of his Parkinson’s symptoms. He felt free. All who love him wish for him to keep climbing and flying!

In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the "Dare 2 Dream Philippines Foundation".
www.d2dp.org

Jeffrey is survived by his wife and children; his father, Norman Tolk; and his siblings, Bentley (Jennifer Durham), David (Lisa Harris), Rebecca (Dan Clark), and Amy (J. Kirk Richards). A most beloved husband, father, son, brother, and uncle, his departure leaves a gaping hole in all our lives.