11/27/2025
Obituary For Jeffrey A. Loney
Jeff was born in 1957 in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland. His father was a police officer and his mother was a homemaker. He was the oldest of four children and today, two of these siblings live in Ireland - north and south - and one lives in England. All are deeply saddened by his premature death. As a teenager much babysitting fell to Jeff as his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and suffered from debilitating fatigue. So when Jeff was just 14 he assumed many duties that his mother could not. He was the first one in his family to go to university, attending Queens University of Belfast from 1975 to 1979. There he earned a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Engineering and a Masters in Production Engineering. His choice of degree came about because his eyesight was not good enough for him to consider joining the RAF - so if you cannot fly them, you build them. Stephanie met Jeff one crisp autumn night in 1979 in a university pub - the Botanic Inn. It was an instant attraction. He walked her home and whilst they made coffee and toast for her flatmates, they burned 8 slices of bread. Their minds were not on toast. A year later they were engaged and a year after that they married in Belfast City Hall on December 4th, 1981. Jeff enjoyed the fact that banns were posted publicly in those days and theirs read that “Jeffrey A Loney, Bachelor Engineer” intended to marry “Stephanie J Hanley, Spinster Librarian”. Stephanie wasn’t worried about that however - she had found someone good looking, good at mathematics (which she hated) and great at DIY. Their children would have someone to help with math homework plus he was attractive and able to maintain a home. Jeff always wanted to work with planes - his first job was at Shorts Brothers, Belfast working on the SD 330 and SD 360. Then it was off to San Diego to work at Rohr Corporation, then BF Goodrich, United Technologies and lastly Ducommun. He worked on the Airbus A330, A340, A380, A350 and the Boeing 737 and 787 before he retired in 2016. In the course of his professional life his work took him to the UK, France, Germany, Israel, Holland, Australia, Singapore, Russia and Malaysia. He spent many nights sleeping on aircraft on his way to various projects or coming back to his family in Chula Vista. Co workers who knew him have sent the following messages to Stephanie- I really got to know Jeff and Steph when we used to travel up to LA to work on an Inlet project for Rohr. Debbie would come up also and we would spend breakfast together in various hotels with Jeff and Steph trying to keep a screaming Jamie quiet and happy. I would often play tennis with Jeff on a sports court out the back of the hotel. Chris Taylor and I would often play golf against Jeff and Alan Orme. We had some fun times. I reconnected with Jeff when I came back to San Diego in 2016. Jeff and Steph were kind enough to put me up for weekends in Chula Vista after I took a job in Temecula. Fun times. —-Kevin Brown I just heard the very sad news about Jeff from Alan Douglas. I will certainly send my thoughts and anecdotes once I've got my head around this. In the meantime, I quickly went through the photos I took in the time we spent in Toulouse at the beginning of the A350 program. A gang of us were there for about six or eight weeks, and we spent many happy weekends exploring the south of France. — Nigel Barker I just wanted to send my condolences today. I heard the sad news from Keith Ridgeway. I did work with Jeff on and off, on a few programs whilst at Goodrich. I left Goodrich over twenty years ago but do remember Jeff as, definitely, one of the "good guys". He always had a good deposition, a level head and a pleasure to work with. I know this does not make it any easier for you at this time, but know he left a very positive impression with me even after all these years. — George Kovacevic Jeff, as I knew him, was a super professional and genuinely nice helpful guy. I do, and will always remember our interactions at Rohr with a degree of fondness. —-Raj Seth So sorry to hear of Jeff's passing he was a great man liked by so many —- Bryan Lindsay We had some great conversations and I always respected his engineering and aerospace knowledge. I was lucky that I had Jeff as my boss during my 2 years at Short Brothers. He was a great bloke —-Iain Reynolds Jeff was my first Golfing Partner. We played in the Rohr League and the Rohr Ryder Cup together and as far as I remember, we were the only un-beaten team to play in all the Ryder cups J. My two favorite memories of Jeff while playing was firstly how he always tried to hit the skin off the ball off the T-Box and the second being how often he ended up in the bushes which was hilarious because he never gave up looking for his ball and would try some ludicrous shot to try & get out and back on the course. Jeff never gave up. Jeff introduced me to the phrase “Sweat Equity” and always prompted me to plan for the Allan of 20 /30 years ahead - advice I took and has made life easier as we’ve got older. Quite savvy - maybe he should have been Scottish! Thank goodness memories live on and I will cherish those memories. — Alan Orme Work was a big part of Jeff’s life and always excited him. He loved the business until the day he retired. Jeff was immensely proud of his son Jamie and daughter Gabrielle. He attended numerous AYSO soccer games, helped Jamie launch rockets in the park, drove Gaby around San Diego to attend parties and concerts and never complained when someone had the good sense to call him for a ride home because they had over imbibed. He moved heaven and earth to provide for them and ensure that they were able to attend college without the burden of college loans and every year at least once he remarked that they had become the confident adults he hoped they would become. He introduced them to outdoors pursuits - camping, hiking - and waxed lyrical about his assent of Mount Whitney, his hike down into the Grand Canyon and his four day hike into the wilderness of Yosemite. He took the wheel of the minivan and drove north from San Diego to Canada so the family could celebrate the incoming new year of 2000 at a Northern Irish reunion in British Columbia. He enjoyed his golf league on Wednesdays and won the “twilight league” once, bringing home what was probably the ugliest trophy ever - a brassy looking golfer waving a club which eventually broke off and which was reapplied to the trophy but not to his hands!!! It took him a week to notice the indignity with which his trophy was being treated - but it was still kept on display.. Jeff was very much a hands on dad. Daughter Gaby provided her own recollections of “Dad Jeff” - — He wanted to name me Joni —He encouraged me to try things - bikes, instruments, roller coasters, chasing after mama bear & cubs, hiking & camping —He absolutely dominated at family kayaking in Mendocino —I stole his Samuel Adams pint glass and his grey Champion sweatpants without him noticing —He spoke French to me at school pickup so often that my teachers were confused by what I meant when I said my parents were Irish —He provided a hummingbird rescue service even when busy at a work meeting, leaving to catch and release them when they entered the house accidentally. —His dinners were the best - baked beans on toast, rolled up ham and cheese cubes, or gammon steak with grilled peaches and of course, banana sandwiches —He pulled a chocolate ice cream bowl prank on Jamie and me —He once ripped a phone book in half —We called him Karma Queen - he really believed delivering good karma to people would pay off in the end —He and I stopped into the record/music stores Tower Records & Sam Goody, giving me exposure to music and where I actually saw my first live performance. — I could always convince him to stop by the art store on our way out of the mall, and he’d always let me pick out something, even when Mum rolled her eyes at the sheer amount of art supplies I already had at home —Those weekly shopping trips to Costco —Jamie and I were fighting while Christmas shopping at Fashion Valley and he stopped right outside the Victoria’s Secret window, where a huge store display featuring 20 bombshell lingerie models were surrounding a naughty Santa. He tried scolding us but we were giggling so hard that he turned around and burst out laughing… pretty sure he forgot to finish scolding us! —He pranked us with rubber snakes while we played hide and seek around the house —He was the pool guy… setting up the whirlpool bath for us after dinner —He taught me how to be a defensive driver —He wore those high cut speedo shorts, which were at least a better alternative to the budgie smuggler speedos uncle Ian would wear —He set me up in my college apartment and used up every square inch of our rental car to fit a bed, a dresser and an arm chair… —He spotted the Oompa Loompas around Indiana University —We were roomies in Minnesota and got attention from strange jealous women at the bar, enough to warrant a free glass of “over-poured” wine from the sympathetic bartender —He scared my high school friends when he picked me up at parties because they thought he was a cop —We went skydiving at iFly and had beers afterwards, still feeling the high of the moment —He looked out for everyone… I’d be heading into Nordstrom with him and eventually I knew to stand off to the side and wait once we got inside because he’d still be holding the door for at least 15 people before he’d let himself through —He planned one of the best surprises for Mum, by flying Jamie and me to join them on their Maui trip. Cheeseburger in Paradise, snorkeling along Molokini, going to the luau… I’ll forever look back on that trip and want to re-experience it over and over —Rowing with dad and mum at SDRC was magical. Being in a familiar place with my two favorite people, sharing laughs and eye rolls at some of the other recreational crew members —Coming to my NAMM Show for the first time and seeing me in my element, always supporting from the sidelines, but looking like he was genuinely having a blast —He witnessed Chris smacking my butt the very first time he met him (while moving me out of my PB apartment) —Our family trip to Yellowstone —Christmas with “Leff”, his alter ego, courtesy of Barbie —Meeting Isla and seeing her giggle when he made faces or waved to her Son Jamie has his own memories of his hands on dad - — Coming to the rescue at Coronado when he had a surfing accident in a new wet suit and supporting him while medics carefully removed the wetsuit to avoid cutting it — Launching rockets in Discovery Park — Following black bears with a flashlight on a camping trip to Sequoia National Park — Buying the best Xmas gift a seventeen year old lad could wish for - a brand new truck - but only after putting a few “red herrings” out there that he would be getting a second hand older model. The excitement on Xmas morning when Jamie realized what was going on was palpable. Jeff hid it in a neighbors garage and parked it outside the our house in the wee small hours of the night so it was a total surprise. Going with Jamie to the regional soccer championship at Palmdale on the wettest day of the year and getting the team to wear Hefty bags as rain protection Coming to Jamie’s aid to scare off a street wise kid trying to steal his skateboard and who was later taken back to juvenile hall as a result. That was Jeff - always there, always watching out for his family and always up for fun. Someone once said that Multiple Systems Atrophy is like an unwanted third person who has entered your home uninvited and who will not leave. When Jeff learned three years ago that he did not have Parkinson’s but instead had MSA, he accepted his fate and focused on staying with his family for as long as he could. He was pleased he met two new granddaughters, walked his daughter Gaby down the aisle and enjoyed a life long ambition to ride in an Aston Martin in his last years. These happy times lifted his spirits in the darkest period of his life. Yet, Jeff remained brave and stoic even as the outlook worsened. He never complained and took it all in his stride while MSA stole him away piece by piece, bit by bit. He tried to not make anything harder for his family, never demanded extra attention or made his health the excuse for not trying. Up until the last year he would be open to another trip or another visit from friends. It was only at the very end that he relented and let his life slow to a peaceful conclusion. He faced this bravely, with dignity and calmness in the comfort of his home with his loving wife Stephanie. Jeff chose to be buried at sea and his loving family is honored to grant his wish. His wife Stephanie will look at the ocean each day and know he is close. His daughter Gaby in San Diego will feel his presence when she watches the sun set off the Carlsbad coastline. His son Jamie will look at his surfboards and know that the Pacific waves now hold his father’s memory. His family know he was taken too soon and stolen from them by circumstances but are grateful for his life, his love, his guidance and selflessness. Rest in peace.
