Jeff Tando was a gifted teacher who educated students in two separate, very different careers.
Although his wish to have no memorial service was honored, his death on Nov. 30 at age 60 brought forth an outpouring on social media of grateful tributes from some who remember Jeff as a high school English teacher and others who are thankful for his instruction in leathercrafting.
For instance, Scott Calhoun credits Jeff for turning him from “the dumb jock who just liked to have fun and chase girls” as a high school student into a serious educator who has spent more than two decades working as a teacher, coach and administrator in schools, most recently as a special education instructor in the Lockwood R-1 district.
Meanwhile, Vickie Warburton, who journeyed from her home in Prairie Grove, Ark., to a Springfield leather store where Jeff worked in recent years, says he “helped me a lot when I was barely learning about leather. Jeff helped me choose the right tools and explained about different leathers and finishes and sewing machines. He even recommended a good Mexican restaurant!”
Jeff was born in France in 1962 while his father was stationed in Verdun with the U.S. Army. By the time Jeff reached school age, the family had settled in Nixa. His older sister, Pam Williams, who lives in Boaz, fondly remembers toting him around town when she got her driver’s license.
“My friend and I used to take Jeff and my friend’s younger brother in the back seat of my car when we were in high school. That way our parents thought we were being good big sisters, and it covered up what mischief we got into,” Pam recalls with a smile. “Jeff probably saw some things he shouldn’t have seen, but he never told.”
Jeff was graduated in 1980 from Nixa High School, where he excelled in orchestra and jazz band as a trombonist and also took part in theatrical productions in addition to polishing his skills as a writer.
Among his bandmates was Dolores Howerton, now Dolores Norton. They shared classrooms from kindergarten through 12th grade. In recent years, they reconnected and went out to eat once in a while to talk about old times and share their common interest in leatherwork, an art that Dolores has practiced since age 11.
“He was like a brother to me when we were growing up,” she says. “He was very compassionate. He always seemed more ‘grown-up’ than his years. He really cared about people, and he was a huge encourager to others. He brought out the best in people.
“And I can tell you,” Dolores adds, “Jeff was the same person in his later years that he’d been when we were in school together.”
‘I respected him and wanted to impress him'
Jeff earned a bachelor’s degree and teacher certification at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, then signed on as an English teacher at Calhoun High School in tiny (population 402) Calhoun, Mo., 100 miles north of Springfield.
“What Mr. Tando did for me was to get education into my stubborn brain,” says former student Scott Calhoun, whose family name is an accidental coincidence with the names of the community and school there.
“My junior year, I decided to try to join the yearbook staff, even though I really didn’t have the grades. Mr. Tando shocked me by putting this dumb jock as the sports editor.
“I worked so dang hard at it. I respected him and wanted to impress him. He knew how to challenge me — he would nail me on my writing, but I didn’t give up. I wanted to prove to that little guy that I was good at something. Plus, I started thinking he was really pretty dang cool himself.”
In his senior year (Class of 1992), Calhoun says, Jeff appointed him overall editor of the yearbook. “I was more stunned than ever, because there were far better choices. But that decision changed my life. I went to college with the confidence he gave me.”
‘Jeff was our kind of guy'
Jeff went through a rough personal patch during the latter 1990s and early 2000s. He moved back to Nixa and then Springfield to be close to his parents, the late Fred and Audrey Tando. Then, in 2012, he walked into Springfield Leather Company on South Glenstone Avenue and applied for a job as a sales associate.
“When we’re hiring, we first try to find people who fit the personality of our company — and then we teach them everything they need to know about leather,” says Liz van Every, who co-manages the store with her husband, Chris Costa. “Jeff was our kind of guy.”
“Jeff was very sharp; he caught on really fast,” recalls Chris. Jeff eventually became the store’s retail manager. “And,” Chris says, “he became a leathercrafter himself.”
Liz describes Jeff as “a beautiful leathercrafter. He loved bags. He would do bags and satchels, and his kind-of signature item was suspenders. He also made some belts and just a little bit of everything. But he made a lot of bags.”
Chris says Jeff would “go home at night, design bags, hand-sew them, and bring them in to show us. He made truly beautiful bags, but he was a very humble guy. He’d go, ‘Oh, it’s alright, just alright.’ But he was very, very good at it.”
As word spread the past couple of weeks of Jeff’s passing, Springfield Leather customers and others have flooded Facebook pages with glowing remembrances. A few examples:
“On my first visit to the store, I was anxious and nervous. Jeff, with his easy smile and ready wit, put me at ease. Whenever I needed something, he dropped what he was doing to help me.”
“When I started learning about leathercrafting, Jeff was the best at guiding me and answering my questions without making me feel like I was ignorant. He was encouraging, and such a blessing.”
“Jeff always took time to help — from my very first visit, when he showed my grandson how to lace a wallet and what tools we needed, to the many projects I eventually took on. He even gave me his phone number in case I had a question over the weekend.”
“Jeff gave me so many tips and ideas, and without his help I wouldn’t have been able to do half the things that I did. He showed me tools that would make my job easier, and alternate ways to do things when I couldn’t afford some of the more pricey tools.”
“I’ve had the opportunity to visit Springfield from Dallas in person three times. The first time, I met Jeff and he helped me on several items for my business. The next time I was there, more than a year later, he remembered me and came up to me to say Hello. He always made me feel like a friend.”
In addition to working with customers in-person, Jeff was featured in several instructional videos demonstrating techniques that leathercrafters could view at home.
“Jeff taught a ton of our customers their leathercraft,” says Liz. “They are better craftsmen because of Jeff. He touched a lot of people.”
Jeff’s skill at instructing and inspiring served his colleagues well, too.
‘Jeff loved teaching and did so well at it'
During the COVID crisis of the past couple of years, “we had a lot of new staff, and we needed somebody to help us train those people, so we put Jeff into that role,” says Liz, noting the store’s employee roster now numbers about 80.
“Jeff loved teaching and did so well at it,” agrees Chris. “When we had the opportunity to create a full-time teaching position, that’s what Jeff did starting in late 2020. He’d rotate through all the employees, focus on the new ones first and teach them the basics.”
Liz says Jeff “was always so excited when somebody would really get into it. We have several people on the staff who now have their own little side-businesses, and it’s because Jeff taught them and helped them.”
Unfortunately, Jeff began experiencing health issues in recent months.
“It started when he got mugged at a gas station,” says Chris, noting that Jeff stood only about 5-foot-4. “A couple of teenagers attacked him — beat him and kicked him. He had to roll under his car to get away from them.
“He started going downhill healthwise from that point. He was having a hard time eating. And then they found cancer. But he was too weak to take the chemo treatments.”
To make matters even worse, Jeff had at least one, perhaps two, bouts with COVID, says his sister Pam. “That affected his heart. We think it was congestive heart failure in the end that got him.”
Darcie Grisham, a senior staff member at Springfield Leather, marveled at Jeff’s abilities as a quick learner and an effective teacher. She treasures an email she received from him this past August when, although he was ill, he marked his 10th anniversary as a store employee.
“When I was new and didn’t know squat, you always had the answers,” he told Darcie. “I made it to 10 years because of your help and support. Thank you, my friend!”
In a Facebook post following his death, Darcie told others of Jeff’s note, with this observation:
“All those years and I never knew he felt that way. That email was his final lesson to me: You never know what impact you’ll have on someone or the difference you will make. So be good, do good. Life is short.”
Jeff, she said, “took joy in being able to help and teach others.
“He never stopped teaching.”
