Jeffrey
Aarts
Male
United States of America
1954-12-03
Guantanamo, Cuba
2014-08-07
, Scotland
Fond remembrances continue pouring in as friends and family respond to the Thursday, Aug. 7, death of Pound Ridge and Bradenton, Fla., resident Jeffrey Aarts, who collapsed and died suddenly while playing golf with his wife, Karen, and older son, Michael.
Mr. Aarts, who was 59 and had lived in Pound Ridge since he was a youngster, attended Bedford Village Elementary School, as did others who lived in the Long Ridge section of town at that time; Fox Lane Middle School; and Fox Lane High School, Class of 1971.
He was born Dec. 3, 1954, in Guantanamo, Cuba, to Jerry Aarts, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Prue Aarts, of Madison, Conn. In addition to his parents and his wife, who he married in 1976, and older son, Mr. Aarts is also survived by his younger son, Peter; siblings Christine, Carol and Tommy; father-in-law Victor Jacoby, formerly of Pound Ridge; sister- and brother-in-law, Susan and Kevin Marks; and a number of nieces and nephews.
Mr. Aarts was well known in the New York metropolitan region and in Florida as a seasoned and respected tennis professional. At the time of his death he had been director of tennis at Wee Burn Country Club in Darien, Conn., for 14 years, and had served in similar capacities for many years at Chestnut Ridge Racquet Club in Bedford Corners and Bedford Golf and Tennis Club in Bedford Village.
?Jeff was a public parks player who was introduced to tennis at the Madison Beach Club, where he worked at age 14 in the snack bar,? Mrs. Aarts said in her eulogy during funeral services on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at the Pound Ridge Community Church, where more than 300 of Mr. Aarts?s friends, associates and relatives paid their respects. ?He was intrigued by tennis and started hitting against the backboard. Soon he began hitting with some of the members until he beat one important member. He was then asked not to use the courts anymore!?
Having had no formal training, Mr. Aarts honed his skills at the Pound Ridge Tennis Club and Chestnut Ridge, where he did chores in exchange for using the courts. His friendship and eventual romance with Mrs. Aarts began on the tennis courts as well, where during their teenage years they played in friendly and competitive matches.
After high school, Mr. Aarts attended Franklin & Marshall College and the University of New Hampshire. He played the European and United States tennis circuits and was ranked in doubles on the ATP world doubles circuit.
He taught at Chestnut Ridge during the summer from 1971 to 1976, during the winter from 1971 to 2011, and full-time from 1976 to 1984. He ran the tennis program at Bedford Golf & Tennis from 1984 to 2000 before his employment at Wee Burn. Mr. Aarts was also recently affiliated with the Cedars Tennis Resort in Longboat Key, Fla.
During his career he was president of the Northern Westchester Junior Tennis League and was ranked in the Eastern Tennis Association men?s division in singles and doubles for many years. He was chairman of the Church Cup of the Eastern Tennis Association for many years and a member of the U.S. Professional Tennis Association at P-1, which is a certification of teaching credentials, the highest level as a professional tennis instructor, and signifies skill not only in playing and teaching tennis but also in running a shop and tennis business, which Mr. and Mrs. Aarts did for many years at Chestnut Ridge and Wee Burn.
The ventures also included their sons, who learned many aspects of running a business from their father and mother. Mrs. Aarts?s father, Victor Jacoby, was involved as well, bringing his accounting acumen and computer skills to the fore.
A career highlight of Mr. Aarts was that he was a national 35-and-over grass court finalist with his partner Peter Bromley in 1991. An all-around athlete, he also played in the father-son U.S.T.A. national tournament with his son Peter and in the father-son Metropolitan Golf Association tournament with his son Michael.
Mr. Aarts took great pride in his family, much of whose leisure time was spent playing tennis or golf or skiing. ?We had so many family tennis matches with the four of us,? Mrs. Aarts said earlier this week, ?and the teams would change as everyone got better and older. After a golf or tennis match was over we talked about different shots, and most dinner conversations involved lessons or matches experienced during the day. Sports and family were Jeff?s life.?
An excellent golfer, Mr. Aarts had three hole-in-ones, all of which his son Michael witnessed, and he was on the course when Michael had a hole-in-one as well. In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Aarts won the husband-wife golf tournament twice at Salem Golf Club in North Salem.
A number of Mr. Aarts?s friends and associates spoke at the funeral, including fellow tennis professional Tom Carey, who remembered that Mr. Aarts ?really wanted to help young people get into the tennis business. Whether you were an intern or teaching pro, you learned the right way when you worked for Jeff. Many of Jeff?s assistants went on to become head pros or directors at other clubs. Parents of kids who worked for Jeff thanked him for teaching their kids to be polite and courteous as well as to be able to think on their feet.?
Wee Burn Country Club manager Warren Burdock also spoke, noting it had been a privilege to work with Mr. Aarts, who led by example and demonstrated what it took to be the best at one?s profession.
?Jeff was always on his A game, whether having the courts prepared for opening day, which, by the way, they always were prior to anyone else?s regardless of whether we had a hurricane a few months earlier or not,? Mr. Burdock said. At the time of his death, Mr. Aarts ran a junior program at Wee Burn that included close to 150 players a day.
?Everyone who ever had a meeting with Jeff knows his last question before the meeting ended was always, ?is there anything else I can do for you??? Mr. Burdock said. ?No, Jeff, there isn?t, and on behalf of all of us at Wee Burn, thank you for all you did for us.?
?Jeff always said that his job was to put smiles on people?s faces,? Mrs. Aarts said. ?At the wake and funeral the people we were speaking to were smiling while they were sharing their experiences. Jeff certainly accomplished making people happy.?
Arrangements were handled by Clark Associates Funeral Home in Katonah, and burial was at the Pound Ridge Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be sent to Danbury Grassroots Tennis and Enrichment, P.O. Box 2912, Danbury, CT 06813.
?Dad loved teaching kids, and this is a high-quality, low-overhead program run by a husband and wife our family knows,? said Peter Aarts. ?He would be very proud to know that future generations of children will grow to enjoy playing tennis the way he did.?
1977 - 1981
0
14
7
Semifinals
Jeffrey Aarts 1 *
Joe Bouquin
6-3
4-6
6-2
Final
John James 1 *
Jeffrey Aarts
6-1
7-5
Semifinals
Jeffrey Aarts 1 *
Gene Chappell
6-4
6-4
Final
John James 1 *
Jeffrey Aarts
6-1
6-2
Round 1
Jeffrey Aarts 1 *
John Karl Hedrick
6-3
6-3
Quarterfinals
Jeffrey Aarts 1 *
Richard (Rich) Bray
7-6
6-3
Semifinals
John Ingard 1 *
Jeffrey Aarts
6-3
6-4
Round 1
Jeffrey Aarts 1 *
Dave Robison
6-2
6-1
Quarterfinals
Dave Fish 1 *
Jeffrey Aarts
6-7
6-1
6-3
Round 1
Ben Bishop 1 *
Jeffrey Aarts
6-2
6-1
Round 1
Jeffrey Aarts 1 *
Mike Britton
7-5
6-2
Quarterfinals
James (Jim) Ratliff 1 *
Jeffrey Aarts
6-1
6-3
Round 1
Jeffrey Aarts 1 *
Steve Williams
7-5
4-6
6-2
Quarterfinals
Mike Britton 1 *
Jeffrey Aarts
4-6
7-6
6-2