Every record begins with a groove. Start it, and the music emerges.

There is a line in one of Jeff Foss’s favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd songs about being something you love and understand. In many ways, that is how Jeff has lived his life: loving his family, understanding the value of hard work, finding joy in music, and quietly showing people that they matter.

For the past 16 years, Jeff has brought all of that to his custodial job at the Boothbay Region YMCA. And every Thursday, he has offered a clue to the music playing inside his soul by wearing a different concert T-shirt.

Thursday simply seemed like a good day to honor one of his favorite pastimes: listening to music.

It all started with a trip to Portland when Jeff was a sophomore in high school. Then known as “Hoss” to his friends because of his impressive athletic build, he and three friends drove to the city to see his first concert. The band was Boston, and Jeff was hooked.

He has attended more than 100 concerts since then, with musical tastes ranging from Bad Company and Three Dog Night to Trisha Yearwood and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Among the most memorable were Lynyrd Skynyrd, shortly before the band’s tragic plane crash, and Aerosmith, although he remembers the latter as one of the worst concerts he has attended because the band members were so strung out at the time.

He has also attended many Christian rock concerts with his wife, Debbie. “Each concert, no matter the music, no matter the group, it hits me right here,” he said, pointing to his chest. “It’s such a moving experience.”

Jeff has not only been moved by music; through his love of it, he has moved his Y colleagues, too. Since 2017, whenever a new employee has started working at the Y, Jeff, often with a mop in hand, has introduced himself and asked one important question: “If you were stranded on a deserted island, what’s the one record you would bring with you?”

It is a great icebreaker, but the question also has a sweet purpose.

Many years ago, while Jeff and Debbie were browsing in an antique store, Jeff spotted a coaster made from the center label of a record. As the owner of a large vinyl collection, he was intrigued. Not wanting to ruin any of his own pristine records, he began hunting for scratched ones at garage sales and vintage shops, picking up albums by popular artists for pennies.

Once he learned the musical tastes of a new colleague, he would search for the right record, or the next best thing. Then, quietly, a few days or weeks later, a beautiful coaster handmade by Jeff would appear on that person’s desk.

It was a simple gesture, but the process was actually pretty complicated and took time. Jeff was careful to capture both the music and reflect the personality of the person receiving the gift.

I remember how touched I was when Jeff asked about my favorite “desert island” band shortly after I began working at the Y in September 2020. It was during COVID and we were all wearing masks, and I did not know many people. I am passionate about music, and Jeff’s question became the perfect segue into a long conversation that day and one that that has continued since then. 

A few weeks later, when he could not locate an old record by Led Zeppelin or The Cars, but he knew that I liked “anything from the 80s,” Madonna’s “Borderline” appeared on my desk. It remains there to this day.

Jeff was born in North Carolina but grew up in Boothbay. A natural athlete, he played football, basketball, and baseball. He wore jersey number 75 in honor of one of his idols on the Los Angeles Rams, Deacon Jones. He also spent a great deal of time at the Y and remains close to friends he made while growing up here.

Before joining the Y, Jeff worked for Central Maine Power for many years, first as a meter reader and later as a supervisor. His wife Debbie is an auditor for MaineHealth and they are the proud parents of Meghan and Shannon and the grandparents of five grandchildren.

Although their daughters now live near each other in Pennsylvania, one of Jeff’s fondest memories is dancing around the kitchen with them when they were young, all of them singing “Let It Roll” by Little Feat at the top of their lungs. Jeff admits that Little Feat is probably his favorite band, as he has been to see them four times.

Jeff began working as the Y’s custodial supervisor just a few months before Director of Facilities Rose Mooney arrived. Jeff was way more than a custodian. He was Rose’s trusted second-in-command. 

“Jeff was my brother in arms,” Rose shared. “We figured out a lot of things together. How systems worked. How the Y worked. How to get things done. And we did it all by putting our different skills together, and man, did we laugh a lot along the way.” 

The facilities team has grown and changed over the years, but Jeff’s ability to connect with members and staff, always with a smile, has never changed. 

This retirement is not easy for Jeff or for those of us who care about him. Jeff is living with Parkinson’s disease. Although he knows it is time to retire, he is deeply sad to leave the work, the routines, and the people who have been such an important part of his life for 16 years. We are equally sad to see him go. 

As Jeff retires, we will miss his quick quips, warm demeanor, strong work ethic, and the unmistakable gleam in his blue eyes. We will miss seeing which concert T-shirt he wears on Thursdays (and sometimes other days, too, when the mood hits him). We will miss the way he can make an ordinary workday lighter simply by being there. 

But pieces of Jeff will remain throughout the Y. They sit on desks in the form of old record labels, carefully chosen and made into coasters for colleagues who became friends. Each one began with a question about music, but the real gift was the message behind it: Jeff listened. He remembered. He wanted that person to know they mattered. 

There is nothing simple about the impact one person can have over 16 years. Jeff Foss has spent those years working hard, following his heart, loving his family, sharing his music, and bringing joy to the people around him.

That is a life with rhythm, soul, and meaning. And all of us at the Y are better for having been part of it.