When Jay Prefontaine, an instructor in the English department, died Friday at his parents’ home in Kittery, Maine, he had been on medical leave since mid-March, yet few of his closest friends even knew he was dying.

English professor Bob Zordani, who many in the English department say is Prefontaine’s best friend, said he was an extremely private individual.

“Jay didn’t like doctors, Jay didn’t like the government, Jay didn’t like anybody messing with him,” Zordani said. “He would write all summer long and see nobody. He was a very dedicated writer.”

Prefontaine met Zordani while attending graduate school at the University of Arkansas in 1989, and the two were roommates for a time.

“We lived out in the country at a place we called the Double Barrel Ranch, and we threw big parties,” Zordani said. “And we made huge weird flower beds, and we had dogs and a garden. It was great fun.”

Zordani recalled their first meeting.

“The first time I remember seeing Jay was in a bar,” Zordani said. “He was in this bar with his friends from Boston and they were playing chicken, just crunching into each other with volume-11 music on… We became fast friends.”

Christopher Hanlon, associate professor of American literature, said he grew up near Prefontaine.

“I’ve felt a connection to Jay since I was hired in 2001 because we grew up within 30 miles of each other in eastern Massachusetts – he in Shrewsbury, me in Billerica – only to meet here in Charleston,” Hanlon said. “But more importantly than that, I appreciated how authentic he was, and respected him for his dedication to his craft as a writer. In this last regard he was extremely accomplished. I’ll miss him.”

Bill Feltt, an instructor in the English department, said Prefontaine was his landlord and friend. The two had also worked on a few projects together.

“He was a very kind and giving person. He gave up himself readily without question and without expecting anything in return,” Feltt said. “He was a very creative man and both his talent and his person will be missed greatly.”

Prefontaine is remembered by students for his quality as an educator, for his unorthodox methods and for his vulgar language.

Jeniece Mitchell, a sophomore elementary education major, took Prefontaine’s section of English 1001 in the fall.

“He was just really funny, he really engaged all the students,” she said.

To Mitchell, Prefontaine was more than a teacher.

She said each of his students had his cell phone number, and there were times when she would go to him for advice regarding a variety of subjects.

“Any time I needed advice for anything, I talked to Jay,” Mitchell said.

She said he once told the class to write a paper about one of their most painful childhood memories. She was at first reluctant, but after talking to Prefontaine in private, she developed the confidence to put the words to the page.

“He said, ‘That’s what I want to get out of you guys, anything that evokes any type of emotion. If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it makes you think – that’s what I want. I don’t want any of that sugary watered-down bullshit,'” Mitchell said.

Regarding Prefontaine’s vulgarity, Mitchell said some found it distracting.

“(Some people) thought that because he was vulgar, and because he was just a funny guy, he wouldn’t be serious about stuff,” Mitchell said. “But he knew how to be serious, he knew how to get to the point with people. He was just straight up; he wasn’t one to beat around the bush. He wasn’t one to sugarcoat things, he would tell you what he thought and that was it.”

Zordani said his favorite quote of Prefontaine’s is not printable in the newspaper.

“I’ve never met any teacher or any professor, or anybody like him,” Mitchell said.

There will be no funeral services for Prefontaine. Memorial contributions may be made to the York Public Library, 15 Long Sands Road, York, Maine 03909.

Jason Hardimon can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].