This past December, Jeff Landis of Lancaster passed away at the age of 56 after battling esophageal cancer. Landis lived an extraordinary life, and although he traveled across the United States and around the world, he never forgot about those in his local community.

Landis was Lampeter-Strasburg School District's transportation coordinator for 27 years, starting out as a bus driver when he was 18 years old. Even after moving to a management position, Landis kept his bus driver's license and drove bus No. 300 as a way to stay connected with the kids in the district.

In addition to his daily route, Landis was always eager to shuttle teams of every sport to and from their games and trips. Landis would even keep score and manage the clock for games that he drove the teams to. "He was always looking to help out. He drove for everyone at some point," said Kim Kann, Landis' wife.

Landis' contributions to the school district didn't end with transportation; he also served as an adviser for multiple school clubs, such as the ski and snowboard club and the outdoor and environmental club. Landis was also an adviser for the Interact Club, a faith-based student organization that provides services to communities both locally and abroad. Landis took a group of students to Louisiana to help rebuild communities that had been affected by flooding and assisted with trips to New York to provide help in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Every three years, Landis went with a group of students to the Dominican Republic to provide English language instruction. Through the Interact Club, Landis and many students also regularly visited local nursing homes and volunteered at nonprofit organizations.

In addition to service trips, Landis would take groups of students on educational escapades to Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware every year, where they would camp for a few days. "He was very devoted to exposing kids to beautiful places and hoping that they would understand why it was important to preserve these places," said Kann.

Landis retired in June 2021 after Kann was diagnosed with leukemia so that he could help with her recovery. After Kann was healthy enough to travel, she and Landis packed their RV and spent eight months traveling across the country. Landis and Kann camped in Glacier National Park in Montana and rode on horseback in Wyoming. Their adventure took them up and down the West Coast.

Landis requested that his memorial service be less of a funeral and more of a celebration of life. The theme of the memorial was "Live Your Dash," referring to the dash between the first year and last year of one's life. "Jeff exemplified putting as much into that dash as you could," said Kann.