Could a person be too good to be true? Not if you knew Jeremy Adler.
An East Bay native, Jeremy was an attorney, musician and unrivaled Cal fan. He had a boundless curiosity and blade-like wit. His intellect threw off light.
But what defined him more than any of that was his loving and generous nature.
There was an unfailing goodness about Jeremy that lifted everyone around him, starting — but only starting — with his family and friends, who adored him.
Kindness came easy to Jeremy, as did a heart-melting laugh, but some things did not. His means were modest and he endured a rare medical condition throughout his life.
But Jeremy’s brilliance and hard work brought great accomplishments. Jeremy was honored with both the Regents Scholarship to UC Davis and the Incentive Awards Scholarship to UC Berkeley. He chose to join his twin brother Pierre — his best friend — at Berkeley, and all things Cal became one of Jeremy’s many passions.
He played in the Cal Marching Band, wrote for Berkeley Political Review and The Daily Californian, and served with the Berkeley School Volunteers.
While compiling a nose-bleed GPA, he held after-class jobs at the Bancroft Library, San Francisco mayor’s office, Social Security Administration and In-N-Out Burger.
In 2008, Jeremy graduated from Berkeley with a degree in political science. Berkeley awarded him its Highest Distinction in General Scholarship citation. He also was on the Dean’s list, a recognition bestowed on students whose performance places them in the top four percent.
The legal arena eventually captured Jeremy’s imagination, so he earned a juris doctorate in 2013 at Northwestern University School of Law, graduating cum laude. While in Chicago, he spent much of his free time on charitable efforts. He worked for the Kirkland & Ellis firm in San Francisco.
At the time of his passing, Jeremy was engaged to be married to Rachel Pringle, his soul mate since their years together at Berkeley. The family that Jeremy completed includes Pierre; their parents, Charlene Kibby and Richard Adler; stepfather Anthony Kibby; stepsister Jillian Kibby; and a cherished clan of uncles, aunts and cousins.
For all his strengths, there was something overwhelming about the world that Jeremy, in a vulnerable moment, could not quite conquer. We will never know what that something was, only that it caused Jeremy to leave us.
We are bereft. We are lost without him. But we are forever richer in having known and loved him, and being loved by him in return.
A service celebrating Jeremy’s life will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Sunset View Mortuary, Colusa and Fairmount Avenues, El Cerrito. Afterward, a reception will be held from 3 p.m. into the evening at the Faculty Club on the Berkeley campus. For directions and parking information, please visit www.berkeleyfacultyclub.com and click Visit the Club.
Jeremy didn’t just give back — he gave first. In that spirit, his family and friends are establishing a scholarship fund in his name for Berkeley students. (Go Bears!)
We hope that, in lieu of sending flowers, you would consider contributing to the fund. For more information, please visit www.jeremyadlerscholarship.org.
We miss you, Jeremy. You were good and true.