A Friend Remembers John

One of the earliest memories I have of John was the day he introduced me to the newest video game system available: the Sony Dreamcast. We played some shooter game that I was horrible at, but enjoyed learning anyway. I remember thinking to myself, “wow, this guy is cool! He has the greatest toys!” He never failed to live up to that image I created for him years ago, and I will always remember his enthusiasm for “toys” like this one. Some of the last moments I spent with John were riding home from the airport with him and playing on his new iPhone. He was eager to show me slide shows of his pets and his niece Sofia, and also to make fun of how awful I was at playing the game “lights out”.

John truly was one of the smartest people I have ever met, and he loved to share his knowledge with everyone. He always told me more about computers than I could ever understand. One of the best memories I have of John sharing his computer knowledge with me was when he taught me how to “ping” in order to figure out why my laptop would not get an Internet signal. It took a while for me to finally understand the function of octets and routers and to decipher the cryptic “computer geek” language he used to teach me about them, but the day I called him ecstatic that I had pinged all on my own and fixed my computer issue of the day using the information he had given me was priceless and will always occupy a happy place in my memory. Not only did he help me with technical problems when I was in town, but after I moved away to college he was always my go-to person when technology got the best of me. No matter where he was or how long it had been since we last talked, he would always answer my calls and help me with whatever I needed.

Another favorite memory I have of John was going for car rides. I used to beg him to take me out in the Porsche, even though speeding down the road and “testing the breaks” scared me half to death sometimes. I remember looking out his moon roof at the stars while we listened to Train (one of his favorite bands) and cruising the country roads at night. He showed me then that he was someone who you could trust enough to let yourself go in the moment knowing that nothing would go wrong as long as he was beside you.

John was especially fond of a show called “Sports Night” which he sat me down and made me watch on a couple of occasions. He also insisted that I take home the seasons on DVD and report back to him on how awesome they were. I’ll never forget his passion for that show and for everything else in life that he loved.

John and his wife Heather are family to me. They gave me my first job doing house and barn chores to earn money before my career as a Starbucks barista began (John’s favorite drink was a grande mocha), they opened their home to me on several occasions (once in particular to host a going away to college party for me), and they have spent many memorable moments with me (including the time John taught me how to pilot their farm tractor despite some hesitation due to my less than perfect driving skills). The world has lost a truly great person and so has our family. And although we are all very sad, my consolation is that I am fortunate enough to live from this moment on forever remembering the lessons that his life and his death have taught me. I am a different person because of John, and will never forget to “pay it forward” in his name.

Megan