My Beloved Brother and Best Friend

My younger brother and best friend passed away suddenly Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009 and our family is simply heartbroken. There are not enough words to describe our John. He was an outstanding father, husband, son and brother.We will all miss him so much.

My best friend and brother John,

John was the best of us.

     He was a gentleman, and an old soul. He was compassionate,considerate,patient,and loyal. If he was a friend of yours, you new it and felt it with his helpful nature. John wasn't big on calling in favors but he was owed plenty. If you suspect that you were loved by John you are correct. We both enjoyed playing practical jokes on each other, and there were not many April fool days that we didn't pull one on each other and if you were a victim of one, he did it because he loved you. John truly knew how to enjoy the moment, and was full of enthusiasm ,and loved to laugh. He loved playtime and enjoyed sharing it with his friends and family.

     He was dedicated to his job and it showed in his work ethics. John had a dynamic quality in his life and work. He understood people and how to connect with them to the point that it was almost impossible not to like him or want to know him better. Most things difficult for us came naturally for him, he was a natural leader and lead by example. He always wanted to take the time to do the right thing and was vigilant in the way he defended his choices. He could advise freely and knew when advice was not necessary. He always wanted to help people excel. John was full of encouragement and was quick to compliment. John could take a step back, appreciate and consider other points of view. He could recognize his weaknesses and tried to conquer them without fear. He could always see the good in people and did his best to bring it out.

     He could experience the awe of the smallest things in nature. Where some people can't see the forest for the trees, John could see the trees, the forest, the leaves, the grass, and everything . He was gumption by definition. He was a free spirit but grounded in the reality of his responsibilities. He showed reverence and respect to those that went before and some of his favorite people were a generation older. Even as a child he loved to spend time with his elders and they enjoyed his spunk and tenacity he had a lot of both so they had a lot to enjoy. He loved to learn from the wise and could apply what they taught him. Cutting grass was meditation for him,and anyone that saw his yard knows that he meditated a lot. John wouldn't say this but he was tech savvy, I suspect he hid his pocket protector in his toolbox.

He had a tender heart that beat for all of us.

John was so much more than a brother.

John was a comfort to me.

John was my counsel.

John is the best of us.

And he hated black widow spiders.

Thank you all who have already reached out to us with thoughts and prayers.

Bill

Comments

[Susan H. Scherr]

Beautiful. Much love and peace to you Bill.