Last weekend Dave and I drove to Sandpoint, Idaho to attend the Celebration of Life for John. Dave and John taught together at Sandpoint High School and continued to be good friends. John came to Arizona and stayed with us several times as well as staying here in Butte. We visited them at their home in Idaho. John and Leana are two of the nicest people I know. Leana wasn't retired yet so John visited us by himself. He and Dave golfed, went to the Phoenix Open (Waste Management) and we went to some sporting events.
I felt like I had known John for a long time. I loved his sense of humor. At the service, that was brought up many times by the friends who spoke.
John was a respected educator and had so many friends. He touched the lives of the students he taught. Just talking to John, you knew that.
He loved sports but his favorites were fishing and duck hunting. He had his priorities straight in that he wanted to have time to be able to do what he loved so he didn't do a lot of coaching or after school activities to make time for what he loved.
Dave was really sad about John's death. He got sick and didn't live for very long. I remember the day that he told Dave that he didn't have much longer.
Dave spoke at the service about his friendship with John and his visits to Arizona. Here is what we wrote.
John and I taught and coached together for many years. We had some great times when we were both single. I'll save those stories for anyone who wants to come up and ask me later!
John came to visit Sheila and I in Arizona a few years ago. We had tickets to the Arizona State vs. Arizona basketball game. Sheila is a die hard ASU fan and informed John that if he wanted to stay at our house, he had to root for the Sun Devils. Otherwise, there is a Motel 6 down the street where he could stay.
We went to the game and John got to witness first hand Sheila at an ASU game. She is always in top form when they play the Wildcats. I think that John was probably in a little bit of shock, but he rooted for the Devils and didn't have to stay at Motel 6! Fortunately, ASU beat Arizona or things might have gone down hill after the game!
The next day we took John up to a small mining town named Globe. They have a very nice Indian casino there where we spent a few hours gambling. We were having lunch and as happened often with John and I, the talk turned to sports. My favorite professional football team are the Seahawks and Sheila likes the Cardinals. However, she doesn't threaten Motel 6 when it comes to any other teams. Sheila asked John while we were discussing this what his favorite professional football team was. Without hesitation, John responded very emphatically--my favorite team is the ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS! Needless to say, Sheila loved John from that day on!
We loved having John visit us in both Arizona and Butte. He was such a great friend to me. His fun sense of humor was a huge part of who John was. I miss our talks, visits, and our friendship. Thank you, John. You were truly one of the good guys in this world!
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