Wednesday, April 19, 2023
John entered this world a few minutes after slipping and sliding thru red lights in the midst of a Manitoba Blizzard. A bit of an unconventional entry, maybe it was an indication of things to come. When very young he lived in natures paradise, Vancouver Island, where as a five- and six-year-old he would take an hour and a half to complete the thirty-minute walk home from school, cutting through the fields and stopping to check out all the insects and bugs along the way.
John excelled at pretty well everything that he did. In his teen years it included the all-important subjects of the Rubik’s cube, Pacman, and skateboarding, to name just a few … and the word is that during those teen years he had many great adventures in and around the little town of Kemptville, Ontario, some of which I now know about, some of which only his mother and sisters know about, and some of which I suspect only his sisters and a few of his closest Kemptville friends know about.
I sometimes wonder if I should have done things differently or chosen a career path that did not involve frequent moves and extended periods of time away from home, but I then I quickly realize that had I done so, we would not have ended up moving to Belleville, and John would never have met Tracey, the love of his life, and embarked on their family journey with their talented sons Caleb, Cooper and Eli.
During the past 20 or more years I looked forward to, and enjoyed the many hundreds, if not thousands of hours we spent together at his festivals and Pow-wows … the constant chats during our regular trips to Toronto to pick up his supplies … and the music concerts that we attended together – particularly the Moody Blues 50th anniversary Tour where as we stood and swayed with many hundreds of attendees, we both realized at the same time that, at age 50+, John was probably the youngest person in attendance.
For the past ten or more years his mother and I have had the great joy of doing numerous record shows with John throughout Ontario … but the one constant joy for his mother throughout all of our years in Belleville has been his regular calls to her asking for her 'Yorkshire pudding' recipe, and their ensuing conversations.
A few nights ago, I had a vivid dream in which we saw John, but could not catch up with him to ask him where he was going. He was wearing a garland of flowers, pulling a very large blue suitcase, and flashing that big mischievous grin of his. His mother and I now suspect that he has found a new venue and was on his way there with the big blue suitcase filled with his crafts, his drawing and painting supplies, a few of his favorite records, a guitar, and a big box of special memories of his times with family and all those who loved him.
A singer, a songwriter, and an absolutely outstanding artist, he was a friend to all who knew him.
We will miss you John, especially your “Whats up Daddy-o” greetings, and your regular calls to mom to get her 'Yorkshire pudding' recipe ... Mother says, “call anytime”, but don’t worry if the line is busy … she has placed the recipe in that big blue suitcase.
We love you son – we always have – we always will.
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