Sunday, August 23, 2020
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John and I met some thirty years ago at NECA. We worked together in a newly formed computer support Help Desk group.
What can I say about John . . . he was tall, he was unique. He knew how to rock a ponytail! A free spirit for sure. John was to a son, a brother, a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a co-worker but mostly a friend!
He was kind, patient, easy going, zany, witty, artistic, creative and smart! Yeah, but mostly smart!
John loved his family. He would do anything for them even if it meant putting himself second. Loved sailing in his younger days. Loved Monte, Benny and Rocco. Loved eating fish. He loved his Grey Pou Pon mustard.
As a coworker he loved helping people and solving problems. And he was good at it! His contributions to processes made things just better! Writing scripts. Creating workflow. Creating icons, designing buttons, banners. surveys, and applications, you name it! Always thinking what the best way was to solve a problem. Working at it like a pit bull until it was right. He was my and many others go-to guy.
John made his coworkers laugh most days with random bits of trivia, random sound bites from old tv shows or theme songs. Abbott and Costello, the Mighty mouse theme, the Ajax commercial song. Telling stories of working at the hardware store. Attending Woodstock. Being a firefighter. Just a fun interesting guy to work with.
John was a team player. He treated everyone fairly. He was my bowling team captain. I really stunk at bowling, but John did not mind. He would politely say when I wanted to quit, I need you and your handicap points!
Both of us being on the late shift we spent a lot of time together talking when the office emptied out. We would review the day’s issues. Ask what each other what we were doing for dinner. What shows were we going to watch, National Geographic’s and the history channel. And always tell me about the grand kids and all the projects at home.
But mostly, John was my friend! A good friend. So today as we all think about the connection we all had with John and say our final goodbyes to a son, a brother, a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a co-worker and a friend, Let’s: Tip our hat. Raise a glass. Light one up, to a good man. Wishing we all had a little more time with you John. Rest in peace my friend. You will be sorely missed!
Sharon Walsh
