In memory of John

I lost a good friend recently. At my age I guess that shouldn't be a surprise but it always is. John and his wife Sue came to Pinehurst in the 80s and in 1989 Sue became my first sponsor in the AA program. Both she and my husband Dick passed away the next year … just months apart.

That was a rough time but John's wisdom and faith in the healing powers of AA helped immensely. We have been good platonic friends since then. He was never shy about his AA journey and helped so many of us. We simply followed his lead. John would often refer to his years before sobriety to make a point and it became apparent that he had been the owner of a very successful Nursery business in Connecticut before moving to our area.

One day in 2018 John mentioned that he was sad to see that the cartoonist Mort Walker, known for his comic strips (Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954) had died.  John went on to tell me that Mort  had been a good customer of his Nursery and when he heard that John and Sue were moving South Mort designed a cartoon as a going away tribute. 

John had just turned 91 when he passed away. Neither he nor Mort will soon be forgotten and I end my tribute to John with Mort's cartoon.  

Rest in peace you guys !