John was one of the first kids I met in when mom moved us to Little Reed Heights. He moved in to Tiburon and for John the rest was history. Music... he was so good.
What a horrible surprise to see John's name on this list. I remember we "went together" for a short time in Junior High and as I spent most of my Junior High time "on restriction," we didn't do much! But I remember him coming over to talk to my mom about when I might get off restriction so we could go hang out at the Boardwalk. It didn't work. How sad he's not with us any longer. I spent a lot of days at his and Allison's house after school (before our parents got home, naturally.)
I knew John since our days together in kindergarten at Reed School Years later we formed a band in the 7th grade, with Nathan Bills and Joe Akers. We were "The Blackouts".
John and I were the first 7th graders to earn the "Block DM" letter at Del Mar Intermediate school. You earned points toward your letter by posting good grades and for extra-curricular activity, such as music and sports.
John was a very talented musician, even at 12 years-old. He could hear a song a few times and learn how to play all the parts. But, he loved playing bass and singing. He was our leader.
Feisty, intelligent, challenging and mature for his age, he was a great communicator. Logical, forceful and persuasive, I lost a few arguments with him. He was driven, but had a great sense of humor, too. We drifted apart in the sea of Redwood's humanity, but I will never forget him.
I posted a 1965 photo of The Blackouts on my alumni page. Please take a look.
John was my oldest friend as we knew each other going back to Mrs O'Meara's kindergarten class at Reed School in 1957. John was a fine athlete, loved baseball and football, was fascinated with history, politics and current events, and was very loyal to his friends.
John was a terrific bass guitar player, composer, and music afficiandao, and his band played at my wedding to Colette August of 1995 at the "Shadows" in nearby Nicascio.
John Loved the ladies, and was always falling in love with some new beautiful young woman. Although it didn't always work out, he had a lot of close woman friends.
John had a wicked and original sense of humor, and was a great friend and confidant. I was shocked when his sister Alison told me a day after he had died that we was no longer with us. I knew that John hadn't been in the best of shape, but it was still a shock It certainly was one of the saddest moments of my mid life, but there was a beautiful memorial for John in Mill Valley a few
weeks after his death and it lasted all day. There was laughter, plenty of tears, lots of great stories about John's zany, madcap adventures, and we even heard some of John's recorded music.
I miss you everyday my old Friend and I'll never forget you! Bruce Macgowan
i came to tiburon in 65, john immediately stood out to me as a leader and just all around good guy..we always had mr lincoln the music teacher ready to kill us but that's us...we had some fun with our 7th and 8th grade band the blackouts..john is still near and dear to my heart...i miss our times at the beefy red studio...man i used to just giggle with him...man i miss this guy see ya on the other side john we gotta get the band back together then aloha joe
I don't know if anyone still reads this page, but I have a good story about John that I forgot to
tell in my earlier posting:
It was the summer of 1962. Both John and I were going to fourth grade at Reed, and later that spring, Del Mar school (it opened on a limited basis in the spring of 1964, but the first jr high class didn't start there until the fall of 1966.
Anyway...John and I are playing catch in his driveway, and he suddenly says: "Hey let's go for a hike
down the ravine." The ravine was a small valley full of oaks and bays and a nice little stream running
through it much of the year, and it was just over a knoll in our neighborhood in the hills above Reed
School in Tiburon. So we put down our gloves and took a quick hike to the ravine. I don't remember what exactly we were doing, but John was separated from me by about 50 feet when I suddenly heard him start to slap himself and yell out: "ow, get away, ow!" Apparently he had stepped right into
a yellow jackets' nest and they were angrily enveloping him in a cloud of stinging noise. John streaked
past me, screaming, and the clooud followed him quickly. I ran too, but kept a safe distance, as one or two of the jacket stragglers would angrily sting me from time to time. When we got to John's house,
many of the jackets had fallen away, but there were still plenty hanging on t o him, and his mom immediately put him in the shower to remove the remaining pests. John later told me he went to the hospital as a precaution and that they extracted 1 quarter of pollen from him! vintage John story!
Pamela J Contos
I am so very sad to learn that John is gone....I got a chance to see and visit over lunch many years ago....I pray that I will see him in heaven!!!John Metcalfe (Metcalfe)
John was one of the first kids I met in when mom moved us to Little Reed Heights. He moved in to Tiburon and for John the rest was history. Music... he was so good.
Gone too soon like all the rest of this list.
Debbie Martinovich
What a horrible surprise to see John's name on this list. I remember we "went together" for a short time in Junior High and as I spent most of my Junior High time "on restriction," we didn't do much! But I remember him coming over to talk to my mom about when I might get off restriction so we could go hang out at the Boardwalk. It didn't work. How sad he's not with us any longer. I spent a lot of days at his and Allison's house after school (before our parents got home, naturally.)
Tom Estudillo
I knew John since our days together in kindergarten at Reed School Years later we formed a band in the 7th grade, with Nathan Bills and Joe Akers. We were "The Blackouts".
John and I were the first 7th graders to earn the "Block DM" letter at Del Mar Intermediate school. You earned points toward your letter by posting good grades and for extra-curricular activity, such as music and sports.
John was a very talented musician, even at 12 years-old. He could hear a song a few times and learn how to play all the parts. But, he loved playing bass and singing. He was our leader.
Feisty, intelligent, challenging and mature for his age, he was a great communicator. Logical, forceful and persuasive, I lost a few arguments with him. He was driven, but had a great sense of humor, too. We drifted apart in the sea of Redwood's humanity, but I will never forget him.
I posted a 1965 photo of The Blackouts on my alumni page. Please take a look.
Bruce MacGowan
John was my oldest friend as we knew each other going back to Mrs O'Meara's kindergarten class at Reed School in 1957. John was a fine athlete, loved baseball and football, was fascinated with history, politics and current events, and was very loyal to his friends.
John was a terrific bass guitar player, composer, and music afficiandao, and his band played at my wedding to Colette August of 1995 at the "Shadows" in nearby Nicascio.
John Loved the ladies, and was always falling in love with some new beautiful young woman. Although it didn't always work out, he had a lot of close woman friends.
John had a wicked and original sense of humor, and was a great friend and confidant. I was shocked when his sister Alison told me a day after he had died that we was no longer with us. I knew that John hadn't been in the best of shape, but it was still a shock It certainly was one of the saddest moments of my mid life, but there was a beautiful memorial for John in Mill Valley a few
weeks after his death and it lasted all day. There was laughter, plenty of tears, lots of great stories about John's zany, madcap adventures, and we even heard some of John's recorded music.
I miss you everyday my old Friend and I'll never forget you! Bruce Macgowan
Joe Akers
i came to tiburon in 65, john immediately stood out to me as a leader and just all around good guy..we always had mr lincoln the music teacher ready to kill us but that's us...we had some fun with our 7th and 8th grade band the blackouts..john is still near and dear to my heart...i miss our times at the beefy red studio...man i used to just giggle with him...man i miss this guy see ya on the other side john we gotta get the band back together then aloha joe
Bruce MacGowan
I don't know if anyone still reads this page, but I have a good story about John that I forgot to
tell in my earlier posting:
It was the summer of 1962. Both John and I were going to fourth grade at Reed, and later that spring, Del Mar school (it opened on a limited basis in the spring of 1964, but the first jr high class didn't start there until the fall of 1966.
Anyway...John and I are playing catch in his driveway, and he suddenly says: "Hey let's go for a hike
down the ravine." The ravine was a small valley full of oaks and bays and a nice little stream running
through it much of the year, and it was just over a knoll in our neighborhood in the hills above Reed
School in Tiburon. So we put down our gloves and took a quick hike to the ravine. I don't remember what exactly we were doing, but John was separated from me by about 50 feet when I suddenly heard him start to slap himself and yell out: "ow, get away, ow!" Apparently he had stepped right into
a yellow jackets' nest and they were angrily enveloping him in a cloud of stinging noise. John streaked
past me, screaming, and the clooud followed him quickly. I ran too, but kept a safe distance, as one or two of the jacket stragglers would angrily sting me from time to time. When we got to John's house,
many of the jackets had fallen away, but there were still plenty hanging on t o him, and his mom immediately put him in the shower to remove the remaining pests. John later told me he went to the hospital as a precaution and that they extracted 1 quarter of pollen from him! vintage John story!