The best friend a guy could ever have!!! Always there in loyalty along with his dry wit and self-depricating nature ... truly classic John!
His father once told me a story which I'm not sure if it's true or not, but John, Sr. had taken John's mom, Jane, who was 9 months pregnant, out to an amusement park roller coaster on August 27th in the hopes that the motion would induce her labor and that John would be born on his Birthday. Well wouldn't you know it, John, perhaps the best example of a late bloomer for our Class, actually waited until the following day August 28th to arrive ... true to form!
For those who knew and loved John, he grew to be one of the finest and most caring people that anyone could ever know. Although I knew John during his growing-up years from 1st grade at St. Margaret's and we all knew him at John Carroll, I regret never really knowing Officer John, the man and great example to the community.
For those who don't know, we lost John a little over a decade ago due to complications after his bone-marrow transplant surgery for Leukemia.
John we love and miss you ... you were truly one of a kind, and I am very proud to have called you my Best Friend!!!
What a lovely tribute, Bruce. John was indeed such a very nice person. I remember him being somewhat bashful or shy at first, but he had a very quick dry wit. He was a lot of fun, and I am so sorry he is no longer with us...good person. May he rest in peace.
I hope this doesn't sound terrible but I think it is very sweet.....
When John and I were in Mrs. Rafter's first grade class, (remember, St. Margaret alums?) for some reason I punched him in the stomach - don't ask me why!! Anyway, I pleaded with him not to tell Mrs. Rafter, since she terrified me, and he sweetly did not say a word. That has always stuck out in my mind and I will never forget it.
That's a good one, Sharon, thanks for the story ... but you know what, I think he got me back instead in Mrs. Grammil's 4th grade. It was the first day of class and I believe we were choosing or finding our seats. Well good ol'John, and I believe Theresa Bucci was his girl accomplice (she always seemed to be an instigator of something or other), decided to put glue on my seat as a joke. Well, after I extricated my butt from the seat (luckily the glue hadn't dried yet), I made such a big deal over it, told Mrs. Grammil and all, that she wouldn't allow us to sit near each other for the whole school year.
Of course, I think it's about a girl ... isn't it always? I believe I had gotten the seat next to Lisa Merritt, if memory serves, they were 2 or 3 person desks, and I guess John was a little jealous. You see, John and me and probably half our male class had a crush on her at the time ... just being completely honest ... perhaps you or Theresa or someone else from our 4th grade class could verify the facts of my story. It was so long ago (34 years!!!), I may be wrong about it being because of Lisa, but I'm pretty sure it was Theresa in cahoots with John on that one!
Even though he was my best friend, John could sure be devilish at times ... after being mad for a few days, I think we became even better friends after that ... peace my dear friend!
I'm glad I looked at these posts......Bruce, I don't remember ever putting glue on your seat. I always liked you. I remember us being buds in first grade, so it seems unlikely that I would've put glue on your chair. I can't say with 100% certainty that I wasn't involved, but I would hope that I would remember being involved in a caper like that. I remember making fake fingernails out of glue by putting it on a plastic ruler and letting it dry. But that's all I remember doing with glue in 4th Grade. Oh, yeah, and I was in Mrs. Ward's homeroom, so it couldn't have been me! :)
The Lisa Merritt story seems very likely. She was the pretty new girl and she introduced us all to eye shadow and lip gloss, and her parents were young and cool. I do remember her breaking a few young hearts that year.
John lived in my neighborhood and he used to deliver some type of free newspaper door-to-door. He knocked on our door one afternoon with his satchel full of papers and not really thinking about it, I answered the door wearing nothing but my uniform blouse and a pair of underpants. John busted me for it and blabbed it to some people at John Carroll. I remember being pissed off at him for awhile. Pretty funny.
I visited John in the hospital a few days before his bone marrow transplant. He was very hopeful about the procedure and he said that he was doing it so that he could be around as long as possible for his daughter. Unfortunately, there's about an 85% failure rate with adults who undergo bone marrow transplants. It always bothers me to think that if he hadn't done it, I think he could've been around for at least two more years. He was so physically fit and strong when he was diagnosed. I think it would've taken awhile for the disease to take its toll on him. Poor John. He was a good guy.
Bruce Bongardt
The best friend a guy could ever have!!! Always there in loyalty along with his dry wit and self-depricating nature ... truly classic John!His father once told me a story which I'm not sure if it's true or not, but John, Sr. had taken John's mom, Jane, who was 9 months pregnant, out to an amusement park roller coaster on August 27th in the hopes that the motion would induce her labor and that John would be born on his Birthday. Well wouldn't you know it, John, perhaps the best example of a late bloomer for our Class, actually waited until the following day August 28th to arrive ... true to form!
For those who knew and loved John, he grew to be one of the finest and most caring people that anyone could ever know. Although I knew John during his growing-up years from 1st grade at St. Margaret's and we all knew him at John Carroll, I regret never really knowing Officer John, the man and great example to the community.
For those who don't know, we lost John a little over a decade ago due to complications after his bone-marrow transplant surgery for Leukemia.
John we love and miss you ... you were truly one of a kind, and I am very proud to have called you my Best Friend!!!
Bruce
Theresa Fowler (Marszal)
Bruce that is very beautiful, thanks for writing that.Mary Long (Wolfe)
I remember John from grade school too. And he was really one of the sweetest guys.Thanks, Bruce for sharing your memories.
Mary Castaldi (Casterline)
What a lovely tribute, Bruce. John was indeed such a very nice person. I remember him being somewhat bashful or shy at first, but he had a very quick dry wit. He was a lot of fun, and I am so sorry he is no longer with us...good person. May he rest in peace.Richard Deller
Thanks for posting Bruce. Very nicely done and a fitting tribute.Sharon Suter (Kaercher)
I hope this doesn't sound terrible but I think it is very sweet.....When John and I were in Mrs. Rafter's first grade class, (remember, St. Margaret alums?) for some reason I punched him in the stomach - don't ask me why!! Anyway, I pleaded with him not to tell Mrs. Rafter, since she terrified me, and he sweetly did not say a word. That has always stuck out in my mind and I will never forget it.
May you rest in peace, John.
Sharon
Bruce Bongardt
That's a good one, Sharon, thanks for the story ... but you know what, I think he got me back instead in Mrs. Grammil's 4th grade. It was the first day of class and I believe we were choosing or finding our seats. Well good ol'John, and I believe Theresa Bucci was his girl accomplice (she always seemed to be an instigator of something or other), decided to put glue on my seat as a joke. Well, after I extricated my butt from the seat (luckily the glue hadn't dried yet), I made such a big deal over it, told Mrs. Grammil and all, that she wouldn't allow us to sit near each other for the whole school year.Of course, I think it's about a girl ... isn't it always? I believe I had gotten the seat next to Lisa Merritt, if memory serves, they were 2 or 3 person desks, and I guess John was a little jealous. You see, John and me and probably half our male class had a crush on her at the time ... just being completely honest ... perhaps you or Theresa or someone else from our 4th grade class could verify the facts of my story. It was so long ago (34 years!!!), I may be wrong about it being because of Lisa, but I'm pretty sure it was Theresa in cahoots with John on that one!
Even though he was my best friend, John could sure be devilish at times ... after being mad for a few days, I think we became even better friends after that ... peace my dear friend!
Theresa Bucci (Simon)
I'm glad I looked at these posts......Bruce, I don't remember ever putting glue on your seat. I always liked you. I remember us being buds in first grade, so it seems unlikely that I would've put glue on your chair. I can't say with 100% certainty that I wasn't involved, but I would hope that I would remember being involved in a caper like that. I remember making fake fingernails out of glue by putting it on a plastic ruler and letting it dry. But that's all I remember doing with glue in 4th Grade. Oh, yeah, and I was in Mrs. Ward's homeroom, so it couldn't have been me! :)The Lisa Merritt story seems very likely. She was the pretty new girl and she introduced us all to eye shadow and lip gloss, and her parents were young and cool. I do remember her breaking a few young hearts that year.
John lived in my neighborhood and he used to deliver some type of free newspaper door-to-door. He knocked on our door one afternoon with his satchel full of papers and not really thinking about it, I answered the door wearing nothing but my uniform blouse and a pair of underpants. John busted me for it and blabbed it to some people at John Carroll. I remember being pissed off at him for awhile. Pretty funny.
I visited John in the hospital a few days before his bone marrow transplant. He was very hopeful about the procedure and he said that he was doing it so that he could be around as long as possible for his daughter. Unfortunately, there's about an 85% failure rate with adults who undergo bone marrow transplants. It always bothers me to think that if he hadn't done it, I think he could've been around for at least two more years. He was so physically fit and strong when he was diagnosed. I think it would've taken awhile for the disease to take its toll on him. Poor John. He was a good guy.