To all our dear
friends, family and prayer warriors,
We don’t remember exactly when this photo
of John was taken, but we believe it was prior to his being diagnosed with melanoma in December, 2009.
John
never knew a stranger and was the most gentle, kind-hearted young man I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I have
been his step-mother for nearly 40 years. He, his older brother Gary, and his younger sister, Lisa, are
like my very own. Family and friends came to visit daily, and prayers were being
offered from all over the country.
Many of you knew we left home on Friday, November
24, 2017 to return to Pennsylvania because of John’s decline in his battle with cancer. For those who did
not know, we stayed until after Christmas that year. In those last days, visits from family and friends were
closely regulated by his wife, Robin, because John simply could not be up out of bed for great lengths of time. On the
last Monday afternoon, George, Kris and I spent several precious hours with John and Robin, and he was all but confined to
his bed that day. He had lost his voice, but he could still smile.
The accumulation of fluid in his chest was constant, and staggering amounts of fluid had been removed
almost daily from his chest cavity. He was on oxygen 24/7, and hospice worked with him regularly.
Your prayers sustained us as we watched our beloved John often speak of going home to see Jesus, and he
asked his family to read to him from the Bible. He especially wanted to know more and more about heaven, and was enthralled
with the book of Revelation.
On December 13, 2017, the family gathered around
his bed to say a last farewell. George and I stood with his mother and her husband, Gary, Lisa, and many other family
members, in shared grief. He left this life that afternoon, and is truly enjoying the painless, healed body God
promised him. Kris was able to walk to his bedside one last time to give him a kiss good-bye just minutes before he
left us. Later she wrote on her iPad, “He went home to God and I can’t pucker right now. I hope he
knows I kissed him.”
John was 49, and left us far too soon. But what a joy it was, although bittersweet,
to watch John leave this life, and know that he is with the Jesus he loved. John’s heart and soul soared heavenward,
and touched the face of God as he joined the many friends and loved ones who have gone before.
We are so deeply grateful for all your prayers throughout these eight years. They and
the immeasurable faithfulness of our Father in Heaven have sustained us, and given us great peace.
All our love and deepest appreciation always,George
and Carol
