Remembering John

Today would have been my brother John's 79th birthday.  He died in January 2020 of Covid, before we even knew what that was.  He is not to be confused with my west coast brother who is my baby brother.  

My brother John was two and a half years younger than I was and for many of our childhood years we lived in the country and were each others only playmates most days, unless we were in school.  Because I was the oldest I got to write the "scripts" for most of our adventures. It was the Roy Rogers / Dale Evans era, so much of our play involved cowboys.  On his 8th birthday John got his dearest wish, a set of two cap pistols with a belt and holsters. 

Fast forward to high school.  I was the college bound nerd, while John was the popular one, with his friends at least. He got called to the principal's office for one infraction or another at least once a week.  The only time I got called to the office the whole classroom laughed because they we so used to hearing John's name called.  Turned out I had won a scholarship.  

John got married to his first wife for the first time right out of highschool.  He fathered a child, got divorced, got drafted and sent to Viet Nam.  That was a lot of growing up fast. When he came home he remarried his wife and they tried very hard to make a go of it, for their daughter's sake, but some marriages just don't work.  I did get a very dear niece out of it though.

John held many jobs over the years and discovered that he had a real gift for selling cars.  He worked his way up to managing a dealership.

He married again and he and his second wife were married for several years until that marriage also ended, although they stayed friends long after. 

During his ensuing bachelor days, which happened to coincide with my 18 years as a widow, we took a few long driving trips together and had a wonderful time rebuilding our childhood bonds. 

And then (God does work in mysterious ways.) John got involved in leading activities in his church and, with lots of ongoing study, ultimately became a Methodist minister.  He served two churches and was very popular with his parisioners.  Although when I went to his church one Sunday one of his flock, on finding out who I was, told me I had his "deepest sympathy."  John's great personality always came through.

Rest in peace dear brother. Happy birthday. I love you, I miss you and I always will.