There will only ever be one John.

There will be no more laughter in the woods round a roaring fire expertly built by this force of nature. No more evenings sitting around playing guitar, basking in the glow of this wonderful man.

No one else will ever fill his big boots, which walked a path of love through all our lives. He is loved by so many: his family, friends, loves, colleagues and the many kids whose lives he touched.

John had a compassion and integrity boundless in its scope. He was ideally suited to the work he loved, and his empathy and steadiness were equally deployed in his personal and working lives. He did not judge nor make demands of any of his friends and we loved him all the more for it.

John chose a path of love in his life, unconcerned with material possessions and, on his journey, took many people with him.

Always gentle, always a gentleman, softly spoken and slow to anger, which was fortunate as he was such a big, physically imposing guy, like his Dad before him.

He was the archetypal ‘gentle giant’, who harboured no grudges, nor kept any enmities. He was giant in his capacity for love and compassion, a part of everyone touched by his grace. Firmly rooted in all our lives and the world around him, a legend in his own right We thought it a fitting tribute to John to have a ‘mighty oak’ planted in his honour.

It speaks volumes that among all his friends and housemates, the only bone of contention was the huge amounts of hair that used to block the shower drain. And John ‘the hippy’ used to have a lot of hair. Many of us mourned his hair when he decided to have a radical change of style, because John was a rock God. Those looks, that hair, the guitar, John rocked our world. We were all his groupies, and proud to be so. not least because his stature and flowing locks meant he was like a beacon in a crowded pub or club, allowing all his pals to come together around him.

Johns’ heart saved many people while he was alive and, as an organ donor, has saved another life in death.


But our friend has gone, and although he would be touched by the number of people here to send him off, that wouldn’t impress him – it’s the character of the people that would.

John’s compassion was not just sentimental, but practical. So I’ll finish off by saying that although John would be moved by the fact that we grieve so deeply, he’d be most happy that we’re grieving together.
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There will only ever be one John.

There will be no more laughter in the woods round a roaring fire expertly built by this force of nature. No more evenings sitting around playing guitar, basking in the glow of this wonderful man.

No one else will ever fill his big boots, which walked a path of love through all our lives. He is loved by so many: his family, friends, loves, colleagues and the many kids whose lives he touched.

John had a compassion and integrity boundless in its scope. He was... (read more)