Darlene - I just read this and am astounded to hear of John's passing. Carol and I are heartbroken as those who knew him well found him to be a very humorous and caring individual as well as a good friend. It is sad that over time we have all drifted apart but many of us remember him well. And a very touching poetry that you have written ..

Bob & Carol Kaye

Commemorating the life of my cousin, John

According to physicist Aaron Freeman, his energy has not died, for energy cannot be destroyed; it can only be transformed. All his energy, every vibration, every degree of heat, every wave of every particle that was his remains in this world. All the photons that ever bounced off his face, all the particles whose paths were interrupted by his smile — these hundreds of trillions of particles have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by him. Most of our energy is given off as heat, and the warmth that flowed through him in life is still here, still part of all that we are.

Those of us who loved him need not have faith, for we can measure this precise conservation of energy and find it accurate, verifiable, and consistent across space and time… I hope you'll be comforted to know, as I am, that his energy lives on.

Do not stand by my grave and weep; I am not there, I do not sleep. I am the thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints in snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. As you awake with morning’s hush, I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the day transcending night.

~ Mary Frye ~

I give you this one thought to keep. I am with you still. I do not sleep. Do not think of me as gone. I am with you still in each new dawn.

~ Anonymous ~

Cherishing the memory of my cousin, John

I knew John as a sweet and gentle man, with a welcoming smile and a generous heart. He was patient, kind, and showed us what real love and affection looked like, with his sweet admiration and enduring support of his beloved wife. Down-to-earth and lighthearted, our family enjoyed some great conversations with him and will forever cherish our memories of him.

We’ll be forever grateful to both John and Darlene for all they’ve done for us, for the times they stood by our side to support us, for their compassion, courage, honesty, and integrity, for helping us move and start up our lives, and for the sweet Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays in their home, where warm smiles were shared and happy memories created.

I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one. I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done. I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways, of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days. I’d like the tears of those who grieve to dry before the sun; of happy memories that I leave when my life is done.  

~ Helen Lowrie Marshall ~