I met John in 96 on Lincoln Road at a gathering of progressive lawyers organized by Terri Gerstein. At that time, he was right at the center of a legal community that tried to use law as a tool to make the world a better place. 

His clerkship with Judge Barkett on the 11th Circuit was unusual in many ways. He clerked for years and had a personal friendship with the honorable judge that extended to her playing, as did I, on John's softball team, the Deadballs. We were given tie-dye jerseys and John insisted that he take some (mine for sure) and launder them himself to bring them to the next game. 

We went to some fun live music shows together. Nil Lara was one of the musicians from that time who put on a great show that we danced wildly to.  John also introduced me, much later, to Donna the Buffalo. Often at his apartment in that fabulous art deco building on Collins Road (the Alamac, maybe?) we listened to his beloved Grateful Dead's Dick's Picks while I sat on a brown leather beanbag. 

John had many causes that he cared about. There was a case, Chandler v. Miller, involving the Libertarian Party's challenge to a law in Georgia requiring drug tests of anyone running for public office. The 11th Circuit panel ruled for the State of Georgia, and Judge Barkett wrote a very thoughtful dissent. The Supreme Court reversed the 11th Circuit, ruling in favor of the Libertarian Party, and in an 8-1 decision citing Judge Barkett made the law of the land that drug testing in that context, with no evidence of a drug problem among political officeholders, violates our fourth amendment rights. 

There were other causes important to John. Migrant farmworkers' rights. The right to counsel of those accused of a crime. And often he would bring his "One Love" vibe to his causes. I remember he told me that he once tried to lead yoga classes in the West Palm Beach county jail. 

Beyond progressive causes, he cared about sports teams. We watched, usually at the Abbey bar in Miami Beach, the Miami Heat's Alonzo Mourning try to defeat the Chicago Bulls in the mid-90s. It was a lost cause, but no less fun because of that. Especially as I sat beside Juan Pablo and drank delicious beer and heard hilarious stories... about his family, his friends, shows he had seen, international adventures he was planning. 

One winter we camped in the Everglades with Lucy Wood, Sarah Cleveland, and his friend Tommy.  Sitting around the campfire singing songs with him is one of my best memories of that time.

In later years we got to spend time together in Chicago, Austin, Lake Buchanan in Texas, and Colorado.  We swam at Barton Springs, hiked the Maroon Bells in Aspen and played darts in Snowmass.  JP was good at darts, almost as good as Judge Barkett when she joined us at bars in Miami after Deadballs games.

I remember going to his family's farm in Florida, some conversations with his dad, and will never forget his mom's taking me shopping for a tie before my interview for a law job in Chicago. John's big heart touched so many people, and no doubt he got that big heart from his kind and generous mom. 

I've had the pleasure of getting to know Mona and his daughters in the past decade.  He loved you so much, and thanks for taking such good care of my dear friend!

John was a big-hearted, fun-loving person. He made the people who were lucky enough to meet him smile, and he taught me to take myself less seriously and, sure, go after some lost causes but try and have some fun along the way. 

I miss him.

John was the best person I’ve ever known.

I’m having a hard time accepting that he is gone. In some ways he began leaving us awhile back, when the disease began impacting his mind. But to the end his spirit never waned. And John, unlike most folks similarly affected with the disease, never went through the typically experienced stages of anger and belligerence. No doubt that’s because his spirit was incapable of experiencing anything but love and peace. I like to think that that spirit continues on, despite his physical absence.

Never a complainer. Never judgmental. Never selfish.

Always joyful. Always generous. Always brilliant. Most of all, always kind.

When John first told me he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s he laughed. Why that? If you knew him you know.

We spent a lot of time together. It didn’t matter what we were doing, it was always a blast. Music was a big deal, and enjoying it live with John was always a treat (although wherever we were, John would always stand…and dance….in the back so that his height didn’t obstruct the views of others).

We attended many music festivals with friends and family. But as much as John enjoyed dancing to the bands’ music he missed much of it due to his having been focused on making sure the campsite was perfect for his daughters and Mona and everybody else. His interests always took a back seat to those of others.

While I’m offering praise, I must honor Mona, whose love for John inspired her heroic and never ending care of him. She has been and is an amazing woman, and she and John existed for each other. Thank you, Mona, for watching over my brother.

And John loved and was loved by his daughters, Ana and Sara, whose respective characters are greatly “John inspired.”

His mom, Sharon, was his pal. Me to John: “John, come over to watch the Super Bowl with me.” John: “Thanks, but I’m going to Mom’s to watch with her.”

So, so much I’d like to say. Again, there was nobody better. My decisions in the past and continuing now and into the future go like this: “What would John do?” And I likely did and will do it.

John is my brother whom I will always love and miss terribly. He will rest in peace, because that is his way.  

John was a gentle giant, kind, generous and funny. He helped give voice to and defended those less fortunate in this world, and did so with a quiet dignity.  As a friend and colleague on the ACLU of FL state board he always encouraged me. 

We were fortunate that John and Mona visited my partner Constance and I at our home in Portugal in 2019, we cherish those memories. I will miss him.  

My deepest sympathies and condolences to Mona and family.  

Here is a short poem I hope may be of some comfort to those close to John.

“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 life is done.”