John and I met at the dog park when we both lived in Pembroke Pines. The day we met, I was wearing something that indicated I was from MI we became fast friends. Everyday after work we’d sit and talk while the dogs played. We’d talk about nothing and everything from scenes from Family Guy, to the day to day, to our families. He loved you all so much, especially his “Little Sweetie,” Tiff. 

Whenever his parents came to town, he’d want Lilly and I to come over and meet his parents. More so than anything, so they could meet my dog Lilly, his "G-d  Niece.”  Lilly and Gabriel were best friends, but the love John and Lilly had was something fierce. 

Everyday for a year and a half, I would drop Lilly off to her Uncle John at 5am and he’d take the “kids to school” at Maria and Diego’s in Davie.  And everyday, I’d pick them up take them to the dog park.  John would meet us at the dog park around 6pm and sit for a while before taking,  Gabriel, whom he called, “The Beast” home. If the dogs weren’t at dog care, they were running around playing hide and seek and at John and Tiff’s, playing until they both crashed, snuggling up against each other. 

John and Tiff were Uncle and Auntie to my Lilly and Lilly loved them so much, that on the times we’d meet at the park when Gabriel and John were already there, Gabriel would wait by the fence exuding of excitement with full-on hip-wags and cries of utter joy, elated to be with his girl again. I’d open the gate and Lilly would fly past Gabriel often hitting him in the face with her tail as she took off full speed to her Uncle John to show her love by peeing by his feet, rolling over for belly rub and then a few licks to his face before playing with her favorite friend. 

When I was making plans to leave the schools and figure out what I was going to do with my life, John was anxious to include us on the  plans, so we could ALL one day move to Vegas together, “so we don’t separate the dogs,” he’d say.  His dreams of moving to Vegas one day and having a huge house where the dogs could play were becoming the topic of most conversations.  Although, I would have to gently remind him that I had no intentions of ever living in Vegas, I promised to visit and of course bring Lilly, the real reason, I’d joke, that I was probably invited in the first place.

When I left Florida, I was especially sad that John, Tiff and Gabriel weren’t going to be in our lives anymore, but John was always great about sending updates, random funnies, memories of the dogs and those bizarre visual images that John had in his head that made him laugh. If you’ve ever been privy to those goings-ons, you know how absolutely hilarious he was, even if you were left to just shaking your head in wonder, “Your mind, man! How that mind works!!! 😂 

When we moved back to FL, albeit an hour away, Lilly and I made the hour long trip to see John, Gabriel and meet their new dog, Chickie. And when John and Tiff were finally moving to Vegas, we made the trek out again. The dream of moving to Vegas was becoming a reality and Craig and I were over the moon ecstatic for them. John kept me updated on the house search and all the craziness that entailed. And when they finally found their dream home, we shared in their excitement and joy. Craig and I were in the process of making plans to go out to Vegas sometime this fall. Craig was going to work on the house and I was going to work remotely from their home as the dogs played. The dream was coming to fruition and it was so exciting. My heart was full,  as John would often send pics and videos of the dogs swimming or things that they wanted done to the house.

When Tiff told me that John had passed, my heart shattered into a million pieces. Not just because I’ll never get another John text, or that Lilly doesn’t even know her favorite human on earth is gone, but mostly for all of you. He loved his family with all his heart and the love he had for his Tiff was irreplaceable. His entire presence is irreplaceable. All we have left are the memories and the immense gratefulnesses that we had the honor of knowing and loving John. He will be missed forever, but he will never be forgotten. 

Our hearts are broken and we still can not come with the words to express our feelings.

John was the absolute best Uncle and brother in law. He always thought of his niece and nephew and showed them so much love. 

The love he had for my sister Tiffany is like no other.  We are still processing this incredible loss in our lives…. 

Praying for Tiffany and his family daily. ❤️

A massive loss to our family. He was such a bright light. Our hearts are broken.💔