Rest in Peace, Neighbor

This weekend I was playing around on facebook, when I scrolled over to a friend's page and learned the saddest news. Our duplex neighbor back in California, passed away a month ago. It is weird to think that without facebook we would have never known. 

John was the best neighbor you could have asked to share a THIN wall with. He had a happy spirit, and he always kept us smiling. He was always singing LOUDLY to himself. And we heard every off key note.  But to be fair, I'm sure he heard us fight a time or two, or go overboard with our excitement while watching football.

Whenever I would bake a cake, I would be sure to bring him a piece, and he was crazy for my homemade peanut butter frosting. We loved his old dog Tequila, and when we found a stray on the street, named Oliver, he took him in. He always said Oliver brought him a lot of comfort during his illness. I'm glad we brought him some joy.

When we first moved into the duplex, Jon was recovering from a recent bout of cancer. His third round in total. And for the next two years, he seemed to be on the upswing, until he reported that he had cancer again. We felt so awful for him, but again with chemo he seemed to kick it. But he was so skinny and looked unhealthy, and he just never seemed to gain his strength back. But he always seemed chipper.

When we left in September for Alabama, as far as we knew he was fine. But in late January, he posted that he had had a heart attack. We were shocked! And we sent him a message to check in with him but never heard back.  Apparently, he died a few days later. We don't know exactly what happened, but I imagined his weakened health was the cause.

I guess the really hard part is knowing he couldn't have been much older than 40. So young.  But I believe he is happier now and healthier now. And I hope heaven is like his own personal Disneyland with no lines and free food because Disneyland was his favorite place.

Rest in Peace, John.