Farewell, John
My Fiancée lost a beloved member of her family today. Betsy's uncle (John Priestley) died of heart failure at the tender age of sixty. A gregarious outdoorsman and M.D., John packed a lot of life into his sixty years.
John called me, out of the blue, a few months ago to discuss rock climbing. Although not a serious climber, he had summited the peaks of Mt. Rainier and Kilimanjaro - in his mid fifties - and he told me that he wanted to do more technical climbing in the future. Thinking of that phone call reminds me of just how ephemeral life is and how we should not waste a day of it.
My condolences go out to John's family and all those who loved him.
Travel well, my friend.
John called me, out of the blue, a few months ago to discuss rock climbing. Although not a serious climber, he had summited the peaks of Mt. Rainier and Kilimanjaro - in his mid fifties - and he told me that he wanted to do more technical climbing in the future. Thinking of that phone call reminds me of just how ephemeral life is and how we should not waste a day of it.
My condolences go out to John's family and all those who loved him.
Travel well, my friend.
In Loving Memory of
John Farish Priestley
1946-2007
posted by Ken Cangi at 2:42 AM
17 Comments:
Ken, thanks for putting this up Ken. I'll miss uncle John's energy, sense of humor and advice. We'll be having a small gathering in his memory this summer at the lake. -Andrew
Ken, thanks for putting this up. I'll miss uncle John's energy, sense of humor and advice. We'll be having a small gathering in his memory this summer at the lake. -Andrew
Andrew, It was the least I could do. I liked John very much. He was kind-hearted and always friendly to me.
Ken
Ken, I'm a luddite but learning fast from Betsy. Cell phones and now blogs! Old family friends have given me permission to put their memories on this blog to share. Friends of Bill W. are also interested. Sister Anne
Hi Anne
It was nice to speak with you this morning .While John and I went our separate ways in the last two thirds of our lives the first third was a blast. The memories came flooding back and i thought I would share some with you ...
The "Sir Mount" Business scheme
John and I formed a partnership to sell miracle cleaner door to door. We loaded up the car in Montreal and headed east on route #1 selling the stuff. Sales went so well that we ended up having to dilute the product and selling it 50% water . Didnt make any difference as "Sir Mount" was so strong it would dissolve the paint right off the wall. We ended up in a bar in Lennoxville and drank the partnership profits and laughed ourselves silly with the though of the name .
Rod Dewar blows his cool
John and I ended up at the Dewars house late one night chasing women and Rod met us at the door and threw us out on our ears. The next day he apologized on the radio and did a whole show on "Blowing your Cool". We had a scheme in those days that if you were waiting at the door if you bent over with your head down the blood would rush to your face and you would have great color for a fist impression when the door opened .... it did not work that night .....
French Fry softener
John and I went over to Aunt Mills for lunch one day and Mill cooked up some French fries. Wow John asked" how do you get them so soft" I pissed on them said Aunt Mill . I dont think even till today that I was ever so embarrassed
Barbecue Chips and coke
Almost everyday one summer John would come over and pick me up and we would go down to the Ridgewood Inn and get the same thing a coke in the green glass bottle and a bag of barbeque cips. I can still see John in the back of the boat and hear the little green 1955 5 1/5 hp purring away . then one day I was on the front of our boat and he collided with us dumping me in the water . He jumped in to save me .. It wasn't the only time he jumped in . I remember in my early twenties and very drunk deciding to jump out of a boat in the middle of Fitch Bay. he jumped in again that night too and remember him very clearly saying "What the f%&E are you doing "
I know John ,like most of us, had his demons to overcome. He was a very intelligent and indeed a complicated man . He was always a very good friend to me and my life was enriched to have grown up with him .My condolences to you Anne and if possible I will be at the Bathole with you this summer to help celebrate his life . I will miss him .
Warmest Regards
John
John Lovelace
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Thanks Ken -
I knew Dr. John from We Care AA in Milpitas, CA. I will miss him forever. John, plus me and Denis were the 3 Musketeers. And his death is a shock to me.
John was so generous in his advise and caring for others. It was never a surprise to me that he was a medical doctor. He had a loving heart and loved to serve others.
I pray for him in Heaven and for his grieving friends and family.
- Paul C., Milpitas, CA
It's been two weeks since John died on January 11. My daughter Betsy and I have received so many phone calls, condolances, help and support, and lots of heavy lifting from Jerry and Steve.
The chaos of John's paperwork is getting sorted out. There are still two storage units in Campbell to empty.
Tentatively, plans are underway for a Memorial Service to celebrate John's life, on Saturday, February 24 in the Milpitas area. More details to come.
Family and friends plan to gather at Apple Grove Cemetary sometime in July to plant John's ashes with our parents' and grandparents' near Georgeville, Quebec. Date TBA.
Anne Priestley
Rancho Mirage, CA
John Farish Priestley, D.O. 1946-2007, TCOM Class of 1987
Dear Ms. Priestley,
Thank you very much for sharing this sad news with us. We will post this with our class notes, and I am sure that your brother's colleagues want to know. This year the TCOM Class of 1987 will celebrate their 20 year reunion here in Fort Worth. We will be sure to share this at reunion, as your brother will certainly be missed.
The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and the University of North Texas Health Science Center join me in expressing our condolences to you and your family.
Karen
Karen M. Wegienek
Assistant Director of Alumni and Donor Relations
Office Of Institutional Advancement
University of North Texas Health Science Center
3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Ste. EAD802, Fort Worth, TX 76107
817-735-5493, Fax 817-735-0313, Toll free: 800-687-7580
Friends of John P.,
I just returned from the "Serenity at Seven" meeting that John at times called his home meeting. I miss his openness to believe in everyone he met. Sometimes he even believed in things in me I wasn't even sure of! He was definitely set here by my HP for a reason, and will continue work that part of his spirit in my work with others.
Love, Paul D.
I’m a little confused by all of this nice stuff people are saying about Dr. John P now that he has departed. I wouldn’t have said anything nice about him to his face while he was alive, so I don’t know why I should memorialize him with kindness now that he is no longer among the living. But the truth is that I wasn’t done trading insults and barbs with my new friend John. I just wasn’t ready for him to go just yet. I had a few more cynical things to say to him, and I’m sure he had a few more comebacks to aim at me.
He was fun to be around, that’s for sure. He may have had me in experience by being 2 years older, but I was so much smarter than him. I’m sure it affected him to know deep inside that he couldn’t keep up with me intellectually. What probably really troubled him was that with my intellectual bar being so low, what it said about his intelligence wasn’t too flattering.
There are people we all meet along the way in our lives that just don’t leave us, whether they’re physically alive or not. I don’t have a lot of stories about John and myself, but the times we did spend with each other were memorable. I would go out of my way to attend AA meetings hoping he would be there, because I just couldn’t get enough of him. I miss him and trust that he is finally at peace.
Joel P
Milpitas, Ca.
Joel, you made me laugh tonight about John. You say he was two years older than you. How old was that? He tried to take ten years off his age for his "image". And of course most of you never saw him wearing his rug (toupe).
Looking forward to meeting you all on Feb. 24,
John's older sister, Anne
well preserved in God's waiting room in Rancho Mirage where I'm considered a young chick
Happy trails amigo,what a joy to have known you.Your compadre Arturo A.,from the "W C G" fellowship.VAYA CON DIOS..
Hi Ken,
Thanks for making this website available for thoughts about John. Anne, John's close friend Jenny and the We Care Group of Milpitas will hold a Memorial Service for John on Saturday, February 24 @ 10:00 AM at the Mt. Olive Luthern Church. The address is 1989 E. Calaveras, Milpitas, CA 95035. We hope that many of you will be able to come join us for the day. This will give us a chance to enjoy more stories about John. One thing about John, no matter what was going on in his life, he always had time for the newcomer. Jerry Rosenquist
2/4/07
Andrew will be flying in from CN to meet all of you and remember his Uncle John. I haven't seen my son in a year and a half so we will also have a great family reunion. Thanks to Jerry and all of you for arranging this get-together on Feb. 24th.
Anne Priestley
John worked for me at both of my medical offices; it was always a pleasure to see him, he always had a smile on his face and something good to say. I know he had some demons that he had trouble with, but I think we all do to some extent.
I would like to say on behalf of my self and my staff we will miss him and it was a pleasure to know him and work with him.
Rick Flovin
Ceo
Alliance Occupational Medicine Inc
Milpitas Ca
Santa Clara Ca
February 25, 2007, Campbell, CA
Dear Family and Friends,
John would have been so pleased to see more than fifty-five of his friends and colleagues meeting to remember him yesterday in Milpitas.
Betsy, Andrew and I are grateful for your friendship, fellowship and hearing your memories yesterday.
Happy trails,
Anne Priestley
Great work.
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