Mike and I are so saddened to hear of John’s death, and especially to know that we cannot be there to bid a fond farewell to him and his life well-lived. When we moved to Leesburg in 1973, John and Kathleen were among the first ones to welcome us to the community, and from that time forward, we shared our lives as young parents together.
There were the evenings spent driving to D.C. for rare respites from our children and dinners in the city. When dining in a fancy restaurant there, John ordered Steak Diane. When the sizzling steak arrived and was placed in front of him, John smiled and said, “There’s the steak,; now where’s Diane?”
There were summer get-togethers with picnics and trips to Wolf Trap and trips to the beach. Once, Kathleen and I flew to Hilton Head with the babies and left the driving and the older children with the two dads. On the way to meet us at the beach, they were stopped for speeding in North Carolina. The policeman, seeing the five children in the car, must have felt compassionate because he did not issue a ticket.
West Virginia was for cross-country skiing (John, of course, had his wine skin along), and after a bit of mountaineering, he would stop and fortify himself and us with the red wine, cheese, and bread.
Then, there was that memorable trip to England for John and Kathleen’s silver wedding anniversary. We toured all of the grand sights, driving all over the country. On their anniversary, we stopped by a small garden tea room on a glorious day and shared the tea and cake to celebrate.
When illness struck our children or when we needed the routine check-up, John was always there seeing to the health maintenance of our girls in his kind and gentle way.
It is said that all good things must come to an end, so we must be content with the great memories and the good fortune of sharing part of our lives with such a friend.
Give our love to all of your family and do stay in touch.
Lurlene and Mike Willoughby