My best friend from high school, Regina, sent me an email today, letting me know that our classmate and friend, John Leonard, passed away this weekend.
The news came as a complete and total shock. John is the first one in our class to have died. All day long, I've been blue, remembering my funny, easy going, kind friend. My Calc buddy (he was often in Brother Rhom's late night study sessions with me. Calc and Physics are always better when suffering with a friend, right?). My Star Trek: TNG pal. Oh, how we lamented when that series ended. TV without Capt. Picard and Riker just wouldn't be the same!
We graduated from St. Mary's Ryken in 1994. I went to James Madison and he went to Va Tech. Our paths would cross on occasion, we'd shoot an email back and forth to each other and then... growing more and more infrequent as time passed. You know how that goes...
But to hear about his death today, I shot back to the times when I was 17. Remembering his smile and goofy laugh is so easy, like he was just here... and now its so painful to think about.
Tomorrow is visitation and prayers. Friday is the funeral. I'm definately not going to the funeral, and I'm wrestling with the thought of going to visitation. I'm not sure I could bare the possible sight of John in a casket. Of seeing his greiving family. I mean, just reading his obituary about sent me over the edge...
http://obit.brinsfieldecholsfuneral.com/obit_display.cgi?id=408566&listing=Current
Because this is the John I picture when I think of him:
(Excuse the horrible picture - obviously before the times of digital cameras, and of course, I don't have our scanner installed, so I took a picture of a picture.) This is John with my friend and his prom date, Rachel, at our senior prom.
Hard to believe that prom was just 12 years ago, huh?
Goodbye, buddy. See you, one day, again.
Engage!
So sad. Thanks for the kind words Bridget. It is so hard to believe.
Posted by: Lisa | April 12, 2007 at 07:58 AM