John and Mel owned the big house on Dublin Ct in Petaluma directly across from ours.  I watched with delight as John worked on the backyard creating a beautiful retreat filled with interest and private areas.  I would go up to the second floor and look down into their backyard and watch what John was creating hoping to steal a few ideas for our own backyard.   What he created was a backyard paradise filled with delightful surprises, beautifully designed with places to sit and contemplate or read.   It was a treat for the eye at every turn.  Every detail was considered and created to delight the observer.  John had a great talent for garden landscaping and his backyard was a showcase. 

I remember when you both returned from a road trip up in Wyoming/Montana/Colorado(?) and John absolutely had to bring back a bison head/fur and it absolutely had to hang over the second floor railings so visitors could see it when we first walked in.  If memory serves Mel you accepted it gracefully but it wasn’t exactly your style.  But John loved it so it stayed.  

John had a way of making everyone feel at ease and he had a great sense of humor.  But what impressed me most was his graciousness and how he shared himself with others.  He would give me progress reports on my son, Matthew, who had gotten his first job at the local Home Depot(?).  He would say, "Oh, I saw Matt today.  He was working his isle of tools and keeping everything organized.  He seemed happy with himself."   As a mother that meant the world to me.  And then Matt would tell me he saw John and they had a nice conversation standing in the isle.  John genuinely cared about people and their welfare.  He was a good man.