We are gathered together today to remember John and his contribution to us and the larger community.

John is the intersection of all of us. We would not know each other if it were not for John. I value the friendship and closeness that we have shared over the past (In my case) 34 years. If I had the chance to go back in time, there are many things I would change, but one thing that I would not change is getting to know all of you and sharing the time that we had together. Because of John, we got to know each other in the context of how God works in our lives. If there is one thing that John contributed above all else, it was his talent of making God real in his live and in the lives of those around him. John loved the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength right up until the end of his time here on earth. Ina and I were there; he was relying on God and calling out to Him through his process of leaving this realm. He also told us to be happy for him that he was going to be with the Lord, and no “sad tears”.

I’m not going to run through our entire history together this morning, but just remember how it we started 34 years ago. In the Spring of 1976 John & Larry went downtown Little Chute to meet and try to help a group (it was actually more like a mob) of teenagers. At that time there were large groups of teens gathering in several areas of Little Chute, especially the downtown area. There was a lot of drug trafficking, unrest and violent behavior. I came on the scene just after John and Larry had purchased the building at 130 West Main Street with the intention of opening the doors to the teens and sharing the Lord with them. It was so intense at that time downtown Little Chute that a couple of the local law officers were actually assaulted by the mobs of kids. We didn’t know quite what to expect, maybe we were going to come and find our windows broken out. Our presence and John’s message of how God works in our lives raised quite a stir within the community among the teens, their parents, the school board and the local Catholic Church. We were discussed at the school board meetings as we later learned from Alan, who was the High School principal at the time. The local Catholic Church sent a priest to interview us and to find out what our intentions might be. John always told the teens that they should listen to and obey their parents’ wishes. If they did not want them to come to our facility, then they should not be there. Encouragement like that for the teens to do the right thing was repeated over and over again. John cared for the local community and wanted to see their problems resolved. And within one year of purchasing the building, the mobs were disbursed and the streets where quiet and peaceful once more in Little Chute. Since then the Village has always been very grateful, kind to, and accepting of us “outsiders”.

Our beginnings to me really sum up John’s work here in this life. He always cared enough about others to want to see their problems resolved.

To honor his life’s mission, I propose to move forward and carry on what John started 34 years ago. He was a prolific writer and a very passionate supporter of educating young people. So I plan to work on compiling, editing and publishing what I can of his writings. I’d like to do that with the help of others, online. The website will be dedicated to helping people, especially the youth, to resolve their problems in life and draw closer to God through a better understanding of God’s character and how he works in our lives.