Goodbye John

My cousin John passed away last week from ALS / Lou Gehrig's. He was a year younger than I am and although I have not seen him in several years, I have always considered him a close cousin. It is embarrassing and silly now but he was my "first kiss". We were little--who knows--4 or 5 years old and the family all thought it was cute and funny AND OK since he was adopted. His dad used to tease us saying we could legally get married. As kids we played together in the corn fields, the silo, and even the cow pasture! We shared a recliner as we watched TV and we put our sleeping bags next to each other on grandma's living room floor and fell asleep holding hands. As we got older we kept in contact through letters all through high school and we even wrote some while I was on my mission. I have only seen him a few times in our adulthood. Most of which were funerals for family members. He did stop by my current home once with his parents as they were traveling through to Idaho. Even though we didn't see each other much, when we did, we would laugh about our childhood and know that we had a special bond. So Goodbye John, until we meet again.

This is a photo of a photo of John at his sister's wedding.

This is another photo of a photo collage....so it is not the best but it is better than nothing.

My aunt and uncle

Kevin and his wife Samantha. Kevin read the Eulogy written by Debbie.

Cynthia and her family. She gave a talk at the service.

Vicki and Aunt Gayle



On the way to So. CA we stopped in Vegas and picked up my sister. Thank you to her family for letting me and J's family crash at her house on the way down and back.

In Anaheim with my sister's and cousins.

We stayed at the Knott's Berry Farm Resort Hotel for one night. Simon was terrified of Snoopy...Daniel gave him a big hug though.