2nd Annual (sort of) Kick Ball Game

Recall last year's commemoration of John's birthday which included a beer cup kickball game. This year, June, of course, was a very busy month with three very important weddings of the sons of the Brussels crowd, to include Mike & Gina. As such, although JW was very much in everybody's thoughts this June, the 2nd Annual beer cup kickball game was not practical that month. Nonetheless, John's little sister, Jes, turned a quarter-century old this month and she wanted to ensure that her brother's presence was incorporated into her celebration this past weekend. As such, a beer cup kickball game was the highlight of the celebration! In that all present were participating in the game, unfortunately no photos were taken -- yet somehow we all knew that John was present, cheering his little sister on.

All of John's family, friends, co-workers, kickballers, flip cup teammates and any and all who love life the way John did should mark their calendars now for the 3rd annual beer cup kickball game to be held June 20, 2009, John's 33rd birthday.

"Southern" John

This past weekend we had a wonderful time with Charleen & Tom and Joayn & Steve at Tom & Charleen's place at Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia. Traveling there and back we had to go though Richmond, VA, which brought back memories of John's youth. Although New York born, JW spent the ages 2 through 7 growing up in Chesterfield County south of Richmond. I knew it was time to get JW back north when he came home from school one day and I noticed that he pronounced house as if it had two syllables as in "hA-OOs". The thought of having a "southerner" for a son was something I never thought this New York family would ever have to countenance. As it turned out, through living in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Belgium and the District of Columbia, and being a world traveler to boot, John would prove to be a very cosmopolitan man indeed.

One of John's Ultimate Gift Recipients

... has thoughtfully corresponded with us over the past couple of months. It is very heartening to hear how John's gift has been put to extraordinary good use, and with Joe's permission, his notes are included here. Just click on the image in order to read the text.

For those who have not considered it before, perhaps Joe's story will inspire you to go to www.beadonor.org to learn more about what you can do to enable similar gifts.

John's Technology Fund

Recall earlier posts here, here, and here, with respect to the technology fund established at Mother Catherine Spalding School in rural Southern Maryland as a part of John's continuing legacy. This part of John's bequest continues to grow exponentially, as does his impact on the lives of so many others. Earlier, over $50,000 in contributions had been made to John's fund. Since then, contributions continue to be forthcoming. In addition to a number of individuals who have contributed to John's fund in memory of his Papa as indicated in this link, Mike and Gina, in memory of their "everlasting bro," have contributed $30.00 to John's technology fund in the name of each attendee at their wedding for a total of almost $3,000.00.

In addition to the above, as an extension of their mission to provide comfort, Georgetown University Hospital has contributed an "unrestricted donation of $25,000 to the technology fund established in John's memory at Mother Catherine Spalding School."

All together, the technology fund in John's memory is now in excess of $80,000. As Mike says, this fund will allow the "big geek to foster a lot of little geeks."

Words cannot express the gratitude we feel in response to the extraordinary generosity of so many who have enabled the continuation of John's legacy with respect to youth who share John's love of technology.

Go Geeks!

Summer Memories

As a reminder, this blog was created to allow ALL of John's friends and family to share their remembrances of JW. It is a virtual and hopefully perpetual memorial to his life here on earth. The below is another great example of such a remembrance which was recently shared with us by John's "second" family, the Drumgooles. It is reproduced with their kind concurrence.

Clarice&Bill:

I wanted to share an old picture of one of our beach vacations with you. We went back to the beach this month and John was in our thoughts and hearts.

My last memory of John was him and my granddaughter Ava playing on our living room floor with her toys and John amazed at how "cool" the toys babies today have. One of my Christmas gifts from my children was a digital picture frame that they filled with pictures from their albums. Ava loves to look at it and was asking about the pictures of John and where he was. I told her he was one of God's most special angels.

This spring Ava was frightened when she heard thunder and I told her that was Uncle John rollerskating in heaven . Ava and I collected the shells and sand to bring home to John....but of course we know he was with us. We've never gone to the Outer Banks without him.

Blessings...Barbara and all the Drumgoole's

Thank you so much, Barbara, for sharing this special memory and we encourage all to share similar remembrances.

John's Toast to Mike & Gina

John's "little" brother, Mike and the love of Mike's life, Gina, were married this past weekend. John, of course, was the best, best man at the wedding and through his Dad, who was standing in for him, John offered the following toast:

In addition to your never ending love, may you forever be each other's best friend; and when you are blessed with children, may they grow up being each other's best friend; and may you be especially blessed so that when your children become adults themselves, they become your best friends. To friends, to best friends, to family, to Mike & Gina.

For some great pictures and a beautiful description of the wedding, be sure to check out the blog belonging to Mike's best friends, Aaron and Angie at this link.

Papa and JW Together Again

Today, June 22nd, Papa joined JW in heaven. John William Leonard the elder and John William Leonard the younger are reunited in the eternal reward they so rightly deserve. The world is such a richer place because of their time on earth -- both have set the standard so high for those of us left behind. All we need to do is follow their extraordinary example. Thank you father -- thank you son -- for the wisdom and love you share with us.

32 Years Ago Today

Pictures of JW's first and last birthdays. The joy at each was matched only by the joy at the 28 in between and we are so very thankful for each and every one. The never ending Mother/Son bond is apparent throughout.

The Best Father's Day Gift Ever

All my children are special in their own way -- but there is one indisputable way that JW is unique. He was the one who made me a father for the first time -- and it was 32 years ago on Father's Day, 1976, that JW was born. I always told him that he was better than any old tie. Thanks JW -- ever since that day you never stopped giving -- even now you continue to give inspiration.

What a Difference a Year Makes

... in so many ways.


JW's memorial last June.


JW's memorial this June

The Essence of John

Looking at the pictures of John in the previous posts, I'm struck by how unchanged his physical essence was for a period of almost 30 years -- as was his spiritual essence. JW was and is such a loving soul.

Destined to Be A Civilian

Recall this post and this post which give strong testimony to John's service to his nation as a civilian. In looking for the photo included in the below Mother's Day posting, I came across the following two photos which clearly indicate that JW was destined (just like his old man) to serve as a civilian, in that he just doesn't look all the fearsome in his sailor suit or his Army jumper. We love you guy.

A Memorable Mother's Day

All of the off-spring of the Leonard kids of Plainview are special in their own way. But John was extra special, because he was the first -- and for a long time, the only off-spring. He was almost three-years older than his brother, more than seven years older than his sister, and more than nine years older than his oldest cousin. He was the first to make his Mom & Dad parents -- the first grandson, the first nephew -- he was "the Dean" of the next generation and fulfilled that role so well in so many different ways.

Although I'm sure there were trips to the barber beforehand, my first memory of my then only son and I going out on just a guy's outing was when we went to buy flowers for John's Mom for Mothers' Day in 1978. JW was not quite two-years-old. It was just the two of us and John William was so excited at the prospect of buying something for his Mom. He, of course, helped pick out the flowers and you can see his excitement in the adjacent photo. Every child loves his or her mom; but anyone who ever saw JW and his Mom knew that his love for his mother was something very special indeed -- it is truly a love that is never ending.

Thanks for the sweet memories, son; thanks for the everlasting love we share.

A Special Day

It was two years ago this weekend that Jes attended her commencement ceremonies, having graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland the previous December. With the pomp and circumstance of graduation, along with the big party afterwards, it was a big day. It was a special day for another reason as well -- for that was the day that we all got to meet Alex for the first time. I'm not too sure she ever forgave John for that. It is, of course, always stressful to "meet the parents" for the first time. But imagine adding to that the grandparents, the siblings, the aunts and the uncles and all the related kin and friends, and you can imagine what kind of day it must have been for Alex. Nonetheless, I guess she did forgive him after that -- because from the very first time we saw them together, we knew that John and Alex were meant for each other. We are so glad that the last year of JW's life was his happiest, and that was all due to Alex.

Another Beautiful Remembrance

Recall the posting from last year by Bridget, John's friend and high school classmate. Bridget has her own family blog at which she recently posted a beautiful remembrance as to The Miracle of April 7th. Her posting can be found here.

Jes' Blog Entry

The folks at the Washington Regional Transplant Community were struck by the simple beauty of Jes' Blog posting of a remembrance to her brother and the ultimate gift he gave to others. Their link to it can be seen here.

A Grandmother's Love

It was five years ago today that John's Mammy (Dad's Mom) , preceded John to heaven. After Mammy's funeral, all the grandchildren were given an inscribed photo; John's is to the right. For the next four years, JW proudly displayed this photo in his living room. It is still on his bookshelf at Mom's & Dad's home. JW and Mammy, of course, are at home together in heaven, looking down on all of us with eternal love.

Lucky Girl

It's a beautiful, sunny day.
Immediately, I want to share my thoughts with you.
I go to my phone, to call like old times,
But suddenly, my worst nightmare again comes true.

I can no longer hear your voice,
Get infected by your laugh,
Vent all my frustrations to you,
And listen when you vent back.

But in this moment of complete despair,
When I start to feel so sorry for me,
I realize how much I WAS able to tell you,
And in this moment, I become free.

How we shared so many experiences,
The good, the bad, but mostly the great;
With both friends and the fam.
I have no regrets,
I now take life to the fullest,
I realize how lucky I am.

Memorial Additions

Thanks to Mary & Tom as well as Gail for the lovely additions.

The Blossoms Have Faded

But not the memories -- thanks to Alex, Steve & Sue, and Mary Ann & Tom for the cherry tress which serve as a living memorial.

A Beautiful Rememberance of John

This blog was created to allow ALL of John's friends and family to share their remembrances of JW. It is a virtual and hopefully perpetual memorial to his life here on earth. The below is a perfect example of such a remembrance which was recently shared with us by our dear friend Joayn and is reproduced with her kind concurrence.


Dear Clarice & Bill:

I think of JW all the time, but of course this weekend, in a special way. I am making a quilt for Crystal & Stephen II & because of that have been going through old pictures. I "cracked up" when I found this one. I love it because to me, it is JW.

The background on this is that it was taken when Jes & Stephen II made their 1st communion. Stephen II received a camera (his first) that day. He was like a crazy boy taking pictures of everything (which reminds me -- if you need a shot of your downstairs bathroom -- I have it!!). Any way, I can only imagine that Stephen II "conned" JW into allowing him to take this. To me the look on JW's face is that of an understanding, but less than thrilled, older brother. It is full of love, understanding & charm & I love it -- him & you.

Much love,

Joayn


Thank you so much, Joayn, for sharing this special memory. We encourage all to share similar memories, either by posting to the blog our by sending directly to us for posting. Would be blog posters need simply send an email to johnnywehardlyknewye@gmail.com .

Remembering John

This past Sunday, April 6th, we had the opportunity to have a get together consisting of Papa, Mike, Gina, Aunt Ticia, Uncle Ken, Mary Ann & Tom plus Mom & Dad as well as Jes, in spirit, who had come down for her big bro's birthday celebration the day before and was in route back to Ithaca. While there is not a minute of the day or night that we are not mindful of JW, it was appropriate at the one year mark to do something special to commemorate John's passing from this world to the next.

First, sitting around the same dinning room table that the Leonard family has sat around for over 30 years forming many fond family memories -- and which the DiStefano and Corso family had sat around for the 50 years before that -- we lit the candle that will forever symbolize John's presence at all future family gatherings around that table, next to our favorite black & white photo of JW.

Following that, Dad took out the box that John's co-workers had filled last year with JW's personal effects from his office. While such possessions are at times banal, they also tend to be intimate representations of our personality since they are what we choose to surround ourselves for the significant part of our life that we spend at work.

From that box, Mom & Dad presented to Papa JW's calendar which had been opened to March 1, 2004, since it contained a quote from John's Dad. It represented John's pride in his Dad and, by presenting it to Papa, Dad's pride in his father. Mom got the lace from Brussels, representing all our fond family memories from when we lived in Belgium. Dad got JW's camel caravan carved in olive wood picked up during JW's travels to Jordon. Mike & Gina got John's Virginia Tech Alumni cup filled with John's loose change, since both of them have stepped up to fill John's shoes as fanatic fans of VT athletics -- even if VT didn't even make the NCAA basketball playoffs this season. Jes got a similar mug filled with even more loose change, this one from St. Mary's College of Maryland and which Jes had previously presented to John as a gift (the year she did her Christmas shopping in the campus book store). Aunt Ticia and Uncle Ken got John's piece of the Berlin wall which the Leonard kids had personally chopped out of the wall shortly after it fell (although as related in this earlier post, they complained about not being able to instead stay in the hotel and see for the umpteenth time the movie The Karate Kid).

Mary Ann & Tom, in addition to getting a small Greek plate, another one of John's souvenirs from his frequent overseas travels, were also assigned the task of deciding whether Mike or Jes would get John's home charger for his iPod, since the loving siblings could not decide among themselves who should get it. Dad recommended an essay contest -- 40 words or less, in order to decide the worthy recipient. You can see all of these mementos by clicking on the below picture.

Mementos

After dinner, we all moved outside to John's memorial. Recall this earlier post where we discussed John's homemade beer. After college, John had made a batch of brew for a few successive years but gave up when it never turned out to his desired perfection. For his last Christmas, John asked for the homemade brew kit again and made it early in 2007. He faithfully tracked its aging process in a spread sheet on his laptop -- it was suppose to ferment for about 4-6 months. Well, by now, the beer was well over a year old, but we decided to open it up and try it out at his memorial and drink a toast to JW. As you can see by clicking on the picture below, the beer was actually pretty good. Even Mom had a taste. I guess the longer the aging, the better the taste. Also as you can see in the pictures, Mary Ann and Tom presented Mom & Dad with a plaque for JW's memorial. Mike & Dad then each smoked a cigar to John's memory, although as you can see in the pictures, Mike had problems lighting his cigar in the cold damp air, even with Dad and Gina attempting to shield the wind.

All we can say John, is thanks for the sweet memories, thanks for being you, thanks for your everlasting love.

One Year Later

One Year Later

It's April 7th -- it's been one year. While there is an urge to write something profound at this point in time, the English language does not do justice to what we feel. All we can say, JW, is that even if we knew at the time you were born over 31 years ago, we would loose you so prematurely, we would say so be it -- nothing can compare to the joy you have brought to the lives of your mother and father, to your brother and sister, to Alex, to your Papa and Mammy, to your Grandma, to your Aunts and Uncles and to all your family and friends. And we would not change one iota how we lived our lives together. Nothing between us went unsaid. Furthermore, the pain of your loss pales in comparison to the enrichment you have given to so many others by the way you lived your life and gave to so many others in your simple and unassuming ways. What is extraordinary about you is not the circumstances of your death but rather the unassuming way in which you lived your life and gave to so many others. And somehow you continue to touch others by your otherworldly presence. It is a true parent's blessing to need to live up to the example set by the child. Thank you for so much, thank you for being you, thank you for the everlasting love we share.

John and the Nats

Spring has sprung and among other things, the baseball season is upon us, and as most baseball fans know, the Washington Nationals opened the season this past Sunday in their brand new ball park. Two of my many favorite memories of JW deal with the Nationals.

First, it was one year ago tomorrow that John went to see a Nationals ball game at RFK stadium with Mike, Gina, Jes and Alex in order to celebrate Mike's birthday. JW, of course, was hurting and he showed it -- so much so that Mike told John that he looked bad and he should just go home and bag the game. JW would have nothing of it and -- despite the pain -- told Mike, "no, Bro, it's your birthday and we're going to celebrate it." That's simply the type of guy John was.

The other memory was when the Nationals first came to town several years ago (having moved from Montreal). John immediately went out and brought for himself a Nationals ball cap -- and made sure he got their home cap. As you can see in the accompanying picture, the Nats home cap is red with a big "W" on it. Washington being the political town it is, when I told John that supporters of our current President adopted the cap as a show of support for Bush and his policies (what it being red with a big "W") John was shocked that he unknowingly may have demonstrated such support. He immediately threw the hat in his closet and never wore it again. Instead, he went out a brought the Nats away cap, which of course, is blue (for the good guys).

Renewal Peaked

Apparently, the cherry tress in Southern Maryland don't adhere to the schedule set forth in the Washington Post since it appears that John's Blossoms have peaked -- at least the tree furthest in the distance in the first picture (closest in the second). However, the tree closest in the first picture is only peaking now. Check back to see how many blossoms remain for the next week.

Two Ladies with a Cool Cat in a Hot Town

(Along with a Pseudo-gnome)
Recall the earlier posting which depicted the route taken by Alex and Jes in their cross-country travels with Alex's cat, Zeus. As promised, Alex has made pictures of the trip available and they can be seen by clicking on the below pictures. The references to the pseudo-gnome involves the waylaid plans of Alex and Jes to take the VT Gnome with them on the trip. Due to last minute changes in plans because of Jes' difficulties in getting a flight out of Ithaca, the gnome was inadvertently left at JW's memorial. Thus, Alex and Jes had to scrounge around for a last-minute replacement and you can see what they came up with in the below pictures.

Cross Country Trip

Yet More Renewal

BLOSSOM WATCH

Requium Redux

Recall the earlier posting regarding a dear radio show and how on April 7th we looked upon it as a fitting requiem for John, especially since part of it was recorded that fateful Saturday afternoon. Once again, Vin's show was on Easter Sunday eve and his musical selection was most appropriate when reflecting upon John's life. It can be found here by simply scrolling down to the show for March 22nd.

The Blooms Keep on Renewing

According to the Washington Post, they should peak on John's big little brother's birthday, April 3rd.