Even though I knew John only from 7th grade through high school, it's really hard for me to limit myself to a couple of concise paragraphs about him. While he could be as humble and charming as he chose to be, he also had an impish sense of humor given the right circumstances and audience. Way back in the day, I remember John teaching me how to cummulatively swallow air to create obscenely loud and protracted belches. What a talent.
John's accomplishments in athletics were, of course, exceptional. He, along with Mike Grace and Mark Jenkins being the only Block "S" members to earn the prestigious white sweater (multiple sports).
One my favorite anecdotes occurred during a team meeting following one of our football games. On Monday afternoon, following our Friday night games, the team would be shown films of our previous game so Coach Bagley could point out the pros and cons of our performance on the field. Coach Bagley was very adroit with the projector slow-motion, backward, and freeze knobs to highlight our errors. On one of these occasions, he showed John attempting to return a punt from our opponents. The ball sailed down the field, returned to Earth, and started to roll in John's direction. By reflex, John dropped to one knee to field the ball and began to return the punt. The referee's immediately blew the play dead. In the darkened room of our meeting, the projector image froze, backed up and proceeded in slow motion showing John's actions, again and again. At the same time, Coach Bagley's booming voice rang out, "BUSSMAN, YOU ARE NOT FIELDING A GROUND BALL IN CENTER FIELD. IN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL, WHEN YOUR KNEE TOUCHES THE GROUND, THE PLAY IS DEAD". To my knowledge, John never repeated that error.
I moved to Santa Rosa in the 8th grade and stayed thru my first semester of JC. I remember John, as I did Jim Albini, as a guy who was friendly towards everyone. He was a funny guy and tried to say outrageous things without anyone knowing it was him. He would do weird things too, just to get a laugh! At the Block S picnic on the Russian River, we were swimming near a half submerged log and John was picking bugs and spiders off the log and eating them! We were laughing so hard,and I remember asking him if he was afraid that the spiders might bite him...he said, No, you just have to be sure you bite them first!! Hilarious! He was a great guy! RIP John!
Happy birthday, my very dear departed friend. From the time we were five-year-olds, and separated by just one house up through high school, you provided brother Greg (also gone too soon in 2007) and me with innumerable hours of incomparable laughs, light-hearted frivolity, zany antics, strange and often near-breakneck athletic contests - wrapped always in your own unique, priceless personality. I'd give just about anything to enjoy another halcyon summer day of childhood in your presence.
Mike Lindsay
Even though I knew John only from 7th grade through high school, it's really hard for me to limit myself to a couple of concise paragraphs about him. While he could be as humble and charming as he chose to be, he also had an impish sense of humor given the right circumstances and audience. Way back in the day, I remember John teaching me how to cummulatively swallow air to create obscenely loud and protracted belches. What a talent.
John's accomplishments in athletics were, of course, exceptional. He, along with Mike Grace and Mark Jenkins being the only Block "S" members to earn the prestigious white sweater (multiple sports).
One my favorite anecdotes occurred during a team meeting following one of our football games. On Monday afternoon, following our Friday night games, the team would be shown films of our previous game so Coach Bagley could point out the pros and cons of our performance on the field. Coach Bagley was very adroit with the projector slow-motion, backward, and freeze knobs to highlight our errors. On one of these occasions, he showed John attempting to return a punt from our opponents. The ball sailed down the field, returned to Earth, and started to roll in John's direction. By reflex, John dropped to one knee to field the ball and began to return the punt. The referee's immediately blew the play dead. In the darkened room of our meeting, the projector image froze, backed up and proceeded in slow motion showing John's actions, again and again. At the same time, Coach Bagley's booming voice rang out, "BUSSMAN, YOU ARE NOT FIELDING A GROUND BALL IN CENTER FIELD. IN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL, WHEN YOUR KNEE TOUCHES THE GROUND, THE PLAY IS DEAD". To my knowledge, John never repeated that error.
Rest in Peace John
William Eason
I moved to Santa Rosa in the 8th grade and stayed thru my first semester of JC. I remember John, as I did Jim Albini, as a guy who was friendly towards everyone. He was a funny guy and tried to say outrageous things without anyone knowing it was him. He would do weird things too, just to get a laugh!At the Block S picnic on the Russian River, we were swimming near a half submerged log and John was picking bugs and spiders off the log and eating them! We were laughing so hard,and I remember asking him if he was afraid that the spiders might bite him...he said, No, you just have to be sure you bite them first!! Hilarious! He was a great guy!
RIP John!
Bob Huntington