Life is good

but cancer can still suck it.

By TEAM ANISSA

September 30^th, 2015

"Life is good"

Anissa’s dad, my father-in-law, died yesterday.
John was loving, funny, smart, stubborn and most of all giving. He gave his time, his advice and he especially gave (and most times unbeknownst to him) of his arsenal of golf balls. So long as you didn’t pilfer his prized Titleist Pro V1s, I’d like to think he was okay with it.
Yes, he was many things to many others long before he was a father-in-law to me. To others he was a son, brother, uncle, father, friend, husband and a grandfather. In every role he played, he gave. Mostly advice, sometimes money, often his perspective and always of his time – but he always gave. He was good for all of those things whenever you needed it.
In January of this year, John was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. Over the course of these past eight months John took his turn at chemotherapy and radiation and tried his best to fight it. Having a daughter that had just gone through both of those treatments certainly helped John to understand what was to come, the side effects, and how to remedy a few things. We often joked that he just couldn’t let Anissa have the spotlight and had to steal her thunder with his diagnosis. Either that, or he wanted to stand in solidarity when they both lost their hair from chemo.
John left us yesterday while surrounded by those he loved and those who loved him – immensely.
I could probably fill the internet with a single post about him and the years I had with him. Instead, I’ll let the photos tell the story of the little slice of time I had with him.
One of John’s signature phrases was, “Life. Is. Good.” This was usually accompanied by the raising of a glass. My glass is raised, and life is still good, John – but it’s going to be just a little less good without you.