Published August 20, 2020
By DAN NUNN
John was a close friend of mine.
I’ve known John since I was in elementary school, when I became close friends with his son Jay. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed watching numerous Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins playoff runs with John and his family. During those many parties John always took the time to ask how I thought the game was going and valued my opinions and observations.
As a sportswriter for the Transcript I was proud to have his photos accompany my stories. I looked forward to seeing him at the NRHS sporting events I covered. He always came up to me during half times to discuss the game.
I know it was especially difficult for him to miss this past historic Hornets girls’ basketball season. I kept him up to date as much as possible with emails and during the exciting playoff games, my mom and I texted him continually, keeping him abreast of the score. Going to the girls’ D2 North Semi-Final at St John’s Prep, the North Final at Tsongas Arena and the State Semi-Final at TD Garden will always be highlights of my career and I hope I was able to make John feel a big part of those games.
I was also extremely honored to be inducted into the NRHS sports Hall Of Fame in October of 2019 for my writing for the Transcript. It was even more special to share that award with John.
I will miss these discussions, his knowledge of sports, his sense of humor and all around good nature. He never treated me differently because of my disability and for that I will always be grateful. He passed that treatment of normalcy on to his son, Jay and Jay and I have been able to enjoy lots of events together.
John may be gone but his impact on my life and the lives of so many others will not be forgotten.