V. Howard Johnson Jr. 1932-2009

I had thought that this posting would include all the fun information about our trip to The Fiber Event in Greencastle Indiana but things changed rather suddenly with the unexpected passing of Susie's father. We were actually loading the car for the trip when we received the call from family so rather than attend the festival, we attended to more somber matters and made a trip to Illinois instead. Even though we have been married for 30 years, I didn't really know Howard in anything more than a superficial way. For the past 20 plus years, he had been confined to a nursing home and his condition didn't allow for any type of deep relationship. Most of what I knew of his life, I learned from listening to Susie and her brothers and sisters conversations over the years. What I DO know is that before becoming ill, Howard was a consumate artist, musician, and photographer. He held a number of classified and non-classified patents and was one of the most intellegent men I have known! It seems a shame that this talent was never realized to it's fullest potential and it will only be on the other side of eternity that what "could have been" will be known to us. In the meantime all I can do is be supportive of Susie and her family in their time of loss....and wait for the day when it will be my turn to grieve.