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My most profound memory of "Uncle Jack"

Dawn M. G: Here's hoping I may add memories as the occur. My most profound memory of "Uncle Jack"... became John in his adult years was during a visit to Tucson. I was visiting my mother, Dawn Marguerite Stockwell Gessner. She was John's youngest, older sister, they were 8-years apart. My "difficult" relationship with my mom was often expressed through my judgment or her, unkind & unfair probably & essential to how we interacted at the time. John quietly looked at me & said: "Dawnie, your parents cannot carry the blame... That is why we have God." He was defending, protecting his sister while schooling me. They loved each other very much.

I also recall that after my mother died nearly 30-years ago, John was totally taken aback & had difficulty with his emotions when my sister, Patricia Ellen (oldest of mom's three) because she so resembled & moved, spoke, etc. his sister. I have no idea if Pat recalls this as we were all pretty stunned at the time. John remained a wonderful part of my visits (a couple times a year) to the San Francisco area. No more words. I'm so very sad that he is gone.

Memories of John from my Minneapolis childhood and later

Constance J: In the sixties he drove a Volkswagen. I think he drove that for a long time. I remember him wearing "love beads" to our house. This man's respect and care toward the animal kingdom seemed paramount: John hiked to Rome to meet with the Pope on behalf of the animals because he knew that they are ensouled creatures. For John, logic, intuition, and philosophy blended together in his certainty that animals do have souls. He asked me for art to illustrate "Between the Species" and he used black and white reproductions of two of my paintings, which appeared on the back cover of two consecutive issues.

John was the kind of person who would sit on a park bench and have a long conversation with someone he'd never met. He was articulate but humble. He was gifted but mild and compassionate. I think his fascination with geology must have added dimension to both his life and to the lives of others. Although I didn't get to see him often, as a child I thought this uncle to be a very interesting person; sometimes children can sense things like integrity, open-mindedness, careful intellect, and loyalty to values. All of these are John, and I liked him.

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