24 September 1952 - 28 August 1997

I look back and find it hard to believe John’s been gone since 1997.

John loved God even more that life itself and in the end he went to be with God. He died at home with the family around him that he loved. He was only 45. It was just a few months after being diagnosed with Melanoma cancer in Boise, Idaho.

Cancer is one of those killers that doesn’t care who you are, it gets a toe-hold and grows. One day there will be a cure, but until then we must all savor life, one day at a time.

At the time of his death John and I were much closer than I had been with my brothers Jess and Jered. John and I shared common interests: our faith in God, our families and our Army service.

John served in the Army as an infantryman, driving armored personnel carriers and the like overseas in Korea, then at Fort Carson in Colorado. I retired after more than 22 years in Army transportation outside of Fort Carson in Colorado.

I'm thankful that soon after I retired I heard about the Promise Keepers organization out of Boulder, Colorado. I went to their first men's conference in 1991 and saw God move in and through men in a way I'd never experienced before. It wasn't long before I was able to take John with me to the next conference in 1992.

John was a self proclaimed Christian, but that conference really opened his eyes spiritually. He stood in awe as God moved across a crowd of men, who openly and unashamedly fell down before God in praise and worship. Promise Keepers was the catalyst that allowed John to focus on God in a way he'd never thought possible. He was empowered to express his faith and openly share that faith in God with others every day.

Growing up as next to the youngest of four boys in Southwestern Idaho John was usually in the number of brotherly "quarrels" and often we were on the same side. Let some outsider try to muscle in on any of us and all of us came together as one.

I went into the Army soon after high school. John however didn't go in until after I'd came back from Thailand, after he and his wife kind of parted ways. The Army took him overseas to Korea, so that "Asian" connection formed a natural bond we could both relate to. When John came back from Korea, he was assigned to Fort Carson and I had the opportunity to visit John on my way to Panama in September 1974.

John gave me a first rate tour of Colorado Springs and even took me to a new shopping mall (The Citadel Mall) where we watched “Young Frankenstein” with Gene Wilder.

I don't think John ever came back to Colorado until 1992, when we went to the Promise Keepers conference in Boulder. That was a special time for John, as it was for me. His wife bought his airline ticket to Colorado as a Fathers Day gift, and I paid for his admission to the conference. John was not sure about what he was getting into and as we entered the stadium I sensed a tremendous impact John was experiencing. I'd felt it the year before. Throughout the weekend event John established a deeper and lasting relationship with God. It was a life changing event for John.

It had been my dream from the first PK conference to see my dad and all my brothers attend a PK conference together. That dream became a reality when the first ever Boise conference was held in 1995. It was then that I went to the conference with all the Wilson men in our family, including two nephews.

Little did we know the full impact it was going to have on John until mid 1997. John called urging me to have my prostrate checked for cancer. After getting a clean bill from my doctor, I called John with the good news. The news John gave me was far different. The doctors thought he had cancer in several places.

There were tumors behind his right eye, which caused the eye to bulge out of its socket. The doctors feared the eye would have to be removed. John’s answer was “If God wanted me to walk around with one eye, so be it!”

Our families and our church families prayed for God to heal the tumors and God answered our prayers. The doctors could find only one tumor, which they were able to remove without damage to the eye. The eye stayed.

John began suffering severe back pains, associated with the cancer that had penetrated his body. The doctors said it was the deadly melanoma strain of cancer and there was no cure. John trusted God, and declared it, even thru the pain. John knew the battle was more than just physical, it was a spiritual battle designed to test the very core of his faith in God. Repeatedly I told John to place his trust in God.

We talked often on the telephone, even when John was in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy. It was not long before the doctors sent John home, saying there was nothing more they could do. At times the pain John suffered became unbearable. Internal bleeding sent John back to the hospital often.

When John came home the last time, our family anointed his room with oil, and prayed unceasingly for John’s healing. His radio was tuned into a local contemporary Christian station so that his room was saturated with the Word of God in song. Along with the morphine drip to ease the pain, there was not much anyone could do, but continue to pray. We never gave up hope that God would heal John. Neither did John give up hope that God would heal him.

We remained hopeful that God would heal John’s body. We trusted God. John trusted God and his faith in the healing power of prayer never wavered. In fact, John heard that evangelist Benny Henn’s healing crusade was scheduled for August in Seattle. John’s church pitched in for the airline ticket to take John and his family to the crusade. John knew that if he could only get to the crusade, God would heal him. Yet when it came time to leave, John became so weak that he was not to travel. He was growing weaker day by day.

I had been planning a trip to Boise to celebrate my birthday at the end of August, but when I got a call that John was growing weaker by the day we decided to come home immediately.

We drove through the night from Colorado Springs and arrived in Boise on August 21^st, going directly to see John at home, in his bed. His bedridden body was wracked in pain, yet there was expectation in his eyes. John still expected God to heal him. I asked John, “What do you want God to do for you?” Without hesitation John said, “God’s Will!” It was his statement of his faith in God. We prayed together that God’s will be done. We prayed that God would give John the strength to endure the pain.

That weekend was time well spent with John. As he slept, I sat by his bed watching him. I spotted his bible on the table, beside the bed. Thumbing through it, I came upon an inscription John had written shortly after he was presented this bible.
 

The inscription simply read:
 

“I, John, commit myself to God, heart, body and soul. Use me Lord each day for your glory”.
 

Not a commitment to make lightly. There are consequences. John had highlighted the following verses :
 

Mark 12:30 – 31
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength….Love your neighbor as yourself….”
 

John lived by these guidelines. Loving God and loving his neighbor as himself.

John never emphasized his importance in the scheme of world events. Once John said he had never won anyone to the Lord. He wasn’t an evangelist or a preacher. He just loved the Lord. John told me once that if he had to die so his children would be saved, he was ready!

John would get out of bed for short periods. A trip to the hospital for medication and check his vital signs. Often John would get out of bed to sit in his recliner, where he would fall asleep. Each day we talked and I sensed that although John was in a great deal of pain, he was holding on to life by sheer will-power, for the sake of the family.

I managed to speak to each family member and encouraged them to talk to John. As we spoke about what was happening, we had to cope with the fact that John was dying and it was a part of life. I told them what I felt about John hanging on for our sake encouraged them to give John their individual permission to let go, to be with God, in a place where he would feel no more pain. I looked into John’s eyes and knew it would be the last time we’d be together, this side of Heaven. It was Saturday night when we left, heading back to Colorado. It was a somber time for us.

On August 28^th, I got the call that John had died from a cancer that had tormented his body for the 3 months. I flew back to Boise for John’s funeral.
 

As I entered the funeral home, the place was packed with family, friends and John’s co-workers from the Boise City Water and Sanitation Department. The place was packed with people standing in the halls, against the walls and out into the entry way. What a wonderful tribute for someone who had never seen the impact his life had on others for the Lord.

John’s co-workers planted a tree and placed a memorial marker next to the department headquarters where John worked. To my knowledge, this is something that the Water Department had never done before, nor since. It was their tribute to John.

I was surprised at the presence of the military honor guard who presented the flag to John’s wife at the graveside. They were Army Reserve soldiers from the 96^th Army Reserve Command in downtown Boise. A unit that John and I had both once been members. The honor guard paid their respects, and were soon gone without recognition or drawing attention upon themselves. Very professional.

John's had lived in a house up the street from mom and dad's place, and a reception was given to bring the family and friends together, a final tribute to honor John.
 

I spoke with John’s pastor at the reception. He said it would be hard to find a replacement to fill John’s place at church. You see, John was the consummate volunteer. Helped set up the room before the service, greeted people when they arrived and was the last one to leave after cleaning up. John didn’t wear a suit. His attire was usually a t-shirt and a hat with a scripture. In fact, John was buried in his hat and t-shirt with a proclamation “Prepare to Meet Thy God”.
 

Its still hard for John to be gone so long. His death was over-shadowed by another world event, when Princess Dianna died it that tragic accident in Paris.