Until we meet again, John!
By Mark Pavilons

John Gilbert once told me that success was "enjoying what we do while we appreciate what we have."

Worse than the sadness I feel inside is the void his departure creates, not just for me, but for all who were lucky to have met him.

He undoubtedly soaked up everything until the end, hoping to commit one more story or experience to memory so he could relay it to the Man Upstairs.

In the few years I knew John, I learned more about humanity than in 20 years dealing with the public. John was genuinely interested in what you had to say. He listened and made you feel important, without preaching, without passing judgement. He was never short of a story, anecdote or humorous tale. He laughed, and his eyes twinkled when he recounted his favourite stories. His repertoire was a big as his heart.

When John left us prematurely, the world became slightly less compassionate, less steady and more like a wobbly egg on a wooden table top. But John would tell you he wasn't a vital cog in the great, big wheel, just an observer. Sorry, John, but that's where you're wrong. The world needs honesty, integrity, selflessness and encouragement. The world needs kindness, gentleness and good deeds. The world needs innovators and those thoughtful enough to try to make a difference. The world needed a guy like John.

While John may not have thought of himself as all that, we all knew better. It was why he was liked and well regarded. John never wasted an opportunity to make new friends and learn something new.

Every once in a while we're touched. Strangers become friends. No one knows why we accidentally bump into kind souls that enrich our lives. Perhaps it's destiny. Maybe, when you extend a hand in friendship, you change things, chart a new course, and remind us all of the good things we humans are capable of. John was that kind of person. And he is missed.