JOHN FRANCIS ANDERSON

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JOHN FRANCIS ANDERSON June 29, 1958 - December, 7 2012 John Francis Anderson died suddenly at his residence in Thunder Bay, ON, on December 7, 2012 from complications of diabetes. John was born on June 29, 1958, the third child and only son of Francis Clement and Rebecca Livingstone (Dickson) Anderson. He was a sweet and beautiful child with a sensitive nature. A somewhat solitary child, he enjoyed stamp collecting and later D-Xing - listening to radio from all over the world, and developed a lifelong passion for table tennis. At Lowe Farm School, he began to develop what would be a lifelong gift - making deep and meaningful friendships, especially with the twins Hardy and Victor Groening. Over his half century of life, he made and kept friends - friends made at church -- Dennis Dudeck, Martin Reimer, Peter Slyker, David Solleveld, and Glen Sikorsky; friends from organizations in Thunder Bay - Eddy and Monica van Ramshorst, Dolly Readman, Joyce Roller, Nathalie, and Tamara Rose, who organized the moving memorial held December 15 on Algoma Street, near where he lived, and died. "Your friendship was one I will never forget," John's friend Matt wrote on a memory page at the service. "I remember how you would finish sentences I would start." John attracted people to him with his genuine interest in them. He was open to others, hated prejudice and ignorance, and welcomed the chance to help others, even when he couldn't help himself - like the line from Leonard Cohen's song, Hallelujah, "I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch". A big, hearty laugh was what many remember about John - a laugh that rang out when he met a friend or ate at his favourite restaurants, Hoito and Kangas Sauna. "Going to miss you and that infectious laugh," a friend wrote. Growing up in a somewhat musical household, he early on showed a propensity for drumming, banging on plastic bowls and metal pots before he got a real set of drums. He jammed with the band at church functions when he was still just a kid, and memorably played the bongos in a group that sang one of his favourite songs, The Lion Sleeps Tonight at a church social. John's long-time romantic partner, Jane Komosky, took that song as the motif of a poem she wrote, and read at John's memorial service. "Sing and dance and be oh so merry, God's Divine Child, for the light of pure spirit is your new home, full of freedom, love and grace... and the Lion Sleeps Tonight." Joanie Zacharias married John in 1985 and moved to Thunder Bay, where John had moved to work as a radio operator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Their marriage ended, but the connection remained. At the memorial, Joanie read witty and hilarious excerpts from the many letters John wrote her during their courtship... and his friends remembered him with laughter. John was impossible to live with, and yet both significant ladies in his life were there to remember and honour him. That said a lot about him, and them. John believed that where there is despair, there is hope; and he found that hope through 12 step programs such as Al Anon, AA, and Emotions Anonymous, and through them, friends that were closer than brothers or sisters, fellow knights in the battle against demons most others can't imagine...friends that care and share and bear the burdens that can't be seen by others... No one tried harder than John to work through his issues and try to fix things that made life difficult. We now believe that many of his struggles were rooted in obsessive-compulsive disorder, something that probably couldn't be cured, and that he did not manage well in spite of his efforts and those of his friends. He also did not manage his diabetes properly, and this led to his untimely death. We would encourage anyone with psychological or physical health issues to seek help from professionals, and those having loved ones with these issues to guide them to appropriate interventions - before it's too late. Don't be too proud. In the words of Sting, on a CD John owned, "How fragile we are." John was predeceased by his parents, Francis and Becky Anderson, both in 2006. John is survived by his sisters Barbara (Brian) Shewchuk (Lowe Farm) and DeEtta (David) Ives, DeEtta's children Adrienne (Richard) Loeppky, Aaron Ives and Jesse Ives and Adrienne's daughters Jayden and Camryn (Winnipeg); Uncle Raymond Anderson (Morris); Aunt Mildred Dickson (Morris); many Dickson and Norris first cousins; and a host of friends. "Thanks for carrying the message of love, hope and kindness, and sharing your experience, strength and hope with so many, one of his Thunder Bay friends wrote. "See you again when I go home," wrote another. John loved these lines, attributed to St. Francis of Assisi - O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Donations in his memory can be made to the Canadian Diabetes Foundation, especially the Thunder Bay branch. Arrangements by Waverley Chapel, Everest of Thunder Bay. Thank you, Matt. Look for an online memorial at a later date.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 22, 2012