It is with a heavy heart and one filled with tears that I sit here and these words. At 12:25 am October 31, 2007 Jonathan V Tufts slipped away to a better world and is no longer with us. I was sitting with him as he took his last breath. It was a peaceful moment and I whispered softly as his breathing slowed to let go and find the peace he desired.
Services we be announced in a few days. Once I know more details of when and where, I will post them here.
If you have a note or condolence, please feel free to leave a comment as his family does check this and they do read the comments people leave.
I wish to thank those of you who took the time to call on JT, send cards and well wishes and mostly I want to thank his neighbors, Joe, Mitch, Ken, Aaron and many more in the complex that took the time to come by, feed, help, clean or just check in to say Hello while JT was going thru his treatments and into the final days at home. Without you, his would have been much more empty. YOU ALL ARE ANGELS!
Look for more updates in the next few days,
Andy
21 responses so far ↓
Paul // October 31, 2007 at 4:00 am
Oh boy, I am very shocked and sad to hear this bad news.
My condolences to all his family and friends, and I wish everybody much strength for the difficult time to com.
Ted // October 31, 2007 at 4:15 am
JT, you will be sorely missed by many. I am sorry to have never met you in person, but know your soul. I believe I did.
Sincere condolences to your friends and family.
AC, hang in there, be strong for those that can’t.
My thought and prayers are with you all.
Ed Emond // October 31, 2007 at 5:48 am
I’m so sorry to hear about JT’s passing. May he rest in peace. I only knew JT in the last couple of years from a couple of naked hikes. He seemed to be a fun person and willing to help others.
Andy (and others) — JT was blessed by having such a good friend to stick by him until the very end. I know JT wasn’t the best patient at times, but you remained his loyal friend. You have a spot reserved for you in heaven.
Ed
AC // October 31, 2007 at 7:50 am
My condolences to JT’s family and friends. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Sylvia // October 31, 2007 at 8:38 am
This is Uncle Jon’s niece. I was luck enough to see him just a week and a half ago. He told me he didn’t want us to be sad and that he wanted us to celebrate his life when he passed. So, if you have any funny stories, fond memories, or things that just made you glad he was in your life, please share them!
Thank you all for you kind words, condolences, and support during this difficult time. It means a great deal to all of us.
Maddi // October 31, 2007 at 10:27 am
Andy and Art, you have been the angels and the extraordinary friends to JT. It is because of you and the guys in his complex that he kept going. Each of you in your own way have meant far more to him than you can imagine. As JT’s sister living far away, I am most grateful to all of you for all that you do and have done for JT up to the very end.
He was a very independent and free spirited person. But, he was very determined and so in need of wonderful people like all of you to help him stay connected, especially during his fight against this insidious disease. So, to all of you, thank you very much for being his support, comfort, and helping him at a time he was most challenged and challenging.
Craig // October 31, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I was a little surprised to get the e-mail from Andy about Noodle’s passing. He has been my friend for about 9 years and we will miss him terribly.
We were lucky to get to see him about 2 weeks ago. We shared a very nice dinner and visit.
Those of us who knew noodle from the on-line world lovingly called him noodle, and not jt. It always served to confuse!
We will miss him and are glad he is no longer in pain. True to his nature of irony, he was born on valentines and passed away on Halloween!
Tom // October 31, 2007 at 3:36 pm
As one of Jon’s brothers I share my condolences and deepest gratitude to all of Jon’s friends for their many kindnesses to Jon, to me and to my family, especially during the past year. I have learned much about courage, compassion and the love of life from Jon and from all of y0u. May you receive many blessings for all that you have been and done.
Christopher Tufts // October 31, 2007 at 6:24 pm
I am still reflecting on all the feelings and thoughts I have about my brother Jonathan and will share them with all of you when they come together. In the interim, I want to share my brother’s Tom deepest gratitude to all of you who have reached out to Jonathan during this very tough fight with cancer. I salute you! Your selfless acts of kindness to someone who at times could be most difficult to deal with are
saintly. It is sometimes the most difficult to love that are the most lovable. God bless all of you!
Rob // November 1, 2007 at 9:00 am
It is with great regret that I share my thoughts here today. JT and I were room mates 10 years ago, when I lived in Salt Lake City. I was 21 at the time, and living in a bad situation that I needed to get out of. JT offered a place to stay, and took me in. When my car broke down, he let me borrow his truck on a few ocasions, gave me rides to work, and was a very kind person. We shared a 1 bedroom apartment together, and somehow we just ended up getting on each other’s nerves after a while, and parted on not so good of terms. I regret that I never had a chance to reconcile my differences with him before he passed, I had no idea he was on his death bed, and I will never forget the memories, good and bad. We used to have so much fun together laughing and giggling at all hours of the night, making fun of people in the chat rooms, and playing pranks on some of the members. There were the drunken moments at the Deer Hunter and late night coffee at Denny’s or Dee’s. John always made people laugh, and I’ll never forget the memories. Rest in peace, and God bless everyone who helped him during his final days, you will all be rewarded for your kindness someday. Please email me and let me know when and where the services will be.
Brian Bentson // November 1, 2007 at 10:16 am
I will miss his spirit and determination. It was always inspiring. We met and became friends in Boston where we both were living back in 2003 in Dorchester, MA. It was much too cold for us and we often complained to one another about that, and often contemplated moving to a warmer climate. After a year or so we both ended up moving at separate times to Palm Springs.
We met up here a couple years back and have remained friends ever since. I will miss his sence of humar he found in life, and his ability to apprieciate animals and nature. I am happy to hear Charlie will be well taken care of. He really loved that cat!
Thanks Andy for maintaining this website and for all your help with JT’s life towards the end; and to all of you who helped him. I wish he would have let me help him more then I did, I will always wonder why he did not let me into his life more, I look back on it now and wish I had puched harder to try to get more involved in his life, but I none the less will always respect his wishes! He was a stubborn SOB and we loved each other alot, but I feel bad that I was not there at the very end. I hope he is resting peacefully, and hope that his family can understand that he was loved and appreciated!
On a side note: Please let me know when the services for him will be, and if there is anyone who wishes to tak to me about JT, or wants to get in-touch with me to chat about him please feel free to e-mail me! This is a wonderful medium to express your feeling in this tough time and it is important to have friends to talk to durring it!
All my Love,
Brian
xoxo
Brian Bentson // November 1, 2007 at 10:19 am
My e-mail address is – bjbentson@gmail.com
Brian
naked otter // November 1, 2007 at 5:49 pm
DriveBear, as I initially knew him, was a special online friend with many shared values and interests. It’s hard to know where we first met as we found each other on so many websites and list servers; and actually emailed from time to time. I knew he had some physical issues but don’t think I was aware of the cancer. Loved the pic of the naked hikes; and was glad to see that he’d found a loving and supportive community to live in. I especially remember his posts about the time he moved to the complex. May his soul fly free of the restraints of clothes, gravity and time and may he come to all of us in time.
Fondly
otter
naked otter // November 1, 2007 at 5:58 pm
And special thanks to Andy and the rest of our brothers who had the honor and privilege of caring for and supporting one of our own in his final days.
otter
Andy // November 1, 2007 at 11:57 pm
It has been a wonderful experience reading all of the comments made here. I cannot thank you enough for all the kind words and fond memories. But there are a few other folks to keep in your thoughts. Ken F was the early one to take on checking JT, and Mitch came in the picture about the same time. Between the two, they made sure JT was fed, has rides and took care of Charlie, JT’s cat. Ken never once asked for gas money for all the many rides he gave Jt back and forth to his appointments, chemo and other errands. Mitch was daily over there fixing something, bringing something or feeding JT.
Later when JT moved to a smaller apartment did Joe start cooking for JT and brining over individual servings and making sure they were easy for JT to heat up and he always cooked what JT liked. Again, he never asked for anything back and gave and gave. Aaron moved in a few months ago and began checking on JT and running errands as well, and even took the time to drive JT to chemo in Jt’s truck. Aarons Jeep was too rough according to JT.
Art has been overseeing the financials and is in charge of executing JTs last wishes and final arrangements. So it has been a team effort all around.
The thanks for all that has been done goes out to many folks who took care of JT.
Andy
Faith // November 3, 2007 at 6:31 am
JT was a special person, he will be missed. I don’t live anywhere close to PS, and sadly only met JT in person a couple of times, but I enjoyed throroughly the stories he told and the stories I’ve read about him and his escapades over the years. I met him through my husband who became friends with JT several years ago through the net. I know he and I are among the many who will miss JT.
JT is now in a place without pain and where he can do anything he wants. He can fly with the angels or walk on a glorious beach or sit and enjoy a beautiful sunset all in the blink of an eye. He’s now one of our guardians, watching out for us, and I for one feel better knowing that there’s a special man like him up there watching out for me.
Faith // November 3, 2007 at 6:33 am
Thank you for all of the special angels down here who cared for and helped JT. You are all wonderful people!
AARON // November 3, 2007 at 8:10 am
Well being the non technical person I can be I think I posted may condolences in the wrong place….
I only knew JT for a moment in time. I remember two things that I will share with you all. First was just after he moved into the apartment next door to me.
He left a note on his slider inviting “…anyone to come in because he loved company …” I was quite moved and began visiting with him regularly. I saw him everyday because twice a day while he lived here I passed his home.
The second story has to do with one warn summer evening when he asked me if I had ever built a model ship – He had one that he had had for years, and had gotten in New England. Well I put it together for him and there it sat ontop of his TV where he could see it all day lone. He shared some wonderful stories about being a child in New England and how his father had gotten him interested in sail ship! It was a magical moment for us both,
Hail to thee blithe spirit and Bon Voyage!
tom webster // November 3, 2007 at 6:03 pm
all, i hadn’t checked j.t.’s blog since oct. 29 and had been worried before that because j.t. had not posted since mid – sept.. i am glad andy gave us an update and so i wasn’t as suprised when i finally checked the blog this morning and heard of j.t.’s passing. my condolences to all his family and friends, especially those who have taken care of him. i first met j.t. in 1986 when i first volunterred for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s fundraisers. i was doing logistics and j.t. was one of the truck drivers for these events.
we did 15 or so years of events, 1 or 2 times a year. we had many good times during these events and all of us who worked on M.S. events will miss him much. i have posted 2 pictures of j.t. on flickr.com, under search, scroll down to members and type in “reddogbecky”.
Keith // November 3, 2007 at 6:41 pm
JT was a long time friend of mine. He enjoyed life and was fun to hang out with. I was saddened to hear about his death just now. But, I will continue to pray for him and his family. I know that he’ll be happy in the next life and I look forward to meeting him when my time comes because he was a great friend.
Andy // November 9, 2007 at 4:29 pm
The added comment was emailed to me from one of JT’s employers. They did not know the severity of JT’s cancer, only that he was having medical issues, so it was a shock to them when I called and relayed the news of his passing. Read below:
Jt was a great man with a heart of gold, I think
we all apprecated his quirky personality, I will
always hold several memories within my heart
that I have experienced over the last twenty years, He was a rare breed, I hope he is in a place that provides alot of coffee and smokes
and as long he can wear shorts and sandals
he’ll be happy, Jt will always be in my mind and
heart. He was a true friend he’ll be missed by
many……
Randy (LandAir Express)
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