Hello, this is Nicole, John's wife.

Many of you may not be aware of the path the last few months have taken. In April, John was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He completed his first round of chemotherapy in June and July. He went in for surgery on August 12th to remove the tumor. This was expected to be a 7-10 day recovery time.

He experienced several setbacks while there and remained at the hospital just short of two months. He was on the mend when he was released to come home on October 6th with every expectation of recovery. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and he passed away quite unexpectedly on October 12th. We are all thankful that he was able to be home and surrounded by family and friends at the end.

I was fortunate to be able to spend every day with him at the hospital and at home, which is time I will be eternally grateful to have had with him.

This loss has left a hole in the hearts and lives of everyone he knows, which is so many more people than I can imagine. John never met a stranger; everyone was a new friend. He loved them all and was always happy to include everyone and to just enjoy life.

As many of you know, John was self-employed, and neither of us was able to work during this time. Due to this initially only being a short stay, and every expectation of recovery, this has caused a financial burden that there was no way to prepare for.

Along with the medical and funeral expenses, we are holding two separate Celebration of Life memorials. One in our new home state of Florida and one in our forever home state of Illinois. Along with the cost of these events, we will also incur travel expenses to be able to do both.

I am here, creating this fund, because I have been asked by many people how they can help with the unexpected expenses and contribute to these events. Anything you wish to give will be extraordinarily appreciated. If you can't give, please just keep his family in your thoughts during this time.

If you would like to leave comments, a story about John, or even a bad joke (his favorite kind), we would all love and appreciate it.