John Bilinski

For those of you my name is Nathan and Johnny was a very close friend to me and my family. Sometime it’s hard to find the right words to write when you’ve lost a brother. I sit here and reminisce about all the stupid and reckless shit we’ve done, and turns out lots of those times are the ones you cherish the most. Those times you share together shape your life, they define you and you look back and count yourself lucky to have had those times together.

When we were young Johnny Bilinski was almost mystical when you heard of him. I only heard the name from others talking when I was young. When I first met him I didn’t know how to think of him as he definitely had an air of arrogance to him. He was older than me by a year and thus we always looked up to him in certain ways. He liked to find trouble when we were teenagers and

that’s what automatically drew me to him. If you were ever going to have to fight, you had best believe you wanted him in your corner.

Beneath that tough exterior Johnny was a softy, and that he loved fiercely. As we got older the softer side of Johnny came about. He loved his friends like brothers and sisters and was never afraid to say I love you at the end of a night or when saying goodbye. His love for his family was unwavering, where at any

point in his life you always knew that John held the deepest form love for his mother Maria and his sisters Christine and Michelle and his niece Mia. Which leads to his “raison d’être “ Maddex, who from day one was Johns “everything”! For John, nothing brought more joy to him than being in the presence of his son.

Lucky for me my son Ezra is also Maddex’s age and we spent a lot of time getting the kids together taking them to all kinds of birthday parties and different outings. This was as happy as John gets watching Maddex have fun and interact and experience these things. There is a term in Japanese called “ikigai” which translates to a motivating force; something or someone that gives a person a sense of purpose or a reason to live. Maddex is Johns “ikigai”. There was nothing John wouldn’t do for his son and Johns legacy lives on through Maddex.

To ensure that Maddex has the future that John always dreamed for him we have set up a Gofundme for Maddex to be held in trust until he is an adult as a symbol of love from all that knew and loved Johnny. In lieu of flowers or anything else we ask that any donations be made in this form.