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Friday
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June
Green Burial @ Baldwin Hill Conservation Cemetery
11:00 am
Friday, June 7, 2024
Baldwin Hill Cemetery
Fayette Corner Rd
Fayette, Maine, United States
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Maureen Donohoe posted a condolence
Thursday, July 11, 2024
I only heard today about John's passing. I had begun emailing him in May to check in and inquire for a friends daughter who said she wanted to learn about Plant Breeding School Programs...when she mentioned it to me I said..."I know a guy". After the 3rd email went unanswered I had a sinking feeling something was up-John was always so prompt, cheerful and sincere in his response.
John was my first Sustainable Agriculture/Permaculture teacher at COA in Maine. I felt like he opened up a whole new world to me that no one had ever told me was here. His enthusiasm and depth of teaching was infectious and I new from that point on I would always have to be involved in growing things, healing things; making a difference somehow. I paraphrase his teaching more times than I could ever count. I went on to study Biodynamic Ag, was Certified as a Permaculture Designer and Teacher trained, studied Oriental Medicine and Food as medicine, Agronomy, Regenerative Agriculture, am Certified as a Nutrition Therapy Practitioner...all due to the inspiration from John's initial ignition.
I had the chance to re-connect with him in person about 9 years ago and he got to meet my daughter. I was able to thank him for all he had done for me, engaging my curiosity for decades.
John lived like a true seed; a beautiful condensing of intensity, brilliance, willingness, passion, love of life- despite the challenges in it, and then he cast himself out into all of our hearts, forcing his way in with affection and humor so we had to carry him all through our lives too, had to spread the joy he left, had to spread the passion. He had a master plan as a teacher and was so successful leaving his mark.
I was so comforted knowing he was back in Maine at Johnny's-something felt so full circle about it. I am so glad to know of the reconciliation with Terri, that they and the girls were made whole again.
I will miss John forever and always treasure our friendship, his teachings, his laugh and the way he would just launch into an idea and leave you gasping for breath to keep up with him. There will never be another like him. Terri, Emilia and Zea Bridget and I will keep you in our prayers and hold the memory of John with love and deep gratitude always. I will keep working in his honor for all of the things he held dear, and support the young people wanting to learn, with his knowledge and work. Bless you as you remember and heal this loss. With love and sincerity, Maureen and Bridget Donohoe
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terrimatson@me.com Posted Jul 15, 2024 at 1:35 PM
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Lynne Kaplowitz posted a condolence
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Sending much love to Terri, Zea, and Emilia. I have known John since attending college with him in the 1970's and 80's. I first saw John on stage with TC and the Tomcats. I remember driving to Michigan with a group of college friends for John and Terri's first wedding. John was an inspiration, storyteller, teacher, and friend. He will be missed by all of the people who have known him.
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terrimatson@me.com Posted Jul 15, 2024 at 1:40 PM
Thank you Lynn and Jim. John spoke about those wonderful memories often. John loved being with good people. I will never forget canning all those peaches in your Oregon kitchen and then shipping everything home so we could drive them safely back to Maine. Thank you for your loving thoughts.
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David Lively posted a condolence
Sunday, June 16, 2024
Like many, I knew John when he was a considerable force in the organic movement, a Doctor no less, holding forth from the front of whatever gathering as he patiently unpacked his thinking in an almost hypnotizingly persuasive rolling of a big river of voice.
But before that, I worked beside John when he was but a very humble field hand, employed by our early organic farming coalition, Thistle-Brook, located north of Eugene, Oregon. Thistle-Brook came about when the partnership of Thistle Organics – Tom Lively, Kellee Adams and myself – joined forces with Keith Walton of Riverbrook Cooperative, which Keith managed on his family’s third-generation farm, Riverbrook.
At less than 15 acres of production, in 1981 we were nevertheless the largest fresh market organic farm in Oregon. We were also learning myriad lessons in being organic agriculturalists, most of which resulted in poverty if also exhilaration.
And into our midst, dropped this potential firefighter looking to veer off his path into something new.
Within our crew of a half-dozen or so, Keith and Tom held most of the skills. Keith, raised on the farm, could maintain and operate equipment, deal with plumbing, irrigation and electric issues, weld, and act as a sensitive cultivator of soil. Tom, with several more years as a gardener than the rest of us, and a body that had been hyper-active since birth, was our guide in determining what when and how much we would grow.
The rest of us, for the most part, were labor. Which meant, hoes and rototillers, and occasionally the Allis-Chalmers model G cultivator, almost certainly the most important tool to be found on most organic produce farms.
John and I often spent as much as ten hours a day in each other’s company. We were working the rows, mostly. Thinning, weeding, harvesting. And talking. Primary points of conversation were music and sports, though between us we were capable of handling most anything relating to culture. We were both musicologists, with deep and wide knowledge of bands, members, albums, songs, lyrics, and we both embraced a broad front of genres. At the time, New Wave and Punk were in, and we both loved the bands then at work, and the fun they were having -Talking Heads, Devo, Police, Cars, Clash, Sex Pistols, Ramones – and quoted them relentlessly, whether the words applied to anything or not. “See if you can get it . . . on the paper,” from the Heads song “Paper” was a favorite, but nearly every lyric on Fear of Music was worthy of infinite consideration as applied to the various events of the day, whether anyone else understood or not. “It’s only the river”, “He’s just got an uncontrollable urge, that’s all”.
Usually broke, we seldom could attend live shows, but over two years we did see the Dead, The Police, and a great concert with The Ramones, Circle Jerks and DOA. John was most impressed by how Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone were able to shift so quickly – “one two three four” – from one song’s chords to another. After seeding a regional band, The Rats, John was so impressed that he talked his way back stage and interviewed the guitarist, Fred Cole, wanting to know his influences. Fred responded that his approach was defined by James Gurley, the guitarist for Big Brother and the Holding Company, and his playing on Cheap Thrills, which to John meant “Dave, the guy built his entire approach on two songs! Combination of the Two and Ball and Chain! Amazing!”
But we still honored all that had come before. John, from a more musical family than my own, went back farther than I could, into the 40’s and even 30’s. And as a pre-teen, when I was listening to Gary Lewis and the Playboys and Herman’s Hermits, John was already into Dylan. I loved the story he told about he and his friends responding to Dylan’s line, “The vandals stole the handles” by going at it with screwdrivers. Also, his story about walking down the street with friends, and a transistor radio telling them that next up was a Dylan song from Hendrix and them stirred to excitement while they guessed at it, and went slightly crazy when All Along the Watchtower came on.
As to sports, it was mostly about basketball. I was locked in on the pro game, but John’s focus was primarily college ball, and he was always providing me with the back stories of the players I was in awe of in the play-offs. I couldn’t imagine how he’d found the time to track so many teams and players. His knowledge of baseball didn’t suck, either.
When we were done with the work, and maybe play, we slept. We had no real shelter. Tom, Kellee and I lived in a commune miles away and returned there only on weekends. At the farm, we lived in tents or coldframes. For John and other workers, it was a matter of what ground you wanted to lie on.
In this, John was fortunate. He claimed the dry space inside of a camper shell that had been dropped near our kitchen area. The company who produced said camper shell sold it under the brand Pair of Dice, giving John the continual opportunity to explain to people at parties and other gatherings that he lived in Paradise.
Something of a turtle (if I ever saw him in a hurry, its escapes me), John really only irked me with one habit, that of a slow hoe. We were operating on a farm with class I and II soils, rich and favorable to anything that wanted to grow, and combat against the weeds never ended. From my point of view, we needed to work fast, and working near him, it was easy to see that I could hoe a row and a half while John did one, but John would have none of my impatience with him. After a number of arguments, it came down to a test. We started on two rows next to each other. Of course, I won the race. But I did not win the argument, because if my hurry, I had killed or damaged several more garlic plants than John had. Enough, in our limited financial scenario, that it only made sense to work more carefully, at his pace. Unwilling to move that slow and deliberate, I tried to achieve both speed and accuracy, for better or worse.
The last communication I had with John was a text asking how he was, early in the year. Connie and I had visited John and Terri last September, and I was amazed to actually see how many albums he owned. Not just albums, but multiple copies of many of them, in various conditions. For some reason, we had discussed The Monkees. We were both fans of Michael Nesmith, John especially Nesmith’s work with the National Steel Band, and in his response to me he said he was doing OK, that they were taking a break in treatment, and he gave me an update on tracking Nesmith’s lps.
And that, was to be that. A true brother to many, with so many surfaces to his personality, including a most excellent sense of humor. How often he was in front of his own jokes, already beginning the laugh before he was done with the tale, the twinkle in his eye indicating how much you were going to appreciate what was coming. And fierce in his beliefs and his willingness to tell the truth as it was to him. I loved and love you.
To quote one of his favorites, “See you in the next world, and don’t be late.”
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Keith Walton posted a condolence
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
I first saw John on a bright spring day in 1981 as he walked down Beacon Drive to my parents’s farm. I had no idea who he was or where he was heading. Shortly after that drive by encounter he arrived and was greeted by the farmers on hand, Tom Lively, his parter Kelly Adams probably others besides myself. He spent two seasons here cobbling together living space and embracing the loose knit community we called Thistlebrook. John’s presence here was always upbeat even in the drearyl winter harvests. A vivid recollection is a morning after a pheasant was shot in our corn field for its preemptive harvest of young seedling corn plants. His response was to remove the pheasants liver and eat it raw as all the rest of us stood by. Impressied. I haven’t seen him in several decades but have followed his legacy of care, attention, compassion and devotion to his family , the small farm community and the seed breeders locked arm in arm marching on and on. Blessed be.
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Heron Breen posted a condolence
Saturday, June 8, 2024
I know I am only one of thousands of humans for whom John served (intentionally or unknowingly) as a role model and mentor. Confluence of luck allowed me to know John over the last 20 years or so, starting as a young person in seed. John modeled being yourself...and being quirky, quick-witted, kind, cool, and present. He also demonstrated how to be persistent in your passions, in your ethics, and in your appreciation of others. And even more than the seed skills and depth of understanding, he fully embraced sharing, sharing, sharing. John forged a strong path that so many benefit from & will benefit from. But the sharing.....that is what I think he might want us all to keep practicing first and foremost. So many people are and will be missing you, John! You are one of a kind, and reminded us all that we were each also unique and important. Thank you.
Heron Breen
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Jefferson T. Oliver uploaded photo(s)
Saturday, June 8, 2024
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Friend forever John had bold love and changed my life. From our 7th grade meeting in Alexandria, Virginia in 1967 to right now, his warmth and positive energy radiated out to all of us. We laughed, I mean really laughed to the point where John sometimes ended up on the ground in a heap! Our meeting was sparked by the record albums he was carrying that day and music was the fuel that kept growing our friendship. I could go on but we love you so much John, Terri, Emelia and Zea!!
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Angela Tymrak uploaded photo(s)
Friday, June 7, 2024
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John your passion was inspiring - your light will always shine brightly in all of our hearts!
Love Always, Angela and Arctic
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Julie Matson uploaded photo(s)
Thursday, June 6, 2024
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R.I.P. John
Your memory will live with your family forever
Thank you for sharing your precious knowledge and spirit with us never to be forgotten
Cheers to you
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Rebecca Champagne posted a condolence
Thursday, June 6, 2024
John served on my PhD committee at UMaine from 2019-2022. One of my research projects examined carrot cultivar tolerance to physical weed control, and John was instrumental in the success of this project. He inspired me to be a better scientist and agronomist. He was one of the kindest people I knew and was very encouraging as I navigated my dissertation writing. He will be missed.
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John Schneeberger posted a condolence
Thursday, June 6, 2024
In 1993 I got a call from John at our little company in Montana called Garden City Seeds. He talked about orange cucumbers, multi-colored carrots and crops that were not only filled with phytonutrients but naturally resistant to pests and disease. John, as always, was ebullient and persuasive. The few things I know about plant varieties, genetics and plant breeding, I learned from John. I still use the math I learned from a non-nonsense nun in the 5th grade and the basic concepts of seed reproduction are hard wired into my brain because of the time I spent with John, the consummate teacher.
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Irwin Goldman posted a condolence
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
I have long admired John as a great friend, colleague, and inspiration in plant breeding and seed saving. More than almost anyone I know, John's spirit was about sharing his knowledge and expertise widely and encouraging others in their craft. He advanced ideas about breeding for organic environments long before others realized its importance. John made the most of life, and his spirit will live on in all of us who were lucky to learn from him. My sympathies and condolences to Terri, Zea, Emilia, and family. -Irwin Goldman
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Kevin Cook uploaded photo(s)
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
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