My brother John

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

Politics are important; life is more important. I’ll be back on politics next week, but need to pause and pay respects to my brother who died on Tuesday, Sept. 24. And I just have to go back to my column of Sept. 4 to give you my view on this life (“On Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand").

I remember when Mother and Dad brought John home from the hospital (I was 4 ½). 

They broke the mold when they made John. Stoic, extremely smart, you never quite knew what was going on in that head.  

He survived three public school systems: Troy, Marshall/Hillsboro, and Delhi Township in Cincinnati. He got an electrical engineering degree at Purdue University in three and a half years, and I think made the dean’s list every grading period.

He and I were each other’s best friends when we were kids and had the opportunity to play together in the city and on the farms. And we worked together on the farms, Dad saw to that.

I have been trying to think if John had any vices or ever tried any vices. The only thing I can come up with is remembering him seeing “Blazing Saddles” and thinking it was hilarious.  

I don’t think he ever even drifted through a stop sign or ever got a speeding ticket.

John called me this past Monday afternoon. He was at home. He wanted me to know he had had a heart attack, and they had put in two stents. He was joking that he had never drank or smoked and mused as to whether he should have. 

He was looking forward to follow-up cardiac visits and rehab. I told him I was glad he called, and I looked forward to seeing him in a couple of weeks.  

He passed away in less than 10 hours.

There are learnings in everything.

From a spiritual standpoint, go back and read my column of Sept. 4 at https://highlandcountypress.com/opinions-jim-thompson/christ-solid-rock…

From a medical standpoint, get regular checkups – for everything. John was fit and trim and probably had a lower Body Mass Index than I do.

When you say you are going to see someone on a date in the future, recognize that is an audacious statement. Just because you have been able to keep all your appointments in the past, there is no guarantee of the future.

I am glad I had John as a brother. I looked up to him. He was quite a man.

Publisher's note: John Thompson's obituary is online at https://highlandcountypress.com/obituaries/john-willard-thompson#gsc.ta…

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.