John Grayson Mitchell

John was a few years older than me, but as we were from a small town in Maine, at age 10 in the 5th grade, I was in the combination Grammar and High School band. I played the clarinet and John played the bass drum. John would have been a Freshman or Sophomore in High School at that time. I remember seeing those big brown eyes and hearing the boom boom boom of his drum. Surprise, surprise! He began dating my sister Doris later on. By that time I'd grown physically and was a teenager. I will miss him always, and I am glad that he and my sister met and got married. They were true partners and respected and loved each other as equals. They were kind, respectful and caring of the other and didn't compete with each other. A lesson for many.

John, my brother-in-law, will always be with me in my heart. I have so many memories of him from when he and I both played in our school band in Lubec; him 15 playing the bass drum and me at 10 playing clarinet to many activities over the years with he and my sister, Doris and their family and mine and Carmen's. John was a contemplative type, but he was fun too, and I will miss him very much. He had always a ready smile and a kind and caring voice. So, I will smile with tears in my eyes when I think of him.