Beautiful put! Thank you for sharing this. I first met John when he
showed up out of the dark to retrieve crewless me at SAF during a
regionals out of Moriarty in the early 90s, and I have remained in his
debt ever since as he shepherded generations of juniors, and gently
encouraged me in their recognition to the very end. The sport and
community have lost a gentle giant.

John Leibacher



On 16 fév, 07:00, Frank Whiteley wrote:
The gift of knowledge. *His father's work meant he learned fluent
French while young and absorbing the world around him. *His older
siblings educational accomplishments inspired him to excel as he
achieved his Bachelor's at Georgetown and PHD at Michigan, leading to
a post-doc at Princeton. *He chose the academic path of imparting
knowledge, rather than continuing in research. *Thus he shared this
knowledge of physics, mathematics and astronomy to eager students for
over a generation. *February 4th marked his last class room
appearance. *This gift was shared far beyond the class room, as both
friends and family will attest.

The gift of flight. *As a high school student in paradise, he joined
the Civil Air Patrol and learned to fly gliders and powered aircraft.
Simple flight was not enough, he chose to soar. *And soar he did for
nearly forty years from several clubs, in contests, at CAP academies,
and professionally. *His many log books show a devotion to sharing
this gift of flight to those seekers, as it had been shared with him.
His hand was there in developing those programs, the selection
methods, and fund raising that would open doors for youth; *the Cadet
Youth Flight Scholarship, the Bultman Flight Scholarship, the Kolstad
Youth College Scholarship, and the US Junior Team. *He chaired the SSA
Youth Committee for many years, only recently passing the torch. *His
last gave a flight lesson in early December, but continued ground
instruction into January.

The gift of love. *He loved the SSA and, stormed delayed, arrived
during the final hours of the last day of the recent convention. *A
kind Arkansas lady drove him from the airport to the convention, where
he came to the youth booth and visited with some of the former junior
team members and others in passing. *He attended the awards banquet
and stood to be recognized as a former SSA regional director. *Apart
from his obvious love of soaring, he had another love of his life.
Who knows why couples part, but he found no one else. *He was
astonished when Janet appeared in these final days, nearly twenty
years after they'd last seen each other. *She was a great comfort with
kind words, gentle touches, affection and attention. *He wanted her to
have a simple cup from a shelf in his apartment, the 'heart' cup she
gave him on their first date nearly thirty years ago bore the simple
phrase, "Kiss me, I'm ready." *Those same words uttered when she
arrived. *Brother Andrew and sister Joan, students, and close friends
visited and called during those final days and hours. *When he could
no longer respond, he still listened when able to those many
appreciations of his involvement in so many lives.

The gift of sight. *Despite a body racked with disease, he remained a
donor, and his corneas will restore the gift of sight, perhaps to
someone who may someday regale in the wondrous beauty of soaring
flight.

Farewell this day Dr. John Holmes Campbell; brother, scholar, mentor,
master, and friend. *May your spirit soar and serve to inspire us all.