I met John in Mrs. Dunphy's German class at Rutherford High School. he was usually quiet but he would smile a lot in that class. We also hung out with Scott Davies and Bruce Mailey after we all got out of H.S. John was different after his service in Vietnam, but he was still a good loyal friend. If your car broke down late at night John was the guy you called. I remember a Presidents day (work was snowed out) in 1979 (I think) when we bought a toboggan and went to a golf course near West Orange and proceeded to hold Olympic Trials at night. We had been partying (we even Bar B Cued) all day and it is the memory of John smiling and laughing as we flew down the hill running over people that we couldn't see because of the snow blowing in to our faces. We would climb back up the hill and do it over and over again. Ask Scott or Jimmy Hemmel, that was the most we had ever seen John laugh! I'll miss John. John Burkett