A talented, creative, intelligent, loving, charismatic, and tormented soul.
Described as “an old soul,” by his mother, Coralee, Johnny loved being outdoors, looking for artifacts and making things from what he found in nature. He once made a beautiful bow for his mother’s birthday. He was also a Knapper, shaping arrowheads from stone or glass to make a sharp edge, using the old ways.
Coralee remembers Johnny as a humble little kid, always gracious at Christmas and very concerned about the feelings of others. She also has fond memories of a great vacation at the Cape one year.
Johnny was well loved by both his parents, and also from a broken home. Sensitive to the discord between his parents, he lived between two families with differing rules and experiences. He had trouble in school and eventually with the law and ended up serving seven to eight years in prison because of drugs.
Johnny had two sisters, his sister’s child, and many friends; he was closer to some than others. He was also a dad; Johnny and his child, KBean, loved each other very much, though their relationship was affected by the addiction. Johnny was a deep thinker who struggled in the world and became depressed and angry at times. Musically talented, he created and listened to music and taught himself to play guitar left-handed. Everyone misses Johnny’s beautiful voice. His mother sang along with him as much as possible.
Johnny went to welding school and was working as a welder in a machine shop when he died. He had aspirations to travel, settle down and maybe have another child. That chance never came.
In prison, Johnny could stay free of drugs, but out in the world, it was harder. He had been doing well and wanted to do the right thing. He knew staying on task with meetings and support was key, but leaving prison was a hard adjustment. Johnny had a deep level of concern about his friends on the street who were still using drugs and did what he could to support them in sobriety.
It’s like “dead man walking” when someone is using drugs,” Coralee said. “We end up grieving the living.” Johnny’s sister was hoping that he would prove her wrong about going back to active addiction this time. “He was loved so much, by so many,” Coralee stated. “He never thought so though.”
“There is still a level of anger,” Coralee said. She is also in recovery and is a therapist, so she sees the disease of addiction play out all the time. Coralee feels she has gotten jaded over the years. “It is a relief to not have to worry anymore,” she said, “but the fact that he had to die for that to happen is so messed up.” “I miss him terribly every day. I am so tired of our government not seeing this issue as the health crisis it is. We have lost generations of people.”
John’s mother, Coralee Chase, provided the information for this narrative. April 26, 1984-August 22, 2019-Age 35
Portrait Artist: Shawn Faust
Narrative Writer: Barbara Francois
