Story of a Great Friendship with a "Grand Homme"

Written by Hausser André:

John and I met in 1986 during his visit at Bennwhir, the small French village which he was always mentioning in his speeches. I was living nearby and the family who hosted him needed a translator. I was only 16 and I remember so well this special day, and then the whole story of a great friendship started!

Many visits, me to California and John in France…. John made me discovered all the great places around Livermore: Yosemite Park, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, Monterey, San Francisco. Hiking with him was so nice and we always shared some good discussions, also remotely, with long hand-written letters at the time of post office and then by e-mail at the time of computers.

I remember I also flew once with him above the Bay! I was so impressed and also impressed by all his sport capacities: tennis, golf, skying, etc … In France, we shared few veteran tours together and he also visited me at my home in France. My parents loved him, and John was always asking news from them. He liked also hearing how my father (young boy then) survived through WWII. Everyone was charmed by his kindness and his sense of humor.

I also had the chance to know his family, during some gatherings at Lake Tahoe and Livermore, but also because when I was young, his lovely sister Wilda welcomed me at their Pacifica home, with Ted, her husband, and Teddy, their son. As my two kids were too young to know John, we went for a trip in the US in summer 2018, and stopping at Livermore was somewhat like a Tribute to John, we found him with the same sense of humor, great kindness, interest in all, and he was well surrounded by his family.

I would like to thank all his family for having invited me at this Life ceremony and thanks also for this beautiful obituary – the story of his life is just something we should all follow as an example!