Uncle Bob: On celebrating Jon

by
I have to say I look forward to the email every day. It has been great not only bringing back memories (I have downloaded many photos) it has also given me insight to the person Jon was as an adult; kind, loving, helpful to all, smart, caring, etc, etc, etc!
Jon was almost 9 years younger than me and once I went away to school we never lived close by again. We did talk on the phone many times a week. He always had an anecdote about you kids or the joke of the day. Sometimes one in the same.
He would be very proud of you all, and your Mom for the great job she did raising you all to be as good as he was.
We love him and miss him.

Sam and Lisa: On turning 10

by

Neptune Leader 10th Birthday

Lisa: I remember that we had the birthday of all birthdays with 10 surprises. We planned that party the weekend before her actual birthday. How else could we pull off such a surprise for an inquisitive, intelligent little girl who wondered what her celebration would be? Sam actually unbeknownst to her played a part in the planning. Jon rented a van and we had a surprise sleepover that started with a night with friend Layton. We then blindfolded Sam and took her to a place where other girls were waiting with sleeping bags in tow to spend the night in tents, with disco ball, music, and a night of no sleep, among other surprises. Surely no birthday could top this night.

Sam:  The surprises

  1. The surprise party itself (my party was supposed to be the following weekend)
  2. The honk-if-you-want-to-wish-Sam-a-happy-birthday, 12-passenger van
  3. I was blindfolded and surprised when I arrived in the St. Catherine’s parking lot with all of my friends waiting for me
  4. Our backyard set up with three camping tents and one pavilion tent as the common area for the overnight
  5. Costco pizza for dinner (which I loved!)
  6. A variety of games (guess the number of Skittles in the jar, etc.)
  7. A scavenger hunt in Ukrops (now Martins)
  8. The winning team got a “shopping spree” at Barnes and Noble (my favorite store). Yellow Neptune won (because we were beasts), and I bought an A*Teens CD and we choreographed a dance to “Bouncing Off the Ceiling” all night long under a disco ball
  9. A telescope to see the stars
  10. Made-to-order breakfast in the morning by mom

Bob Arents: On September 11th

by

I remember watching the whole tragedy of 9/11 unfold with Jon.  He had a pager that fed him headlines, and as news came in, he did more research and told us what was happening (better than any single news service!).  We watched things in the OC cafeteria together, sometimes in silence, sometimes trying to talk through what was happening.  It was a terrible time, but Jon helped a lot of us deal with it.