Thread: Passing of pen maker Gawdelpus John

Just saw this thread.

My condolence to John family.

Originally Posted by Samsbigrig

John has been my close friend for 20 years. He got me motivated after family matters crushed me. I've got 40 of his pens, I'll leave them to my folks as I am sure they will be the Picasso of pen making in the future. He was the sort of person who could have united the country. Opinions always honest, he was non critical, but yes he was. Wishing I could master that.making you think and think it was your idea.
Everybody ,and their best friends, always say; full of promise, would have gone far, blah, blah.
the trouble with that for me, is that he was all those things. Came to my house at 3 am when I had family trouble, because he was worried about me. Went far. Yes he went far.
helpful. Well he turned up one day and said that we were going fishing. We went fishing for a week, very therapeutic.
He phoned me last week talking about things he'd discovered. He was rebuilding my motorbike" we rebuilt his Land Rover engine in November three lovely days. John worked things out. I always thought we just needed a bigger hammer!
Look, please, I could go on and on.
any of you who really knew him would say, yep so could we. God Bless John. RIP

YES! YES and YES, that sound typical of John, with joy I remember his life, with sadness I remember his passing. Amos

RIP John,

I had only caught up with John a few weeks back and he was showing off a recent watch part pen that he had made. Terrible that he is gone so suddenly. Here is to an eternal wood pile John, keep that lathe turning mate!

Thinking of his family and close friends at this difficult time.

I am shocked truly shocked.
When I saw the topic of the thread I thought you and John were up to something Neil as you two usualy were. Then as I started reading I soon realised it was all very true. It seems like only just the other day I had you both over having a yak as we do and as we did over a Coffee.
Please pass my condolences on to Shontara and family Neil. RIP John

Tony

From southern New South Wales
and now Victoria I too have had the privilege of knowing and meeting John.

I still have some unused blanks he gave me last year when I toured his workshop and enjoyed his hospitality.

The photo of his soft beaming smile as he stood by his wife is exactly how I remember him.

Thankyou John for your time and generosity. You will be remembered



Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

From southern New South Wales
and now Victoria I too haf the privilege of knowing and meeting John.

I still have some unused blanks he gave me last year when I toured his workshop and enjoyed his hospitality.

The photo of his soft beaming smile as he stood by his wife is exactly how I remember him.

Thankyou John for your time and generosity. You will be remembered



Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Dave I have already commented about John but I think you have said it simply and perfecly. He was a great guy and helped me on several occasions when I done my regular trips to Brisbane to visit my late best mate and he was a true gentleman. My thoughts are with you Shontara and John we will miss you greatly RIP

Ian

Ps That really is a great photo of John and Shontara

John was always cheery regardless of the circumstances. I have known him for a few years, been to his home, and many forum get togethers. I often saw him at Tamborine Markets and at Neil's home (dai sensai ).

I will be at the Service to say my goodbye and offer Shontara my condolences.

Pete

The funeral and wake went well. A big thank you to all the woodies that attended to send him off. I printed out all these posts for Shontara and John's family to ensure they were aware of your sentiments.

Thank you also to Munrumen for the photograph, I cropped it and blurred out the background before sharpening it up for enlargement, I then printed it at A3 and framed it with border surround. It was used at the funeral and then given to Shontara for a keep sake.

i know its a bit late

RIP John

thankyou for all the interesting phone calls, the ideas and advice
you have been a huge help on my pen journey
untill we meet again my friend
farewell

Neil kindly printed out all these comments from this particular thread and gave them to me at hubby's wake later that day. It was only two nights ago I was able to look and read them. Before that time, I could not. Some made me cry and others uplifted my heart. John was reading over my shoulder at the time. I am stronger now and feel all the support and kindness shown to John over the many years here on the Forum, Q Turn, Wood Turning Expos and other such as the swap meets, bbqs and other. Some of which I was involved in, some of which I was not. His pen turning was a passion and I know it showed in his workmanship. He was a true craftsman and we only ever wanted for each other to be happy. John was a teacher and a guide for all who were interested in listening, learning, just thinking or actually doing it. He gave with no expectations. As do I. If you should want a dose of hubby's humour and down to earth advice, feel free to contact me, as he and I speak with the one voice. And with Neil's (Dai Sensei's) help, and over a period of time, we will together sell all his equipment, wood blanks, pen kits, finished pens, pepper grinder blanks etc. etc. etc. So much to be done and I lovingly pass them on to who will appreciate and care for them as John did. Thanks to you, one and all and Angel blessings from Shontara. Some of you may have known me as Shayne (my birth name), whilst others knew me as Shontara (my preferred name that means The Rose of Love). It doesn't matter what you referred to me as being. You cared about John, so this caring I give now back to you with love. You all have gawdelpus' email address but here now is my own - shontara at gmail dot com should you ever need to use it. So again, on behalf of hubby and myself, we sincerely thank you.

Nice to hear drom you Shontara, not sure if you remember me or not. I came up after the woodshow last year and was down in John's shed till late.

Wishing you well

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

Lovely words Shontara, although I never met John I did know of him through the forum, from the comments of those that knew him he must have been a wonderful man. Stay strong and I'm sure he is watching over you.

Originally Posted by george mavridis

Lovely words Shontara, although I never met John I did know of him through the forum, from the comments of those that knew him he must have been a wonderful man. Stay strong and I'm sure he is watching over you.

Thanks for your kindness shown here to me George Mavridis. It is greatly appreciated and yes, he is very close. I am clairaudient and as such, I hear him speak to me clearly as if he was standing right next to me. He is laughing though because he was the one who did all the housework and the weird thing is, within days of him passing over into the world of Spirit (that does exist, even if one does not believe it to be in life), I have strangely become more house proud. He has, is and always will be my guiding Angel. I have been blessed to have had 28 great years with him. We knew each other inside out and there were never any secrets between us. Both John and I are on a new journey together that has great meaning and significance to not just me, nor him but to many in ways he could never imagine before but I could Sorry for being so deep. Am being guided, always. Angel blessings to you George. Have a pleasant evening. My plan here is to tune in every now and again to reply to the comments seen here.

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

Nice to hear drom you Shontara, not sure if you remember me or not. I came up after the woodshow last year and was down in John's shed till late.

Wishing you well

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

I wish I could remember your face clearly but so many men have walked through John's magic workshop (my words) throughout the many years we have lived here. And just as a matter of interest, I checked our pen inventory to find out that John started the pen making craft late 2008 and now it is early 2015. I think that makes 7.5 years he had to develop his passion into something that people would love. He was also a bit of a hoarder but he only ever bought tools and equipment that would enhance his work and it paid off for us at the markets. Just a little bit of cream and many hours of pleasure. John was and still is a teacher Dave. You have had the experience of being his student. You won't ever forget that you had with John in our home and what you do forget, you were not meant to remember any way but when you least expect it and when you ask that silent question, you may hear John's voice giving you an answer Good night Dave and blessings to you.