If John Barwise had written his own obituary, I believe it would have gone a little something like this: "Prince Edward Island lost a son today. I was given the gift of life and now it’s time to give it back. I am going somewhere better, you will have to take care of each other now as I am moving on to take care of Jon-Eric. I chose to leave this world on December 9th, 2017, at the peak of my existence. I lived more in my 60 years than most people get to live in a lifetime. At my benefit I said, "I have affected every person in this room at one time." It is my turn to tell you the effect you had on my life as well. I had hundreds of guiding lights in my life, too many for me to mention individually, you know who you are and I thank you from the bottom of a heart that was two sizes too big. To my brightest shining lights I say this: Tarah Barwise, you were the final piece of soul I had been searching for to complete my being, you held my hand every day throughout this journey, you rose above and you made me a better person. am waiting for you now, but I don’t want you to rush, you have so much life to live and love to give, but know that a love as intense as ours will always burn brightly. Karen, you are the mother of my children, my friend throughout the years and I want you to know I am going to take better care of Jon-Eric and our baby girl Blair than you could ever have dreamed - this I promise you. In return, I trust you to take care of our sweet boy Evan; he is the best of both of us, our gift to the world. Finally to my boy Evan, remember the talk we had the night of our friends’ gathering? I hope that what I didn’t have time to say then you felt in every moment we were together these last two months. I told a mutual friend recently that I feel like I can remember the first time I cried and it was the day that you were born. I am sure that there were other times, but in that moment of conversation, it was the only one I could remember. Proud is not a strong enough word to describe how I feel about you, it is a word of praise that has never been written because no word would ever do you justice. To each of you, I may not be there physically, but like the energy we all felt the night of my benefit, I will be everywhere you go and my larger-than-life hands are holding you all right now. I had so many close friends and family who completely dedicated these last two months to me; Steve MacDougall, Nick Tweel, David ‘Smiley’ MacLeod and Alan Moore are just a few, honestly there are too many to list, but I trust you all to be there for my little family now that I am gone. Dad, this is not the way it is supposed to be. I know better than anyone that a father is not supposed to outlive his son and I am sorriest that this is something you now have to go through. Hug Mom and take care of Gail, Joanne, Earl, Robin, Doug, Peter, Mary Ellen, Alex, Taylor, Alison, Lindsay and Shelby. Sixty years of family is a lot of love and my wish for you all is that you get the love I felt for you back tenfold. Dad, the most important life lesson you taught me was to always do the right thing; my friends and family are a testament that I truly lived right; thank you for that lesson. I have one more favor to ask all of you; please come to Hennessey Cutcliffe Funeral Home on Thursday, December 14, between 2-4 and 6-8 to take care of each other and help everyone move through this difficult time. Be there for my strong brave Tarah, comfort Evan and Karen, hug my family members and share stories with my friends. My funeral will be celebrated at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cornwall on Friday, December 15 at 2 p.m. I will be there in every smiling face, every shed or unshed tear, every flickering light and every strong embrace. Any donations should go to the Provincial Palliative Care Centre or Lennon Recovery House; these two centers need your support. And remember, if you are lucky enough to be different, never change." Love always, John. www.islandowned.ca

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