Monday, April 3, 2023
There are people in the world, who you meet entirely on accident, who soon become the dearest of friends. So, so incredibly lucky was I to meet and know Johnny Stokes one day. As luck would have it, it was about our mutual love of baseball...and that initial conversation lasted well more than an hour; we would have many over the years to follow. I would later meet his most beloved Tamsy, their son John, and all the staff they employed at their business. Johnny was the type of person who made you a better human, a kinder soul, and a more dedicated member of your community. To count Johnny Stokes as your friend was to be honored very much indeed.
If you look up the definition of 'life' in the dictionary, you'll read the description of Johnny...full of energy, curiosity, and commitment to improving the world around him. If you then turn to the definition of 'respect', you'll find him there, too...excellent manners and conversation, a gentleman of Southern manners and with a style of 'you are always welcome here'. And if you look up the definition of 'love'...well then you see Johnny and his lovely bride Tamsy; I can assure you he would not have it any other way. I marvelled at how well they knew each other and worked as a team so well, enjoyed hearing of their adventures together in different states and different jobs, and watched how they worshipped each other as husband and wife, and as partners in business. One thing that stands out to me now, as it did the very first time: when he spoke of her, he always smiled... and smiled big. Few of us will ever experience that kind of love and devotion.
Souls like Johnny Stokes don't come around often in life...you must treasure and remember them like the first sunny day of Spring against a Carolina blue sky. Johnny was, every day, what the rest of us aspire to be: open and trusting, hard-working, and devout to all those that he held dear. The warmth and friendship that the Stokes family has extended to me over the years can never be repaid; they have supported me in some of my most trying days. Like so many of us who know them, the Stokes treat us like family and we, in turn, them in the same way. Johnny may have left our physical world, but have no doubt: his warmth, his humility, and his loving spirit is something we all will forever carry with us.
My deepest condolences to Johnny's family and friends.
