08/26/2025
I’ve been sitting on these images just trying to think of how to begin writing about one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, but was taken from this earth far to soon. & when I say the kindest, I mean one of those people who are truly kind hearted to the absolute core of their being, from the moment that you meet them. John (Joe to family), could make a complete stranger feel as if they’ve known one another since birth in about .24 seconds. He was someone that when you talked, he truly listened to every word you said.
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This was a session I did for my cousin Abby & John for their engagement photos around Thanksgiving last year. We drove down to the Milwaukee lakefront & here I am thinking okay.. we’ll get there, shoot for like an hour and head home…….. 😂 between being at the beach collecting sea glass, doing insane poses he’d suggest (which if you know Abby, was the best thing ever to witness hahah), take an impromptu coffee shop trip & talk for hours, which lead to an impromptu trip to a health food store… I finally got a call 4 hours later saying “where are you!?!” From my mom who was watching my kids. 🫣 I didn’t know John very long or very well, but I could tell he had a way of making a lasting impact on anyone that he met. In that one evening he taught me how to become present again & how to slow down in life. Enjoy the little things, and laugh a hell of alot more. Getting to see the glimpse of him loving my cousin was one of the most beautiful things I’ve gotten to witness and I will always hold dear to my heart. They were opposites but in the most complimentary way I’ve ever seen. Although their time together was cut short, I know without a doubt that the love they shared was something most people never get to experience in life. So thank you John for deeply loving my cousin & giving her the most special gift and memories for her to hold onto forever.
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“There are some
who bring a light so
great to the world
that even after
they have gone, the
light remains.”
-unknown