A Homage to John Hickey

Last weekend some of the guys I went to high school and junior college seminary with had a reunion in Mystic, Connecticut. I had hoped to go, but I had so many responsibilities during this time that I decided not to go. John Hickey was another member of the class who had been responsible for getting some of us in contact with each other via Facebook. He didn't make it because his health was failing.

John was a lawyer, but not your usual kind. He had been working for several years in some of the former Russian republics to help the legal systems there - at least, that's what I think he was doing. John was a great guy, full of life, very thoughtful, intelligent, caring. I remember that he asked me to do a reading at what I think was his first wedding.

But John died on Monday morning in Tbilisi, Georgia. (I wonder if he waited until the reunion weekend was over so that his death wouldn't put a damper on the weekend. Sometimes the dying do that, I believe.)

When I heard the news my heart ached. We had seen each other a few times after we both left the seminary. But I hadn't been in contact until about two years ago, soon after I got here in Honduras. There were occasional e-mails or Facebook messages.

He's not the first of our class to die, but his death left an emptiness in my heart. He was a good man - and his daughter has written how she owes her love of justice to him. Yeah, who but John would leave the US and work in remote places in Asia?

So, may God bless you, John.

"The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever." (Daniel 12, 3)

Shine, John, like the star you are!