Posted by Jack Calfee
on January 25, 2009, 2:10 pm
67.239.233.117
I first met John Gilhooley when he came aboard the Westchester County in 1967. We instantly became good friends and spent many liberty nights drinking in the bars of Yokosuka. After we both got out of the Navy we continued our friendship and went to the same junior college in Costa Mesa, California where we earned our associate degrees. John received his in History and I received mine in political science. We both got jobs at a local hospital and shared an apartment together. When I got married, John was the best man at my wedding. He was a life-long friend. He was a man with a wonderful sense of humor. He also kept up with politics in the United States and abroad and me and John used to stay up until 3 or 4 a.m. loudly debating politics and drinking whiskey on an outside patio. Sometimes the neighbors would yell over the fence for us to shut up and go to bed! Eventually, me and John became family men with wives, children and jobs to deal with. Our old Navy buddy drinking days faded into history and responsibilities took over. But we did our best to keep in touch.
I had just recentley talked to John and told him I was coming to California on a visit and we discussed getting together while I was out there and spending some time together. I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunatley, today John's sister called me to inform me that he had passed away. Me and John had been friends for 42 years. He leaves a wonderful wife, children and extended family, as well as many, many friends. He will be greatly missed. It's hard to believe that that 18 year old kid whom I first saw standing at quarters aboard ship would become such a part of the history of my own life---and now he's gone. He was a good friend, a good husband, a good father and a good sailor. I salute my old friend and hope that some day when it's my time to go--we'll see each other again. Jack Calfee
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