Deacon John Simmons • November 10,1953 - March 10, 2011

It is with great sadness that I bring you the news of the death of my brother deacon and friend, John Simmons. John fought the hard fight against a cancer of the blood called Multiple Myeloma. John and his wife, Claudette, have been in the same deacon support group that Mary Jo and I have been in since I entered formation for the diaconate in July, 2002. So, we knew Deacon John and Claudette well.

I always viewed John as a mentor and a model for me, and I know that Mary Jo felt the same way about Claudette. They were the perfect couple to be around for a newly ordained deacon couple. John and Claudette probably never knew the impact that they had on us as we were learning what being a deacon couple was, and was not.

Deacon John and Claudette

John was 58 years young. He was ordained a deacon on August 28, 1999. He served at Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Louisville before his illness caused him to request a medical leave of absence. John was also the chaplain at the Hazelwood Health Center in Louisville.

John was a blogger. As a matter of fact, I don't think that I even knew what a blog was when he announed at one of our meetings that he had started a blog called "The Speakin' Deacon". Here was John's first post from October 31, 2006:

A Beginning 

Part of the call of the deacon is to preach, to open the Word of God for others. In doing this I learn more than I could ever hope to teach. So allow me to educate myself in public. Perhaps we can, together, learn about our Faith and our God.
Deacon John 

John was person of great faith. His only desire in becoming a deacon was to share his faith with others by reflecting God's love and mercy to everyone he met.

John was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma on December 7, 2007. Shortly afterwards, John started another blog called "Me and Poindexter". Poindexter was the name of his new "friend", the cancer, that had came into his life so abruptly and unexpectedly.

"Me and Poindexter" became John's journal where he posted his thoughts and feelings as he went through the ups and downs of dealing with Poindexter. As always, John's thought in starting "Poindexter and Me" was not only for himself, but to help others. Here's what he wrote for the purpose of the Poindexter blog:

This blog is dedicated to all who struggle with Multiple Myeloma, all other forms of cancer, and all life-threatening illnesses. May my attempt to share my struggle with my own illness assist me in understanding what God is asking of me, and in some small way assist others, as they assist me.

Here's John's first post on "Poindexter and Me". It was posted on December 28, 2007 after his first chemo treatment. John's words are a lesson for us all:

Chemo, Cancer, and the Mystery of Time 

When I heard cancer, time was one of the first things that occurred to me. I'm not young, and time did not lay like an endless expanse before me, but suddenly I realized just how limited time might be. I looked at things when my wife and I went on vacation, and asked myself, "will I ever see this again?" The one thing we never want to consider, running out of time, forced itself to the forefront. In my regular life, as with all of us, there never seems to be enough time to get done what needs doing. I press to get things done at work, I press to get things done at home, struggling with time. When I went for my first chemo treatment, however, I got an unexpected gift, time. There I was, IV in place, sitting in my recliner, with absolutely nowhere to go, with no pressing demand that I do anything, just sit there. All the time I had wanted to read, to study, to pray, there it was, placed in front of me like a Christmas package wrapped in a nice IV tube bow. Chemo can be a long, hard day. It can be tedious, it can be BORING, it can be nerve-wracking. Or, perhaps it's a chance to stop, escape from the world for a few hours and look for me. Maybe by looking for me, and at me, I can catch a glimpse of the One whose gift this time is.
St. Peregrine,
pray for us.
Deacon John
Feast of the Holy Innocents
Dec. 28, 2007

I could go on and on about my friend John. But, this looks like a good place to end with John's own words.

Thanks for everything John. You were a mentor and a model of what we deacons are supposed to be about. Poindexter has lost his grip on you, my dear friend. Save a place for me up there, brother.

Deacon Gerry

Funeral arrangements for Deacon John are as follows:

Visitation will be at Owens Funeral Home on Dixie Highway tomorrow from 12 to 8 p.m. Funeral is Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Peter the Apostle (formerly St. Polycarp) on Columbine Drive with interment at Calvary Cemetery. Please pray for the repose of John’s soul and keep Claudette and their daughter, Sarah, in your prayers.