John Heinmiller

West Point, 2004

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by sffitzgerald on April 10, 2002:

It seems like just a moment ago that John sauntered into my classroom on his 2001 winter break from West Point. He was decked out in his finest college civilian gear...black leather jacket, totally cool black shoes, and a sweater that wouldn't distract viewers from the famous JEH58 smile. I had the pleasure of knowing John as a smiley, squirrely seventh grader in advisor group at cms. I made a professional move to the hallowed halls of ephs the next year but John returned to my American Studies classroom as a fresh faced ninth grader. And again as a sophomore. And one last time as a junior in American Government. I know what curriculum I taught over those years but what I carry with me these days when I think about John is how much we laughed. How he suckered me into believing he was playing Polish Pool with Krumpotich and bruising his knuckles. He had the ability to find humor in all kinds of situations. I never saw him once make a classic adolescent comment and rip into a classmate. Or minimize someone. Nope. John was a builder-upper. He acted like a positive force in the classroom that modeled taking care of academic business while smiling and laughing. He allowed me to believe that I could indeed marry Brett Favre someday since Larry Bird was out of the picture. The sparkle in his eye revealed an intelligence, an approach to each day, a beautiful person. When I heard the news about John's death, I sat on my dirty kitchen floor and sobbed. My big dog Maggie came over and sat with me and gave me some canine comfort. I talked to her about John . Who he was and why he was so special to me. I still talk to her about John when we go for walks. I look at the trees, and clouds, and sunsets and crescent moons. And I think of the life of John Edward Heinmiller. I talk to Mags about the people he touched and how I/we struggle to understand his death. As we've walked and talked this last year I've come to realize that just as John learned from me in the classroom, I'm learning from John. I'm learning that death is part of life. That life is to be lived vibrantly and passionately. I'm learning that bad things happen to good people. To borrow Carissa Hayen's favorite quote "...sometimes the best outcome is being able to see that there are things in life which are neither understandable or acceptable--and in understanding , and accepting that, real peace can come." I appreciate learning from John and knowing him as I did. And I miss him terribly.

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