Published: July 23, 2008 12:30 pm            

Remembering John White of Luther

“It’s a shame he didn’t get the opportunity to grow up"

Pat Ulrich said that sometimes people talk about others after they die as if they were perfect human beings. She said she didn’t want to take that approach with her great-grandson, John White, who was shot July 7 at a friend’s home. He passed away July 9.

“He was not a perfect kid, not a bad kid, but not a perfect kid,” she said. What she did describe him as is a normal 12-year-old. He was a boy who loved wrestling, comedies, the band Hinder, Red Bull and Flaming Hot Cheetos.

His mother, Mary White, said he loved to play with his friends. When he had a day off, she said he would get up and shower, play outside with his friends by a swimming hole or at the bike tracks. He’d come home around 2 p.m., check in with his mom, shower, change, play with his friends more, come home by dark, eat dinner and watch a movie.

“John had a lot of friends,” said White.

This social side of him often got him in trouble. White described him as the class clown. She noted that he made daily trips to the principal’s office at school. The principal was even mentioned in the obituary; it said he would miss the daily soirees with John in his office.

White admitted that he was an ornery boy. She, almost proudly , told of the time when he was kicked out of summer school for falling asleep two days in a row. As far as she knows, he’s the only child in Luther to have been kicked out of summer school.

This orneriness was prevalent at home as well.

“He always knew how to get out of trouble,” she said. He had a grin that would make her forget that she had just grounded him.

John was also a kid with a knack for business. Until the school banned the process, John would take his allowance money and buy loads of candy. He’d then sell it at school for a higher price. With those kind of habits, his great-grandmother knew he’d be an effective used car salesman.

But what John really wanted to be was a marine. His mother said this dream intensified after he saw his favorite wrestler act in the move “The Marine.” His great-grandfather, who also served as the father figure in John’s life, had served in the military. Ulrich said she thinks John was taking after him.

John also had a softer side, a side that loved babies, movies, animals and his mother.

“He was his momma’s boy,” said Ulrich. She remembered a time when he was in her custody and he would frequently ask if he could go home to see his mom. Both Ulrich and White noted that they have a very close-knit family. John has three brothers and a sister on his mother’s side and the same on his father’s side, although he only has a sibling relationship with the ones on his mother’s side.

John also had some non-human family members that were really important to him. There was the Chihuahua named Alvin and the tomcat named Chaos. He was also a fan of riding the horses the family owned. In John, was also a sensitive spot for babies. White said she always envisioned him being the daddy of a big family.

White said it was family and the Luther community that helped her make it through the past week of preparing for the funeral and services.

“This house was packed practically the entire week,” said Ulrich.

With everything over, White said that right now, they are just playing the waiting game as the police finish their investigation. The family has also began petitioning for the legislature to look at making gun locks mandatory and to make gun owners accountable for being irresponsible with their weapons.

“We don’t want to take people’s guns away,” she clarified. “That’s not the intent.” White said they just want people to take precautions with their guns if children will be in their home.

“It’s a shame he didn’t get the opportunity to grow up,” lamented Ulrich. “I know he could have done good things.”

However, even in his death, John was able to do good for others. His mother made the difficult decision to donate his bilateral lungs, pancreas, kidneys and heart valves.

“There has to be a reason this happened,” expressed White. “I’m hoping that one of the children that has a piece of my son will do something wonderful. That’s the only way I can make sense of it.”

        

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