Jonny Boy

Jon Denney….

It seems as though the majority of the time I’ve known Jon, I’ve been seeking to find adequate words to describe him. And here I am again after his passing struggling to find the words to describe who he was to me and so many others. The word that has continually popped into my head when thinking of Jon is “heavenly”. I had so many hellish moments during my friendship with Jon and him just taking up space with me during my hells made them heavenly. And over time, I began to become more heavenly just by knowing him. Jon always had a way of centering me… reminding me who I am. He always sought and found the heaven in me. I remember our last phone conversation. I was making a derogatory joke at the expense of myself for feeling things so deeply. Jon chuckled as he normally did, but then replied with.. “Keely, that is who…you…are…don’t ever change”. I have replayed that conversation over and over again. Letting it sink in so I won’t forget. The many moments where he saw my soul and said it was good. Jon did this for so many in his life. That wasn’t the odd part. The odd part was that I believed him. Jon was the kind of person you believe in. You believe. Heaven just received a dose of Heaven. The truest of homecomings.