John Wayne English

John W. English, 64, won his heroic 9-month battle with the evil that is lung cancer on November 20th, 2018 when he slipped away quietly, surrounded by his family, into the Lord’s loving arms. There, I have no doubt, he was reunited with his mother and father, Dorothy L. and Roy B. English, mother and father-in-law, Gene and Jeannette Gaynor, aunts and uncles and his dogs, Jesse, Maggie and Muffin, whom he loved so dearly. John and his wife, Diane Gaynor English, recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on October 21st, 2018 while he was in the hospital.

John is survived by his wife of 40 years, Diane Gaynor English, his only child, Lisa Michelle English and Kevin Gelnett, his "older" sister, Kathy English Ernst (Eric), brother-in-law Chuck M. Gaynor (Renee), and many nephews - Rob Forsman, Ryan English, Evan Ernst and Zack Ernst.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you kindly make a donation in his name to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation - https://www.lungcancerresearchfoundation.org/support-us/give-in-tribute - This foundation puts the money directly to lung cancer treatment research with no overhead. John wanted to help those after him with lung cancer and this is an excellent way to honor John and his wishes.

John was born on February 2, 1954, Groundhog Day, in Tampa, Florida. He grew up in Tampa, Winter Park, Longwood, Merritt Island and attended Florida Technological University, (before it was renamed UCF). He received a BS in Business in 1976, a degree that he would put to excellent use owning two different successful small businesses with his wife. Before that, he worked at Winn Dixie for many years as store manager. He retired from Winn Dixie in 1984 after 20+ years. The stories he could tell from his Winn Dixie days were numerous and, clearly, he had a lot of fun there and quite the prankster.

In 1984, he started a well-respected pressure cleaning business - Aqua Pressure Cleaning. He built the entire business from the ground up with his wife and he was the sole on-site worker. For so many years, his little white Mitsubishi truck pulled around a wooden, enclosed trailer that he painted light blue. Whatever he did, he did with integrity and he ran this business that way. He was well-loved, extremely hardworking, respected and honest and because of that, a local business magazine in Winter Park featured him and their business on the front page of the magazine. I remember years of him rolling a wheel around properties and businesses measuring for square footage, bringing him jugs of yellow bleach from Bud Mudd’s Pool and Patio, and a long spray gun that had water pressure that would blow you backwards. He did 10 years of hard labor work and the wear and tear took its toll - they sold the business in 1994 for his next adventure.

Next, John moved into the computer era of the 1990's (back when it was Tandy computers and CompuServe was new). John was very intrigued with computers and it became a hobby and a passion, one that he shared with his father-in-law, Gene. He bought numerous books that were at least 3 inches thick. Really huge, intimidating books. Every day and night he sat and read them and made corresponding notes and highlighted information. At night, he would lie in bed and read into the wee hours of the night. He would tear computers apart just so he could figure out how to put them back together and fix them. It was guaranteed that we would have to tip toe around scattered parts on the floor and tiny screws. He would complete tests and exams after studying to receive numerous certifications. John was very self-disciplined, extremely intelligent, hard working and accomplished anything AND everything he set out to do. After countless grueling hours of hands-on learning and countless books and certification exams, he was ready to look for a job in the computer tech field to gain experience to get to his main goal of owning his own computer business. He found that job with ACSI Technologies in Winter Park in 1996-1998.

This leads into his current business, MyTech Computer Services, started in 1997 part-time with his wife while he was still working at ACSI and moved into a full-time small business in 1998. I still remember the day we were brainstorming names for it. This was back before there were all the “tech” names and before there were so many computer businesses, so I like to think he pioneered the way for the rest of them. With his wife by his side, they distributed countless business cards and fliers to try to build the business from nothing to something. Little by little, business came. But what made John different was that his customers were not “just that.” His customers became friends to both him and his wife, Diane. John treated his business as an extension and reflection of himself. This means he would accept nothing less than fairness, integrity, and respect given to everyone he encountered and did computer work for. It was his best or it was not good enough by his standards. He wanted to do right for every single person and company, something he took extremely seriously. I cannot say that every business is run this way, but I can say with 100% certainty that he did. He was proud of the business he ran with his wife and if every business was run by a “John English” the world would be better for it. His wife, Diane, and a longtime tech and friend, John Frangos, will carry on his legacy for Mytech, but a huge void will be felt by all without him.

While John was proud of their business, what really made his world go around was his family. It all started back in 1977. John was at his favorite bar, Big Daddy’s, (yes, he was friends with most there and he proudly told everyone that they had his drink order ready before he got there!), when he met what Diane would claim was “the outgoing version to his shy, quiet self.” Diane needed a quarter to use the payphone and her brother would not give her one. John quietly stepped in and said he had a quarter she could have. That was all it took. To this day, John teased, “Never let a girl borrow a quarter from you because then you’re stuck with her!” However he happily made himself “stuck” permanently on October 21st, 1978. They were married at Audubon Park Covenant Church in Orlando and held their reception at the Langford Hotel in Winter Park. And when I say “stuck”, I truly mean that. John and Diane were inseparable, with a bond and love that most people hope to find. They were true soulmates. Where one went, the other followed. If you saw John, then you knew Diane was nearby and vice versa. They knew they were meant for each other early on and it only took John 6 months to propose on May 27, 1978. They each were an extension of the other. A love that only happens once in a lifetime - that is the love they had for each other.

They have one daughter, Lisa Michelle English, born in 1981. A small family of just three, but one with an unbreakable bond. John lived for his family. He would move Heaven and earth for them. We always knew he was our pillar of strength, but with him gone, nothing feels right anymore. John didn’t have a boy, but that was okay because anything he did, she did with him. Putting in floors, holding a hanging chandelier to the point her arms were shaking while he took several hours to figure out the installation and wiring in the ceiling (this became a joke between them for years), painting, woodworking, building things. She owes her love of woodworking to her dad. John had a huge love for oak wood (the remedy for anything for him WAS oak). The last thing Lisa and her dad made together were wood crosses. He was in the process of making a new tool for her that he saw on-line, one that with much sadness she will never see him complete. The perfect Valentine’s Day gift for Lisa was a belt sander that John ran to the store to pick out. He was so excited to give it to her that he couldn’t wait until 2/14 and ended up giving it to her early. John put up with Lisa's endless obsession with owning rabbits, even building her a rabbit condo, which to this day is still the best rabbit house anyone has ever owned. She is still waiting for him to buy her that horse he promised her. And one of his favorite Christmas stories is spending all night in a hot closet, hiding, and putting together a doll house from Santa for many hours only to be woken up by Lisa to "get up" right after he went back to bed. Fortunately, Lisa is a lot like her dad, both in character and traits. This is something she gladly and proudly owns. Her dad is who she was yesterday, who she is today, and who she will be in the future. They both have the same stubbornness, willpower, strength and fight for what they believe in. Something not everyone finds amusing, but something she proudly shares with him.

John was very creative, had a love for learning, cooking, building anything from wood and coming up with different ways to do something. He spent countless hours drawing up plans to build model boats and airplanes. His family flew the planes with him for hours, a favorite family activity. He loved gardening and grew every type of vegetable at least once. He made wooden dog bowl stands shaped like a dog bone. He had plans to eventually make them again with his daughter and sell them. He was the town crier for the latest news story. We probably will not be as up to date on the news now without John. He loved baseball, particularly the Braves but lately the Red Sox as well. He got to share this latest baseball season with Kevin, whom he called his son-in-law for almost 12 years. John and Kevin sat on the couch watching baseball, yelling at the TV and discussing the players. John loved lakes, every dock he saw, boats, fishing, mountains, and all his trips with his family to Hayesville, NC. His favorite family trip was to Mackinac Island and he also loved New Orleans. He had a deep, compassionate love for all of our previous and current dogs and treated them nothing less than his family. He loved, fought for and worried over his dogs more than himself.

Lately, he had a huge love for iced coffee, cream and sugar. Before that, it was black coffee, no cream and sugar. And if you know John, then you know he LOVED rice. He ate rice every day. He was not big on having vegetables with every meal or water. Yes, he absolutely hated drinking water, something he had to later learn to do with cancer treatments. But back to rice, it’s the one food he ate daily. It was guaranteed you would hear the microwave going, with a huge bowl of rice cooking under saran wrap. Diane always told him he needed a vegetable, to which he always replied, “Rice IS a vegetable and no one can tell me differently.” He loved to cook fried food with a southern flair, to his cholesterol’s dismay. Fried pork chops, fried tomatoes, fried okra, fried spam, shrimp and grits, fried shrimp and so much more. But his famous dish of all time? Rice and tomato gravy. No one will EVER make it as good as he did. He also loved tea, plain and sweet, and I cannot forget to mention the hot sauces and his favorite, white pepper.

While cooking, John could be found wearing his famous white apron and the radio playing a 70's CD. But John wasn’t always content with listening to different songs. Not when it happened to be his favorite song! He subjected his family to constant replay of Otis Redding - Dock of the Bay and Dean Martin - Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Not once or twice, but hours upon hours of automatic replay of the song. Same song just replaying for hours made him happiest and baffled his family. But John would cook and sing the song over and over, randomly grabbing his wife, Diane, or his daughter, Lisa, to do a quick dance and a twirl before going back to cooking. He did also love other 70's music, Bread, Witchy Woman, Maggie May, Brand New Key - Melanie, Loving You - Minnie Riperton, etc. What his family would give to have this back again...

This leads to John’s final chapter, lung cancer. While it’s heartbreaking, it is an important part of his story and one that he would want told. One that his family is so proud of him over, one where his true strength and character spoke louder than ever, and one that he so heroically fought. On 2/28/18, he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, low tumor volume. His daughter immediately took control so that both John and Diane were not overwhelmed with what to do. He always called Lisa his medical advisor and trusted her completely. She immediately got him to Moffitt where he bravely started a clinical trial and chemo on 3/30/18. John was concerned about those also battling cancer and when asked if he would consent to let them take extra tissue for research, he only asked, “Will it help other people with lung cancer after me?’ They said yes and without hesitation told them to take whatever they needed. John did extremely well and sailed through chemo, even making it through a 1 week hospital stay in July when a 5 inch blood clot was discovered. He never once lost his sense of humor, never lost who he was, and never lost hope and NEVER stopped fighting. His family guarded his hope so fiercely that they would never allow anyone to take that from him.

He underwent 15 IMRT radiation treatments to his chest tumor. It was a battle to the end with the insurance company to get IMRT approved over standard radiation. Thanks to a wonderful group of men and women with lung cancer themselves helping to fight Blue Cross for my dad, the 5-time denial was overturned and approved the day of his first standard radiation treatment. You would have thought John had won the lotto - he was so happy. I cannot talk about radiation without mentioning his favorite doctor and cancer supporter, Dr. Justin Rineer of UF Health Cancer Center in Orlando. Dr. Rineer is kind-hearted, compassionate, fought with and for John, became a source of comfort to him, and played one of the most important roles for him. Dr. Rineer went above and beyond for John, beyond what even he had to do as a doctor, and I know John would not be happy if I failed to mention him. If John was here today, he would talk nonstop about how he feels about Dr. Rineer. And for that, we cannot thank Dr. Rineer enough for what he did for John.

On 10/16/18, John had a spontaneous seizure that put him in the ER of ORMC. From there, a chain of events happened at lightning speed, there was no time to process it. After a lumbar puncture, it was found that John’s cancer had gone into a rare leptomeningeal disease, meaning the cancer had found its way into his cerebrospinal fluid. Something so rare that it’s only seen in 3-5% of cancer patients. From there, a series of events unfolded quickly. John never let it bring him down. He still tried to tickle his daughter, still "bossed" his wife around from the hospital, told his family he loved us several times a day and repeatedly asked his daughter to sneak him an “iced coffee, cream and sugar and a sweet tea for later.” When asked if he wanted comfort care or not, he said “I want the most aggressive treatment for the best possible chance at a cure.” He also said he wasn’t ready to leave his family. John’s love for his family, his willpower to live and his warrior strength kept him fighting cancer head on, with hope and a smile, and his usual sarcastic sense of humor.

He underwent 10 whole brain radiation treatments and spinal radiation. It’s truly amazing because you would not have known John was even receiving whole brain radiation. He breezed through it in a way that probably only he could do. John fought with everything he had. He fought for his family, he fought for himself, he fought to live. John’s faith was strong, but ready, he was not. He would not accept cancer lying down, not even when all odds were against him. His family was blessed with another month with John, a month longer to tell him we love him and for him to love us. A month more to create memories we will forever cherish with John. Only John would be able to leave us with lasting, positive memories during a time that was less than positive. He just had a certain way. A month for us to fight alongside him, fight for him, to give him hope and unconditional love. John did what he wanted to do until the very end. He didn’t feel very strong he said, but I assure you that he was and will always be the strongest man in the entire world to us. We are so proud of him and we love him and miss him more than words could ever say. He did not lose his fight to cancer. He WON his fight. He won because it was on his own terms. He won because God took him in His arms and freed him from the cancer holding his body hostage. It wasn’t what he, nor his family, wanted and we will miss him forever and ever. The world lost so much because John is no longer here, but Heaven and John gained everything. No, he didn’t lose his fight against cancer, he definitely won.