John Max Delaplaine

I lived with John for a year or so in my early twenties. I got to know him pretty well... heck, I married one of his daughters! lol.

I believe John was a very tolerant man and he had a good heart. John believed in me when no others would. I have always held him with high regards in my thoughts.

I wish you well on the next leg of your journey John. Peace.

Hello! Helene Bloomenthal was a close friend to John. She is very sorry to hear of his passing. Is there any way Frank can call Helene? She would love to speak with him.

She can be reached at 801-583-9390.

Let me tell you about my dad, John Delaplaine. My dad was a man who thought for himself, who carved his own path. He taught me as a kid that valuable things don't always cost more, and to know the difference.

Being in the hauling and swap meet business, we had an interesting home life. Dad would go around town gathering items he could resell on the weekends, so our home ...sorry neighbors!, would be full of everything under the sun. (He was upcycling and reusing before it was hip!) But we also usually got dibs on an item if we really wanted it. Normally these things would be washers, tools, lamps, well anything. I remember a collection of cologne bottles in different shapes, like a train, and an old style car. I got a great stereo for a whole dollar once. But then there were stories like "Hey, no need to buy a new coat, I got a really nice jacket, you'll love it. It's great quality and really fancy. It'll keep you so warm!" Excited me finally sees it, and with a sunken heart, but a laugh bubbling up, I have to explain that the '70s trim cut, burgundy-brown leather coat with a pointed tip collar and matching leather belt, straight out of an old Jane Fonda movie, was not going to work. He thought I was crazy, but those were the '80s, and I just needed some neon, please.

Another wonder -maybe my favorite item of all... I mean, what kid wouldn't love it when Dad brings home a pile of loose candy. He spilled it right on the living room floor, and I stared down a near 3 foot mountain of chocolate, Rollos, and every kind of hard candy. We didn't keep it all, but the Rollos lasted about a year.

We had other good times up Butterfield Canyon and rides on his Harley Davidson around the fields when I was young.

Later I got to drag him to California a couple times where he got to lay on the beach, bike ride along the coast, and even steer a large sail boat on a tour.

But mainly, my dad was an honest to goodness "Johnny on the spot". He was honest, and good to the core. He lived a humble person's tracks, and kept to long days of work, on his own terms with welding and hauling. He could fix up most things, and did, for himself and others, and asked for a life of health and simple pleasures. He kept strong, and able bodied most of the time, even showing us, at 68, how he healed his knees, and could now do burpees!

But above all, what we learned from Dad was love. When I asked what he really wanted out of life, he told me he wanted a family, us kids. And we knew it, always. We were humble, and didn't always have everything we wanted, but we knew we had quality, the unconditional love of a parent. And we knew the difference.

John is my baby brother. We had so many good times along with our other brothers Lewis and Sidney. John was very soft spoken. He loved this country and the opportunities that he had in his life. Our mother raised four children without any help. John was such a beautiful baby. I was always wanting to dress him up as a girl. He didn't go for that even as a small child.

After John got out of the Army he did not want to work for anybody, so he created his own opportunities to make a living. He worked hard all his life. John was a person to give service to any that needed help. He was honest, dependable and kind to all people (unless you wanted to take his gun away.) He taught me a lot about guns and how to clean them. It was always fun to go shooting with Sid and John.

After my husband passed away, he was ready to help me at any time. He was always ready to help his family. John loved his family with all his heart.

The one thing that bothered me about my little brother was that he would not go to the doctor. He thought he could always heal himself. Sometimes I would get mad at him for not seeing a doctor.

John loved little kids and the little kids loved John. They are going to miss him terribly.

Our whole family loved John and the person he became. We all will miss him so much. Till we meet again rest in peace my little brother.