Gary L. Moody

I have known John all his life…John and the Kennedy Family lived around the corner from our house on Claremont Street…Their house was right behind our house and my sisters and brother would hop the fence to play with the family members or pick the fruit from the trees in their backyard. John was much younger than I was but we graduated from the same high school, Blair High School.

John and I became close after the killing of Michael Bryant, same day Rodney King was beaten. We also worked together to help promote funding for the NAACP when John was President, including the first SuperFest held at the Rose Bowl. John and I also came together as members of The Black Male Forum to bring light to the community regarding many issues concerning race relations between the Police Department and the Black Community. One part of his legacy, along with the Black Male forum was to reopen the Health Center now known as CHAPS (Community Health Alliance of Pasadena) on Fair Oaks and Tremont in 2006.

John meant more to me than a community representative, city councilmember, or activist. His tireless efforts to bring, not only, attention to the needs of his council district but to the whole Black Community of Pasadena, have been a continuous benchmark for solid Leadership and compassion to the needs of others.

John had no problem calling me to support various issues that were confronting the Black Community and Pasadena overall. The creation of the Dakar–Plateau Sister Cities subcommittee is one of the calls I received and followed up to help make this a reality. John and I met many times at my house to talk about our families and growing up in Pasadena on Hammond and Claremont streets. We have dialoged about the parallels of our styles of leadership as well as an integral part of what is the “Pasadena Way.”

I will never forget him and I know all of Pasadena will feel the void of not having John to “lead the way” as our champion for the rights of the community he was born, lived and served.

LOVELY EMAIL MESSAGES RECEIVED:

Dear Lena: His beaming smile and humility made anyone who crossed paths with him feel like the most important person around. He will definitely be missed. My deepest condolences. Respectfully, Sona Paparian