My old friend, Zachary Louis Johnson, died from pancreatic cancer March 22, 2012. His wife told us that he did not want a funeral. This did not surprise me. When I asked him about ten years ago why he would not attend the funeral of Ricky Davis, he told me that he and Ricky did not like funerals.
Since Zach did not want a funeral, he probably did not want an obituary. I will not reveal details of his life, just some of my own memories of him.
Zach and I were business partners in Stevens & Johnson Communication Services in the 1990s. We did business to business telemarketing. He was a natural at networking. He was genuinely interested in people. We always say that a person had a great sense of humor after they have passed, but this guy really knew how to make people laugh. He was a jokester and a prankster.
I remember a Saturday in the mid 1990s when I was severely depressed. I was talking to Zach on the telephone, and he said something that made me laugh. I wish I could remember what it was. I started to laugh, and made myself keep laughing, and laugh hard. Zach was probably thinking, “C’mon, it wasn’t that funny!” Maybe not, but by making myself continue to laugh at Zach’s comment, I was able to start finding my way out of my depression. Nothing happened overnight, but Zach gave me the kick start that I needed. I wish only that I could have returned this gift of the healing power of laughter when Zach got his cancer. I did not learn of his problem until a couple of weeks ago.
We will miss him.
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