John R. Shadonix

John Rick Shadonix February 26, 1949 - September 5, 2014 "I am enjoying a beautiful day, and I hope you are doing the same. Life Is Good." This is the voice mail greeting for John Shadonix, who passed on to discover what is better than life. Life was Good for John, but he made the lives of others richer, brighter and more serene. "Sir Tucson" was a geocacher of life. He loved the experience, from selecting a goal, to making a discovery, to collecting a memory that would make his compilation ever larger, his sum greater than all the parts. If he touched your life, you were instantly part of something better. He was energized by the thrill of meeting new people - discovering them really - as well as connecting more deeply with those in his life, especially his family, both new and old. But he didn't "learn" about people in the traditional sense - knowing their birthdays or favorite colors. He learned how to affect people, learned how they wanted to feel and what they needed, and then gave them both…never focusing on personal statistics. He could do it on a grand scale, simultaneously adjusting lessons during his 40 years as an educator to suit every soul in his classroom. He inspired learning not just about earth science or health or physical education, but about who you are, where you want to go in life, and how to love your own uniqueness. For more than 40 years, he coached thousands of young men and women on the basketball court, and, most impressively, he never had a losing season. Never. He was the anti-"system" coach. He was dealt good players and bad, but adjusted to get the most out of each player, how to make the team better than any one player. John was the pre-Copernicun Sun where everyone's individual world felt warmer and looked brighter as you got closer, even if his unobtrusive presence was never acknowledged as the source. And, like a seat at any one of the thousands of sports games he attended, the closer you got the better it was. The additive effect he had radiated out, leaving the epicenter exponential. Suzanne, his high-school-sweetheart-turned-wife of 44 years, has long since stopped operating as an individual, but an integral part of the collective of two. Reverse fission resulting not in an individual left behind, but a representative nucleus of what can continue on earth because of him, while he goes on to continue to make "good" even better. John's radiance illuminated the rest of his family. His brother, Mark, was inspired to become a teacher and has learned how to truly affect his students in San Diego, not just teach them. His sister, Barbie, gathers in souls throughout Tucson and beyond, and makes them part of her family, protecting them fiercely and loving them freely. His daughter Carrie Fey, a Tucson pharmacist married to pharmacist Ken Fey, dispenses exactly what those around her need, internalizing decisions and conflicts so others don't have to. His son, Matthew of Dallas, endeavors daily to be a portion of the man his father was: as a brother, a husband to Sarah, a parent to Jack and Dagny, an attorney, and a man. His son, Colin of Tucson, welcomes everyone to enjoy life - not just particular events or occurrences, but the small parts that make it worth living - laughter and kindness, empathy and understanding, and unconditional love. Life Is Good. But we are all better to have ours touched by his. A funeral Mass will be held on Friday, September 12, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (SEAS) Catholic Church in Tucson. A rosary service will be held on Thursday, September 11, 2014 at 6 p.m. directly followed by a memorial visitation celebration until 8:30 p.m., both also at SEAS. To help foster his love of and belief in always learning more, memorial donations may be made to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School's Angel Fund, 8650 N. Shannon Road, Tucson, AZ 85742 or online at https://seastucson.weshareonline.org/angelfund. To continue the fight against cancer, memorial donations may be made to LIVESTRONG, and Team Shadonix at http://goo.gl/wIL7me.