August 25, 2024
I came home from Church today just in time to receive an unexpected phone call from Commander John Moore at Columbus Downtown High School (CDHS).
Commander Moore was John’s teacher in the Columbus Public Safety Law Enforcement Program at CDHS when John attended the school in 2014. John absolutely loved the Law Enforcement Program and Commander Moore was one of his favorite teachers.
Commander Moore saw the story about our candlelight vigil on the news last night and was shocked and saddened by John’s tragic passing.
During our conversation he shared some memories of John. He remembers John as a fine young man and one of his best students. Because of this, he asked if we could bring a picture of John to the school.
I didn’t know why he wanted a picture, but he quickly answered the question before I had a chance to ask and told me the reason why.
He explained “John’s exemplary character is an example for all current and future students to follow and we would like to honor John by hanging a picture of him on the wall of CDHS.”
Of course, I said, “Yes”.
What an honor this is, especially for John, who always said he wanted to be remembered as a positive role model.
I know he’s smiling down from Heaven!
We chatted for a few more minutes and made plans to meet him at school tomorrow, during lunch period, to drop off John’s picture.
August 26,2024
Today we met with Commander Moore to drop off John’s picture to be displayed at Columbus Downtown High School.
It’s been eleven years since we last saw him but honestly, he hasn’t changed one bit. He’s still the warm hearted, stern yet encouraging man we remembered him to be when he was John’s teacher so many years ago.
Commander Moore was kind enough to give us a few pictures taken of John at Columbus Downtown High School when he was a student and two t-shirts from the program as well.
Looking at these pictures brought back so many great memories. It was a time when John was beginning to find his path in life, and a time when we were watching him grow from a boy into a man.
These pictures will always hold a special place in my heart.
“John will always be remembered by our program. He is still FirstAndFinest4Life” ~ Commander John Moore
As I was posting about our visit to Columbus Downtown High School on Facebook, the following post came across my timeline from John’s employer Highland Protection LLC:
John, “One Team, One Fight. You’re gonna be missed”
That post brought tears to my eyes.
As you can see, John was born with protection on his mind. It was in him from the very beginning when he would line up Gi-Joes all around his bedroom at night to protect him while he slept. It continued on into his teenage years when he enrolled in the Law Enforcement program at CDHS and became a City of Columbus Police Explorer, riding along with the police to keep our communities safe.
The post from Highland Protection shows this mindset stayed with him until the day he died.
I wish John would have been able to protect himself that night. I’m sure he did the best he could, but he didn’t have a chance when his killer had a gun and all he had were his legs when he tried to run.
As I’m writing this, I’m trying to find solace in knowing that he’s now watching over us from heaven and I’m sure he’s protecting us from above. But I must be honest, as nice that sounds, I’d rather have him down here with me.
I love you, John.
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