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Posted by John Love:
I sat next to John every year in home room. John was a funny, nice, friendly boy with a warm smile and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. We were good school friends. As an activity, his great love was watching and playing basketball. John was also a prizewinning handicraftsman whose works are of lasting beauty. John was the first member of our class to pass into the hands of our Lord. All of us are to follow.
John was diagnosed with cancer the winter after we graduated from WHS. He fought bravely, selflessly, with humor and deep faith in God. John faced his leukemia as a man, with the support of a wonderful family for almost three years before passing away on July 5th, 1981. Rex Sharpe, Gray Stout and Jody Trollinger were among his Pall Bearers.
What a loss with his whole adult life ahead of him. Let us all be thankful for the time we had with John. God bless John and his family.
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Joseph Trollinger
Having known John, I can affirm much of what John Love wrote in his fitting tribute to John Loy. "LOY" (seems like that is what we all called him) was definitely one of the friendliest students at WHS. I became friends with him mostly because we were both fervent wolfpack fans. Gray Stout and I visited John at Duke Hospital when he was receiving treatments. Although he was very sick, John still had a strong resolve, while somehow maintaining his good spirits and sense of humor. His parents were just great: loving and very supportive.In high school, John "recruited" me to play on his summer league basketball team. The Y league was comprised of some of the area's best HS and college players. I worried that we were in over our heads and that our team would get demolished. But John convinced me that playing better competition was the only way to become better players ourselves. Ultimately, he proved to be right.
Loy himself was actually a very good basketball player, and he worked hard in all of his endeavors. Although he could be quite tenacious on the court, I recall he was always a "good sport," and overall, a great guy.