John Vincent Wake
(1970-2003)

John Vincent Wake, 32, Olathe, KS (formerly of Leavenworth, KS), died unexpectedly Monday, May 26, 2003 , at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Lawrence, KS.

He was born September 29, 1970 , in Leavenworth , the son of Walter Lee and Virginia Stroud Wake. John graduated from Tonganoxie High School in 1989. He had been a member of the Livewires, 4-H Club for 12 years, was a member of the High Prairie Church , Leavenworth , KS . John graduated from the University of Kansas in 1995. He resided in Lawrence since college days and just recently moved to Olathe , KS , in January 2003.

He worked as a reporter and writer for the Lawrence Journal-World, Lawrence , KS , and Sun Publications in Overland Park , KS . He had also been a writer and students programs manager at Golf Course Superintendents Association of America at Lawrence , KS . At the time of his death, he was employed as an Advertising Copywriter in Advertising and Marketing Communications at the John Deere Agricultural Center in Lenexa , KS .

John enjoyed hunting, fishing, golf, roller blading, watching sporting events, video games, listening to music, drawing and traveling with his brother.

Reprinted from the Lawrence Journal-World.

Posted by Seth Jones on the Nada Surf message board
5/27/03, four days after John Wake died.

John and I went to the Nada Surf show Friday night in Lawrence , Kan. We had a great time. It would be the last time I'd ever see him. John Wake, my friend, died Monday morning at the hospital. He just got sick, and didn't recover. We don't know much else yet.

We (John, Denise and I) went to the Bottleneck Friday night, and had a good time like always. We had a couple drinks, played a couple games of pool, watched the show -- nothing unusual. Nada Surf sounded great. The crowd was good, the vibe was cool.

Those who knew John realized that he was a very interesting person. I know my life will be less exciting without him in it. Every time John and I hung out, the world turned into a movie. And when you consider the number of boring people in the world, you realize John was a rare person, a special one.

John was my concert-going friend (we had great seats for this summer's Lollapalooza), movie-going friend (I had to wait a week to see X-Men 2 'cause he was out of town), and my always-stirring-up-trouble friend (because after all, he was John). Most important, he was just my friend. He had an infectious laugh, and cared deeply for the people he considered friends.

John would probably complain to me if he knew I was writing this and posting it somewhere to strangers. But then, John was most happy when he was complaining about something -- the weather, a movie, the slow service -- you name it. I remember one time John emailed me, griping about something inconsequential. I liked to tease him, so I told him that I'd burn a candle at my desk in his vigil. "Wow, you'd do that for me?" he asked. "Sure," I thought, but I hesitated responding, wondering if I had misused the word "vigil." So I looked it up. The definition read, " SEE: WAKE." We had a good laugh.

I take back my earlier statement -- there was one thing unusual about our evening at the Bottleneck. John and I quit playing pool after four games, with the score tied 2-2. Usually we'd play the "rubber match" and see who won the series for the evening. But I think it's nice we finished our pool playing days at a tie, because by having John as a friend, we both won.

So, my only reason for writing is to think out loud. I'd never have thought that the last time I'd see John would be at a Nada Surf concert in 2003. He was only 32. We had a lot of concerts still left in us.

As Nada Surf sings in "High-Speed Soul,"
where are we going?
i don't care
our friends all left
let's go anywhere
it's getting late
i don't care
it's just you and me
let's go anywhere

Cheers, buddy. We had good times.

Seth Jones
Lawrence, Kan.