27/08/2025
We lost a good man this week. It been really hard for me to share this..
John was one of the very first people to welcome me into this little city along Prospect Rd. He pulled me aside into his barbershop, with all the 101 questions.. what do you do, how long you’ve been here, where did you come from, how’s business 😂
He always had a hello, always asked how I was, and his barber shop door was open for conversations, for laughter, for life. I can’t count the times I’d stick my head in, cheekily asking if he did women’s hair or if he was behaving himself. That little joke never got old. Those chats, that banter, they were the kind of moments that remind you of what community really means. This is the old school way of connecting..
John had a way about him. He wasn’t just a barber, he was an encourager. He believed in people. He believed in me. He’d always be the one asking what was happening in my life, then telling me to go for it, to back myself, to keep moving forward. That encouragement mattered more than he probably ever knew.
One of the most memorable memories I will hold close is last year, when John climbed up his shop to put the Christmas lights back on top of his business, because he knew how much it meant to me. George (his dad) and I stood across the road at the traffic lights, watching him work as the sunset set, stringing those lights with such care. George turned & elbowed me and said, “She (his late wife) would have really loved this.” We had tears in our eyes. He was right. His wife would have loved seeing those lights go up, that’s why it was so hard for them to put them up again. A bitter sweet memory. That’s the kind of man John was, thoughtful, kind, present. That’s the kind of people John and George are, pillars of quiet love in our community.
Prospect won’t feel the same without him. Who am I going to wave to each week when I walk down Prospect Rd now? Who will we share those chats with, watching the world go by from his lounge? His presence was woven into the very heart of this place, and it is really hard to imagine it without him.
My heart really hurts. I rarely cry, but I’ve shed so many tears for the loss of a friend. We will all miss you dearly, John. Til we meet again. 💔
With all my love to George and the Giatras family, our community holds you close in this time of such sadness.
