In Memory

John Floyd

John R. Floyd, Jr. WAXHAW - On Wednesday, November 13, 2013, John Roquemore Floyd Jr., 74, passed into another life. He died peacefully at his home in Waxhaw, NC with his family by his side. The oldest sibling of five, "Dr. Floyd" to his students, and "Rocky" to his beloved family and friends, was born in Oxford, GA on August 6, 1939. John's patriotism led him into the Citadel for a year, and then to join the regular Army during the Vietnam War where he served as a Communication Specialist. An Alumnus of North Carolina State University where he earned his PhD, John devoted his life to education. He retired as an Area Director with the University of Maryland European Division where he was an early pioneer of distance education. In 1996 when the internet was in its infancy, John successfully reached out across Europe and Asia to military personnel seeking higher education; this program still flourishes today among our troops and their families around the world. John is survived by his step-father Jerry Meyers, three children Andrew McCoy and wife Kristi, Jennifer Floyd and husband Joey, and Jack Floyd and wife Nikki, his three siblings, Sandra Harvey and husband Shields, Margie Downing and husband Jerry, Larry Floyd and wife Diane "Nurse DD", his nine grandchildren, Alexandra, Ashleigh, Shelby, Gracie, Sophie, William, Grace, Landrie, and Savanna, and his canine companion Romeo. He was preceded in death by his father John R. Floyd Sr., mother Martha Ray Meyers, and his "soul sister" Tina Patton. A visitation with family and friends will take place on Saturday, November 16, 2013, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home, Weddington Chapel, 3700 Forest Lawn Drive, Matthews. John will be missed by his family and by the many friends and colleagues he made around the world in his joyful years of educating and world travel. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to Hospice of Union County, 700 W. Roosevelt Blvd., Monroe. Arrangements are under the care of Heritage Funeral Home, Weddington Chapel. An online guestbook is available at www.heritagecares.net.

Published in Charlotte Observer on Nov. 15, 2013



 
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01/16/14 08:30 PM #1    

Penelope Roberts

John and I found that we were living within miles of each other in Arizona.  We went to Tucson for lectures, had a couple of meals, then he disappeard and surfaced at home with his family fighting his cancer.  We had a lot of laughs about the films we worked on in Germany (he was so determined to write scripts!) and enjoyed a renewal of acquaintance.  I was following his blogspot, The Wizard of Waxham, and wondered why it wasn't updated since July.  See you in the matter stream, John.


02/15/14 07:00 PM #2    

Bruce Janoff

I met John in Tokyo in 1972.  He taught psychology and I taught English, so we were often assigned to the same base.  Most of our common assignments were in either Japan or Thailand, and I would like to share the memeories of a great adventure John and I had during our times together from 1972-1975.  It was our climb of Mount Fuji in August, 1973.  The bus let us off about half way up the mountain in late afternoon, and our goal was to reach the summit at daybreak (Land of the Rising Sun, you know.)  There were huts at many stops on the way up, and at each higher elevation, the cost of snacks and Kirin beer rose accordingly.  At one point during the assent, a Japanese woman carrying a baby passed us.  Embarrassed, we stopped and had another beer.  At about sunrise (and at about the time we ran out of beer money), we reached the summit. We were excited to get a glimpse into the famous crater.  As our bloodshot eyes peered over the edge, what did we see?  Garbage!  Hundreds of food wrappers, lunchboxes, soft drink (and beer) cans, liquor bottles and the odd shoe and hat.  The trip back down was a piece of cake.  We descended on "the slide," which was a strip of volcanic ash so soft that our sneakered feet sank in six or eight inches with each step down.  Actually the steps were more like long strides, the momentum or which allowed a slide of another few feet per step.  We made it down in a small fraction of the time it took to make the climb.  When we got back to the road our white sneakers were coal black, and they were in the trash at Fuchu Air Station as soon as we reached base.

John and I remained friends over the years, and we never failed to have a laugh (and a beer) as we recalled our adventure on the mountain.  You can see some pictures of our climb in my profile on this website.

Respectfully submitted,

Bruce Janoff

Far East Division,

1972-1975


12/02/14 01:34 PM #3    

Bill Kerr

I knew John as my Area Director in Europe and as a friend and colleague making atrocious home movies. 

He was throughout living in a large home in Germany he shared for a time with Patrick and Catherine Quinn and others.

I started up our film company and we used that home as a set. We made "The Birds," starring Quinn as the bird, and a remake of "The Ratman" based on one of Freud's cases, with John starring as Freud and Quinn as Paul Lorenz, the patient called "the ratman." We also did "The Bat" in which Bartholemew Quinn began his film career acting as the vampire bat who murdered all the adults, a film which he still declines to watch. 

John was by far the best person to work for as his temperament was unrelentingly calm, he was completely on your side and showed virtually nothing of the authoritarian, corporate manner which is so unproductive in a university setting. 

Everyone in that community liked John, even those who lived with him in close quarters. 

I do hope his life was full and complete as he insisted it was, in such ways as to make his death a fitting end rather than a deprivation for him, though for his friends and family it surely was a loss. 

 

 

 


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