I’m sad today thinking of my brother whom  I’m sure is in heaven now. He was born on December 20,1962. He would have been 54 in a couple of months. I never knew any man or woman who loved the outdoors as he did. When he was a child growing up in Circleville, Ohio, he would play in the woods behind his parents home from the time he woke up until it was too dark to see. During those days he would discover many things he loved to share with his family like picking mushrooms and bringing them home to fry and since we knew he studied them,we knew they were not poisonous and enjoyed eating them. There was a creek back there that he would find fossils and arrow heads left from Native American Indian days and he would tell us how each piece was probably used by them. He knew all the names of the trees and flowers and where you could pick berries and nuts to bring home. He spent many hours even as a kid at the library to study these things and learn all the facts he could. As a grown man he lived all over the country making a living, just so he could experience different places. Always returning home to his beloved Ohio though. Lucky for him he had three sisters, one that lived in  California, Rose Carol, and another one, LeAnna, who lived in Tennessee and Georgia so he spent many years traveling back and forth staying until the winds would turn his head again. His third sister, LaDonna, lived in West Virginia and when he stayed in his home in Ohio he visited there often. But whatever he would do to make a living he would do it with all his heart and study every detail. When he was an exterminator he could tell you the names and habits of each bug.  Or when he was working at an antique store he could tell you what was of value and what was not. He painted for many years and taught us all unique tricks of the trade to save time and money. My brother in law, George Tomlinson, put it very well when he said Jonathan was such a free spirit he felt more comfortable with the mountains and wind and nature than he did with a room full of humanity. He was never afraid to try things like making his own maple syrup from a maple tree in his back yard but quickly found out that took way too long to produce enough for even one pancake so decided buying it would be more satisfying. His salsa made from tomatoes and peppers he grew in his garden was so good people all around wanted to buy it. And he had a version for winter time where he used canned tomatoes and dried peppers. It gave him such pride when people like his brother in law, David Yaussy complimented him in his efforts. He cooked many things over the years and was good at it all but my favorite was his London Broil. He would marinate it in a Teryaki  basted sauce just long enough and cook it to perfection so when you ate it your mouth would water for more.  He also loved fishing and would bring his catch home to share with the rest of us. When he loved he gave his heart completely. He had many deep loves including his one daughter, Jessica Ellen, with Shauna McFarland Brevard. In all that he did, he was a cautious adventurer. But he would at least try everything he could when the opportunity presented itself. One summer he and his cousin Mark Tacy lived with Rose Carol. Her California sons thought it would be fun to teach them to surf like they had grown up doing. Well, Jonathan gave it all he had but when he got caught up on an undertow and the sea finally decided to spit him out he only had half his mustache left. The sand had shaved off the other side. His humor was always present in all that he did. He was tired of being sick and sad that his pain kept him from enjoying the life he knew. He had a black and white cat that would sit in the driveway early in the mornings and watch the sun rise with him. I haven’t seen that cat since Jonathan died on Saturday October 8, 2016. He was the inspiration and knowledge of so many of my blogs. What am I going to do now?