John Stubbs

John Stubbs - 400

March 16 1939 - October 22, 2019

Dear Friends,

John Stubbs, a beloved member of the Fellowship of Friends, completed his task after a protracted struggle with cancer on October 22nd,  at 10:44 pm, Buenos Aires time. John turned eighty on his birthday last March.

John joined the Fellowship in the Amsterdam Center on May 25, 1981.  In the summer of 2000, he moved to Apollo; living there for four years.  He then went on to support centers in Istanbul, Amsterdam, Athens and Buenos Aires where he lived until the present.  John served as both a Regional Coordinator of South America and Center Director of the Buenos Aires Center.  We will remember John as an accomplished writer,  sharing his love of the Work both in stories and essays.

On behalf of all who knew you, we thank thee.

In loving presence,
Elizabeth Blake,
For The Elysian Society

True singing is a different breath.
A gust in god. A wind.

John Stubbs

Funeral Service Text: John Stubbs 2019-10

This day I breathed first: time is come round,
And where I did begin there shall I end;
My life is run his compass.
Shakespeare

 

  1. Peter Schnitzeler October 15, 2023 at 12:59 pm

    I met John in the Amsterdam center. There are many moments I remember: his soft, kind voice during our meetings and discussions, good directions on my search for the miraculous. Rilke is also my favourite:

    Ein Gott vermags. Wie aber, sag mir, soll
    ein Mann ihm folgen durch die schmale Leier?

  2. Brian K. February 28, 2022 at 1:07 pm

    Thank you, John, for all that you gave. I remember a conversation we had when you were preparing for one of your trips from Buenos Aires to Apollo. I asked where you were going, and you answered “I’m going home.”

    “It takes Influence C to get the astral body home,
    in the present.”
    Love, Robert

  3. corrina craigmill February 17, 2022 at 11:52 am

    John Stubbs, stalwart, reliable student, library volunteer for many years who insisted each student memorize their patron number.

    There is only one art, that which is beautiful and natural. The true realism, always and everywhere is that of the poets: to find where joy resides and give it a voice. For to miss joy is to miss all.

    Robert Louis Stevenson

  4. Hubert B. February 17, 2022 at 9:30 am

    My Joyful Times with John Stubbs

    John Stubbs joined the Fellowship in the spring of 1981, about three months after me. We got along well from the start and I continue cherishing fond memories of our friendship.

    When John joined the School, he was a family man in his early forties, working full-time as a computer programming professional. He lived with his wife and daughters in Gouda at the time. He commuted to work, made frequent visits to the events in Amsterdam, and made extra efforts that ordinary people would not even consider.

    How very ready John was for the School when he joined! He was always quite active mentally, had common sense and naturally practised the Fourth Way principles. Serving as the centre’s bookkeeper in Amsterdam, for example, he carried funds and administration in a plastic shopping bag, avoiding attention for these valuable goods. John was also a very modern man. In the 1980s, long before smartphones or touchscreens, he was the first person I knew who kept an electronic agenda.

    What I remember most about John is almost child-like curiosity and enthusiasm (which he would hold until the end!) continuously probing new intellectual, emotional and practical dimensions of the System, the Work and the Universe. He brought considerable scale and intelligence to the great riddles of existence while challenging his being. John was keen to communicate and he did so in such a friendly and open way that one felt very welcome to participate in his quests. Whenever someone translated a Work Idea into a practical experiment, he took the challenge. The next time he would share his observations.

    There were meetings twice a week in our early School days at the Herengracht teaching house on Tuesday and Friday evenings. John consistently attended those. After plenary meetings, smaller groups were formed to further discuss meeting ideas in a more participatory way. John enjoyed these ‘small groups’ a lot.

    Many an evening, after the meeting, John and I usually continued our discussions. At the time, John and I had quite different rôles in life (an art student in his twenties and an established family man in his forties) and this proved very helpful in exploring objective Work Ideas from different angles. It was no exception that he would offer a ride in his car on his way home, just to be together longer and preserve the meeting energies. I willingly accepted these invitations to ride him (without any practical necessity, having come by bicycle within Amsterdam). Parked near my home we continued our discussions for another twenty-five minutes or so before John’s one-hour-plus commute back to Gouda. He was like a friendly puppy wagging its tail for more discourse and extending School Time. On such evenings he must have arrived home pretty late…

    Almost four decades later – in a telephone conversation between Holland and Argentina – John and I both felt like surprisingly few years had passed in our long friendship. This happens when kindred characters find each other and bond with a common interest: evolving as students, staying simple and continuing to wag our tails. I hope our souls will meet again in or outside of time.

    Love, Hubert

  5. Diane Astarita February 1, 2021 at 12:41 am

    Thought of you dear friend when we were driving home from town tonight as we made our way around that curving piece of highway 20 where you had an accident once upon a time. In fact that strip of road often reminds me of you. It felt good to remember so many moments shared and to be able to visit this page now. Rest well dear friend. Looking forward to our next meeting.
    With love & thanks,
    Diane

  6. Juliana Lagrasta March 7, 2020 at 8:14 am

    John’s sweet solar soul was able to bring our inner child to the present moment.
    Thank you for sharing your Light
    With Love
    Juliana

  7. Romeu Marcílio da Silveira March 5, 2020 at 5:21 am

    Parabéns John por ter entrado no grupo das mentes livres, ainda neste plano de existência, que circulam no mundo promovendo o Ser.

  8. Romeu Marcílio da Silveira March 5, 2020 at 5:19 am

    Parabéns John, por ter entrado no grupo dos cidadãos do mundo e compartilhar suas experiencias conosco.

  9. Marco G. March 4, 2020 at 11:05 am

    Caro John, grazie per la tua bella anima!

  10. Marcia Frew November 10, 2019 at 9:02 pm

    When I think of John I see him as a bright light, full of love and enthusiasm.
    We will all miss that in him, but wish John a beautiful passage to his new adventure.
    Love, Marcia

  11. Yasuko van Ruiten November 10, 2019 at 3:53 pm

    You have shown how to be kind, loving and stay focused on what is most important in our lives. Thank you John.

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