retcop

I received an email from his daughter today informing me of his passing. I requested permission to copy and paste it here.

Rest in peace John and know you are missed. When my time comes I hope to meet you at the end of the driveway.

https://www.crainsonline.com/obituaries/...!/Obituary

Dear Tom,
I found your kind letter in my dad's things couple months back getting ready for him to come home from a hospital stay. I thought I would let you know that Dad died a week ago Saturday at home after being diagnosed with advanced throat cancer in November. He had had a pacemaker implanted in August, as he was dealing with heart failure and afib as well.
I know he loved that gun board and all the conversations/arguments/etc. Would you pass the word to those who knew him there? I don't know how long it has been since you've heard from my dad, but it in any case, thank you for your friendship. I was pretty happy when he discovered online forums, as he *finally* understood my "internet friends" he'd been so wary of in the early 00s.
This is the obituary https://www.crainsonline.com/obituaries/...!/Obituary

I should have known retcop or retcop1799 would be his handle! Yes, please, feel free to share what I sent you, and the obituary. We were able to get him a police escort part of the way to Crain's in Cape Girardeau and that was very meaningful. Especially since the 3 guys they sent were all officers with him, gosh, 30 years ago. We blasted Pink Floyd "Pigs" for him.
If you come across any of his writings, I'd love to have them.

Thanks,
Melissa

Sigh……he was so young 😢😢

Seems he got your letter and never responded for whatever reason