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Joan, Leslie, Lesley & Jon. 1941
Light a Candle
Jon was born and brought up in Sutton, Surrey. He was greatly influenced in his early life by his mother’s interest in spirituality. However, his formative years were spent sampling the range of social activities on offer at the local Baptist church due to his older sister Lesley’s enthusiasm. Career wise, Jon managed to turn his hand to quite a variety of jobs: as an office boy for the local council, in the accounts department of a tiling firm at London Bridge, at cosmetics company Helena Rubenstein in the West End, the insurance company Wright Deane in the City, for Johnnie Walker in statistics and then accounts and finally settling as PA to the company secretary of Shinners department store in Sutton. But then in his early 40s, having met his soulmate Johann, Jon chose to make dramatic changes. The great spiritual passion that he and Johann shared, set them on a path that changed their lives and was to touch those of thousands of others. They had been running healing evenings and meditation classes across London, alongside developing their interest in buying and selling antiques. Their large house in Sutton had been renamed ‘Helios’ after Johann’s spiritual guide, and the beginnings of their future pathway had been firmly established. Their regular trips to the Antiques Fair in Battle, East Sussex, had resulted in new friendships with like-minded people in the area. They decided to relocate themselves and ‘Helios’, to an even larger house in St Leonards, East Sussex where their spiritual healing centre could really grow. What was on offer at Helios has been described as metaphysical magic; massage, tarot readings, yoga, spiritual healing services, support groups, training and much, much, more. Sadly, it was to end prematurely after twelve glorious years, with the early death of Johann in 1991. Jon moved to Bexhill and in 1993 became chairman of the Sussex Healers who support or actively provide healing, a position he served in for 25 years. He became more closely involved with the Deerfold Centre; a community resource venue in Eastbourne where small groups can meet (at very low cost) to promote healing and spiritual development and also worked with the local Cancer Support Group, Jon was a spiritual healer for 50 years. He believed that healing is available to all and that it is a privilege to share this gift with others. He was patient, long-serving, had great kindness and wisdom, both spiritual and practical, gave quality and relevant advice and had great knowledge and experience. He also had a tremendous sense of humour and wit and was a total joy to spend time with. Jon had an older brother Roy, who died in infancy. His two older sisters, Joan and Lesley, left him two nieces and a nephew, 3 grand nephews, a grand niece and a great grand nephew. His family couldn’t be more proud of his achievements. We will greatly miss his presence in our lives, with his wise contributions, wealth of family memories and ability to find the funny side of daily life. If you would like to share your own memories of Jon, please do so. You can add photos, say a lot or very little. His family and friends would love to learn about bits they might have missed.
