FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

Just returned from Ste. Marie I got the terrible news of John Veevaert's death in a car accident. By age (we had the same age) and due to the circumstances, all my life on the Internet has passed in parallel to John so, honestly, I am very impressed.

I know that when someone dies everybody says nice words about him but this particular list of nice words has a plus, is completely true:

He was generous and extremely kind.
He loved the minerals above the money they could give to him.
He was a pioneer, a great talker and a free spirit.
He never complained, whatever happened, having luck or misfortune, he was always positive and always looked for the best of all things and all the circumstances.
He was an "old school" professional: loyal, serious and honest.

He was also many more things that I suppose will be manifested for others but I should leave it here. I must think a lot on John and his loss.

Rest in peace, my friend.

[lluis]

Received the sad new a few hours before it was placed here.

Knowing him personally, I completely agree with Jordi

We will miss him a lot!

Rest him in peace

Lluís

[Riccardo Modanesi]

Hi to everybody!
I knew John during the Mindat meeting in Lwowek Slaski Poland in 2011, I was very well impressed about his culture and his knowledge of our subjects. I am vey sad by getting so bad a new, and I send my condolences to his family. Now you are in Heaven, watch to all of us from there, John!
Greetings from Italy by Riccardo.

[Gail]

Rest In Peace John. Your legacy is amazing. Hugs to Ronna, John’s wife.

[Elise]

Sincere condolences to his family and friends. The growing outpouring of grief since the announcement of his tragic death is a tribute to the place he held in the hearts of the worldwide mineral community and beyond. I was only just beginning to get to know him through our mutual great friend John S. White. What a terrible loss; what a sad day for all.

Jordi, what lovely praise for him, but here is the view from the other end of the lens that day which you posted with your tribute above: the REAL "Fabulous Six" ...it was a happy moment under the Arizona sun, as all your faces show.

[vic rzonca]

John, as part of the August group that installed the exhibit at the East coast show in 2015.

[rweaver]

Jordi about summed up what John was about. He was one of the good guys in the mineral world and will be missed. This is one of my first memories of John and was also one of my first online purchases back in Dec 2001. Words and pictures from his original website.

2 x 1.7 x .6 cm nugget of gold found by yours truly during the summer of 1979 only about 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles! A bit of a hike to get to this place in the San Gabriel Mountains but quite worth it. I have had this specimen for some time and debated on whether to keep it or not but since ALL I collect is benitoite I have decided to free this beast up.

I gave John visitation rights any time he was in my part of California and this is my tribute to him.

[chris]

Sad news. John was a good guy. It was always a pleasure to have a look at his site and not just for the shows' reports.
Rest in peace.

Christophe

[Jesse Fisher]

In happier times. A good friend gone too soon.

[Carles Millan]

Hard to believe. Very impressed!

[Joseph DOliveira]

I met John when he was first starting out as a dealer and I was returning to mineral collecting for my second time. I remember him doing his online auction from the bathroom in one of the dealer rooms in Tucson. A simple desk lamp and a digital camera was all it took as he pioneered the digital age in the mineral collecting market. It speaks volumes of a man who could build an exceptional business from such humble beginnings.

Although I was not a regular client of his, I did manage to purchase a few nice things from him over the years. When we met in Tucson, John was always willing to take the time to engage in conversation and share his passion for the hobby.

He will be missed, condolences to the family.

Joseph

[Peter]

I completely agree with Jordi. I was very sad to hear of his passing and so touched I was hoping it was not true. During the years I have lost some of my best geology-mineralogy friends, but many were in their 90s, and a few as young as their 70s.

I never saw John as a dealer but fellow collector. Very passionate, very knowledgeable and indeed he was more interested in minerals than money by far and all his actions
spoke for it.

He was always very happy and felt honored when I bought something from him. It showed his humbleness. My last buy from him was in Tucson 2018 after having agreed to buy something before seeing it live, something I rarely do.

I am so honored and pleased that I had two evenings with John this year.
We had some wonderful and deep discussions and his honesty is remarkable and strong.

I will always treasure our last conversation with him showing his honest strong mind, integrity and bravery in human contact beyond what one normally experiences.

I had plans to be field collecting with John in the autumn. Sadly not to be, but I will raise a toast to you John, in a place you would have loved to join me!!!
RIP my real friend

[Jordi Fabre]

After some time has passed I'm still shocked at the news of John's death.

I believe that each one of us is unique and that what we leave behind are memories of how we interact with other people. John's memories and stories are numerous, and those stories are part of who John was.
As a small tribute to his memory I open this space to request to all those who have something to relate about a memory with John to write it here and in this way, together, we will build an album of greetings cards on line. John deserves it.

[Recovering - Academic]

[Jordi Fabre]

[Tony L. Potucek]

I started the tradition of the rolling bar at mineral shows I attend because the social element of the mineral collecting passion was ebbing. Rod Tyson soon joined me, and Johnny V. became one of our patron "members" immediately because he felt the same way, and we became fast friends. Several respondents on this thread have joined us over the years to celebrate life, our common passion, and our close friendships, and so have many others, some passed, many living. Johnny V. truly loved the downtime and the migrant gathering when not walking the mineral venue. We visited about what we were seeing at the shows, newly emerging specimens and species, our families, our friends, mineral trends, and we celebrated being able to see each other again. Then, it was time to continue the chase for lovely and wonderful minerals, only to return and continue our camaraderie.

Johnny V. chased solar eclipses like he chased minerals, and together with Ronna, they visited us in Idaho this past year to see that eclipse. It was special and unexpected and yet, there they were. Celebrate...

Paraphrasing John White, another dear friend I cherish, "Where were you all of my life, and where ever we next meet, keep an open chair for me, pard."

[Jesse Fisher]

I've known John for many years. I think we first met when he was starting out as an internet mineral dealer in the mid 1990s. He quickly became one of the group of friends I would meet up with at various mineral shows around the world, sharing meals, drinks and stories. The thing I enjoyed most about his company was that he always seemed more interested in friends and minerals than money and appearances. When I first got involved with mining fluorite in England he was the first dealer to take our specimens and put them on the web. He also spent a good bit of time helping me to subsequently develop our own website, and I had a difficult time getting him to take anything for his efforts.

Fast forward to about a year ago. John and Ronna had recently moved to Reno, about a four hour drive from where I live. He had just acquired a fluorite collection and invited me to come have a look. When I got there, it had not been unpacked yet, so we spent an afternoon unwrapping specimens. The lot was rather disappointing, overall, and contained far too many large, mediocre Chinese specimens that would be difficult to sell. There were a few nice bits, however, including a very good bicolor fluorite cluster from the Denton Mine. It was undoubtedly the best piece in the lot, but when I ask him what he wanted for it, he quoted me a ridiculously low price! Knowing that even with a fair price on it, he would struggle to make anything on the collection, I had to insist that he take more money for it. But that was the kind of person he was!

Sessions at the Munich show biergarten and at Tony's rolling bar will feel a bit empty without him.

[bob kerr]

John's passing is so very sad. for all of us who truly love minerals, I think Jordi said it best:

"He loved the minerals above the money they could give to him."

can't really say much more.

bob

[bob kerr]

Is anyone planning a memorial display case for John at the upcoming Tucson show?

another "mineral man" - George Stevens - passed away recently and a memorial case is planned for him.

bob