…the ANSWER is…Jon Pomeroy. The QUESTION is…who is all seeing, all knowing, omniscient and ‘abolluba’ ok? You guessed it. When I first came to Covina Sunrise Rotary back in the 1980’s and met Jon, I was really entertained by his wild antics, but what really made me look beyond the show was his keen sense of wit, brevity and timing in his weekly delivery as the Finemaster. Who can get a crowd laughing hysterically at 7:45 AM? This when I knew Jon was highly intelligent…not just smart, but wise. While Jon was so much more than just the ‘fun & games dude’ at Rotary, he was quite serious and focused on his professional and philanthropic commitments. He was a dutiful husband, a doting surrogate father/grandpa and a lifeline to those in need. Along with Pam, Jon spent countless hours in the advancement of our Operation Santa Clothes project and all things Rotary and beyond. He was selfless. Rare!
In the early years of our club, an unusual triumvirate was created by nothing more than natural attraction. This association of three guys was most unlikely due to our dramatic differences. Without CSR, those friendships would never have formed, and those rich years would never have been. The principals were, Jon, George Bradley and me. Never have three individuals had less in common than us: different origins, religions, cultures, education, careers, lifestyles, yet it worked. We couldn’t figure it out, but then it became clearer as time passed. We were like minded in many ways. We needed something bigger than each of us. We needed to have a hand in making lives better. We needed to belong. We got it. Together (along with many other Rotarians), we fought poverty, ignorance and disease all while having our yuks along the way.
When you spend a week on a backpacking trip with a bunch of guys, you get to learn a lot about each other. Our trips to Wyoming (4 or 5) were just such a venue and Jon was at his funniest. In association with Bull, Tim and later Terry, Jon narrated two of those trips as the mystical park ranger, Gene Kliendorff (or something). There are two videos which may be viewed on another story on this website titled Alfieland.com/The Legend of Bucky Goldstein at the conclusion of that story. It is Jon’s masterpiece along with his poem titled “The Legend of Bucky Goldstein”.
At Jon’s memorial, congregants lauded his praises, told funny stories and paid tribute to an extraordinary guy… they only made one of these. Recently, I was asked by someone who knew of Jon, but didn’t really know him, to provide some insight to the persona. The first words that came to mind were, “enigma” and “paradox.” Oh yeah, we know Jon was smart & funny & caring & committed… all of those things. But he was a puzzle. His mind worked differently. He picked up ‘waves’ that came from somewhere else… that was his charm. What he did with those waves was his magic. The dude was a pied piper… charismatic to a fault. He didn’t have fans. He had disciples. I believe there is a part to Jon that no one knew… not even him. While I had not seen much of Jon since his earlier departure from Rotary, I have thought about him often and with admiration, respect and love. He was the real deal.
RIP Jon Pomeroy
Obituary (1948 – 2023)
