John Nolen MD Obituary – After a vicious fight against cancer for the past three years, my brother-in-law, Dr John Nolen, passed away on Friday, April 14, 2023. I have not yet been able to find the words to convey how I am feeling, so for the time being, I just wanted to share the words that my sister Robyn wrote, which are below, along with John’s obituary, which he, of course, wrote himself. The following message comes from Robyn, Sophie, Charlie, Meg, Abe, and James:
John fought gallantly against metastatic kidney cancer till his death on April 14th, after which he passed away. On Thursday, April 20, at 2:00 p.m., at St. Joseph Catholic Church located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, we will commemorate the incredible life he led. In typical John form, he took care, right up until the moment he took his last breath, to make sure that the culmination of his journey was methodical, stoic, profound, and beautiful in every aspect. He decided beforehand where he wanted this adventure to end and how he wanted it to proceed in its entirety. He passed away in such a peaceful manner with his entire family by his side.
We repeatedly expressed our affection for him and our pride in him by telling him how proud we were of him. He shared with us how much he loved each of us and assured us that he would make an incredible space in heaven for all of us to call home. During the final week of his life, we recorded every word that he uttered on paper. He was able to maintain his sense of humor right up until the the end.
John was one in a million in a million ways. Everyone was dear to his heart. He harbored no ill will or hostility toward her. He passed away with the most honest heart and without any regrets. At the moment that he breathed his final breath at 5:36 last night, we were all holding his hand. You could sense the tranquility that had been brought into the room by the realization that he was now in the presence of God and wouldn’t have to endure any more pain. Now comes the difficult part—learning to live without him! He was without a doubt the most admirable individual we had ever met! Although he has made a significant hole in each of our hearts, we are confident that we shall see him again in the future.
This network of our friends and family has already helped carry us through a significant portion of this trip. We will be thankful until the end of time for your affection. John embraced every opportunity that life had to him. That will be his legacy, and we will work hard to continue it in a way that would make him proud. Please pray for myself and the kids as we move forward without the person we loved the most in this world. I have no doubt that Jesus will walk this path with us hand in hand.