Once upon a time Marine and long-time local Gulf Breeze newspaper columnist John Gunn, age 76, is no longer operating his frequent email news service. Wife Joan says that John was admitted the first week of December to Encore Senior Village in Pensacola.John is in the early stages of frontal lobe dementia and is not expected to recover. A few weeks ago, he wandered away from the facility on one of the coldest nights of the year, precipitating an area-wide police search. He was eventually found, disoriented, some four and half miles away from the locked facility where he now resides.
Joan says her husband does have his 'good days' and would welcome mail or visits.
Encore Senior Village
9015 University Pkwy
Pensacola, FL 32514Last revised 1-14-08 pm
3 comments:
Thank you for letting this be known. I'm sure many of us had wondered what had become of John, having noted his absence in our Inboxes. John's wide dissemination of local area media stories, not to mention his often colorful commentaries, will most definitely be missed. His newsletters were a valuable public service, not likely to be duplicated.
John Gunn's illness seems a particularly poignant end to a long and distinguished career in journalism, and we can only hope that his journey from here on in will be a gentle one.
I am so sad to read this and my heart goes out to Mrs. Gunn, too. I know she must have been terrified when he was missing and brokenhearted afterwards to move him to Encore Senior Village.
I'll definitely send him a card. Thank you for letting us know the situation.
I am so touched to run across this blog mentioning my dad, John Gunn. We as a family have gone through quite a lot recently and we had no idea if anyone knew of his situation. We always knew he did a lot in the community be it in Pensacola area or with his beloved Marine Corps but had no idea of how many lives he has touched. To know that people do care and want to send cards or to see him gives us as a family great peace and my dad will surely appreciate the cards, phone calls, visits. He is settling into the Encore well, has good days and bad days but is still active and walks around the grounds(he was still walking miles daily when he went into the facility) Sometimes he makes a lot of sense and other times he may not communicate clearly, so please be patient.
To Beachlover who mentioned his journey being a "gentle one" thank you so much. It is our prayer as well. We hope to have a small gathering at the Encore in the next month and will post the particulars for anyone interested in stopping by.
My dad lived his life with endless energy and enthusiasm for the world around him. I know that there are not too many like him and we will do everything we can as a family to give him the respect and care he deserves.
The phone # at the Encore is (850) 477-6400, ask for Cottage #7.
Thanks again for your prayers and good thoughts. It means the world to us all.
Becky Gunn
St Paul, MN
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