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John Bulaga Jr Date of Birth: November 7, 1965 Position: Network Engineer I am one of John’s many cousins. John was a great person. I didn’t see him much, but whenever I did see him, he was always so happy. I remember the two times I did see him; the one time was at Thankgiving at him mom’s house. We were sitting at the table and he was telling me how big my son got. This is when his wife, Michelle, was pregnant with their second daughter. I could see in his eyes how excited he was for his daughter to arrive. The other time I saw him was at a family barbeque at his home. John loved spending time with the family, and I personally wish I spent more time with him. John, we all saddened by your sudden departure and we all miss you. We will never forget you. Your daughters will always know the kind of person/dad you were and no one will ever let them forget it. Your Cousin Forever
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I had the pleasure of working with John upon his joining the firm and instantly knew we hired the right person! John’s motivation to perform well and help others endeared him to all.
The mere mention of his family would generate a smile from ear to ear! His family was clearly his universe.
I’ll miss John’s verve and energy.
May God watch over those he loved and cherished.
I will miss John’s wisdom and humor. He was good man.
John was the proverbial jolly man, always quick to laugh and quicker with the smile that beamed from his face like a beacon from his soul.
He will be sorely missed even by those of us who didn’t stay as tight with him as maybe we should have.
I truly appreciate this opportunity to share these words.
I am one of John’s many cousins. John was a great person. I didn’t see him much, but whenever I did see him, he was always so happy. I remember the two times I did see him; the one time was at Thankgiving at his mom’s house. We were sitting at the table and he was telling me how big my son got. This is when his wife, Michelle, was pregnant with their second daughter. I could see in his eyes how excited he was for his daughter to arrive. The other time I saw him was at a family barbeque at his home. John loved spending time with the family, and I personally wish I spent more time with him.
John, we are all saddened by your sudden departure and we all miss you. We will never forget you. Your daughters will always know the kind of person/dad you were and no one will ever let them forget it.
Your Cousin Forever
John was (is) a great man. I worked very closely with him for two years at American Home Products. He had a great influence on my current career as he was not afraid to share the vast amount of knowledge he possessed. Although I can not claim to have known John for years it doesn’t take away the memories I have of him from the time our lives have crossed paths. John you will be missed, and I know where ever you are right now you are shining light down on your family. God Bless You
Johnny “Boots” Bulaga was my greatest friend. I cannot conceive anyone ever encompassing his kindness, intellect and humor. It is still a daily shock as each morning I must remind myself the man I hold dearest to my heart will no longer answer my call. I can still see his face but I miss his mind. John Bulaga is the Godfather of my only child, Eric. We were Best Man at each other’s weddings. I have know John and his family for more than twenty years. I will miss the annual Memorial Day gatherings in his yard, the broken promises to only exchange gifts for the kids on the Holidays and all the other rituals we had developed over the years. The echo of his laughter still rings in my ears, the sound of his voice is forever in my heart. May he rest in Peace.
“He has slipped the surly bonds of earth; his spirit is free to soar, gliding above the clouds, and resting among the stars.”
Rest well friend.
WHO WAS JOHNNY?
Johnny was a twinkle in an eye.
On November 7,1965, he became the loving son of Fran and John.
On that day, he became the Grandson of four,the Nephew of nine and the Cousin of many.
At eight weeks, he became a Godchild.
In his third year, he became the big brother of Gail.
In the tenth grade, he became the best friend of one.
And a good friend to many…
His cousin’s would refer to him as Johnny B.
In his teenage years,he became a valued employee.
Co-workers will always remember him as friendly.
He was a trekkie from the beginning, a little geekie at times and a deadhead to the end.
He was without prejudice.
His smile was sweet and his sense of humor was sharp.
By the age of twenty-two, he became the loving Uncle to Brian.
He had a passion for reading and enjoyed going to the movies.
In his early twenties he was joined in marriage to Michelle.
He soon became the cherished Son-in-Law to Gladys and John.
He liked to cook and got a pleasure from eating.
He was a Best Man to one.
And would soon become the Godfather to Eric.
In his late twenties, he became the devoted father of Rhiannon.
In his mid thirties, he bacame the doting father of Alannah.
On September 11, 2001, he would become known to millions…
Those of us who knew him will shed a tear.
Those of us who loved him will shed many tears.
Auntie Roe
I worked with John at Cyanamid and always enjoyed our chats in the I/S computer room and next to my cubicle with Mark. He was always full of laughter and a genius at solving all my computer problems. No matter what my problem was, he could fix it. I also worked with John’s mother for many years at Cyanamid and shared in all Fran’s glowing & proud stories of her son “Johnny.”
You will always be remembered in my prayers. May God protect you…
In the six months since John’s passing life has become surreal to me. The days blur as if in a dream, redundant, irrelevant and without substance. The rational portion of my mind seems lost. Fury smolders within me like magma without fissures…
I must remind myself this is not what my friend would have approved of.
John dedicated himself to making life bigger, better, more colorful and accessible for everyone. We must try to do the same, each in our own way. For if we don’t, we are helping those who would deconstruct all Humanity has achieved.
All that my friend believed in.
We cannot allow ourselves to become brutal, isolated and mean. We must defend civilization against those who seek to destroy what they can not accept or comprehend. Reason and Justice must prevail over lawless fanaticism.
Otherwise my brother and all those others will have perished in vain. God bless Howard Lutnick for his dauntless compassion.
I have the honor of sharing the surname Bulaga with Johnny. It’s a pretty safe bet that if you find two people named Bulaga, they’re related. In this case, I wish I knew Johnny better than I did. From what I can tell, we had a lot more in common than our last name. For my tribute I offer two quotes that I think complement each other. The first is from a man who lived in Goshen, NY during the last century. The second is from the Bible.
“The paths that cross will cross again,
when parting gives the parted pain;
For hope ere builds a lofty tower,
wherein to wait the joyous hour.” — Thomas F.F. Lee
“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” — Proverbs 18:10
John — what a nice guy and great father! I only knew you for a short time but you were always kind and upbeat. A dedicated father and husband. What a shock to realize you were in that building on 9/11 when I was looking at it from the GW Bridge. When I called Michelle that morning from NY and she said she had talked to you that morning I was elated to think that you might have made it out. You are surely missed.
Dear Johnny
It has been six months that you have been gone. It seems like yesterday that we last spoke on 9/11 at 9:03 am. Your last words to me will always remain in my head. I hear those words over and over again. When you told me that you had to go because of fire, I really thought in my heart that we were going to see you soon. We all miss you so much. I go to pick up the phone at work and try to call you, and it hits me that you’re no longer there. I know you’re in heaven and watching over all of us.
I will always remember your words to us, when you said that we should not live in fear.
I miss those Saturdays when you came to visit us with Rhiannon along side of you and you carrying Alannah. I still look outside looking for you and hoping this is all a bad dream.
You’re always in our heart. We all miss you so much. I never thought that my heart would ache as it does. I just hope that you knew how much we loved you. We might have not said it every day, but we knew how each of us felt.
You are our first child and you have brought us such happiness. We have always been so proud of what you have accomplished in your short life time.
Knowing you, you are probably teaching the angels how to use common sense when solving everyday problems. You have always been our hero.
Love
Mom & Dad
John’s dream as a child was to work in NYC. When is was offered the
position at Cantor Fitzgerald he was thrilled to have the opportunity to fulfill his lifetime dream of working in the city. He always said that he felt he was on top of the world. He loved the diversity of working in the city. He would never allow himself to live in fear.
We, the family are so proud of Johnny because he followed his dream to work in the city no matter how his family felt. He and Michelle had celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this past July. On that particular day, they had made arrangements to purchase their first home.
John took the earlier train to work on 9/11 because he had a scheduled vacation day on Friday the Sept. 14th. On this day he and Michelle and daughters Rhiannon and Alannah were to close on their dream home in Haskell, NJ.
John was admired by many for not seeing color in people. When he met
someone he only concerned himself with the way he himself was treated. He was the first one to help someone out. It could be to complete a job or maybe to help a person to solve or understand problems. He always said to us, use logic and the answer will come to you. He was the type of human being that never took advantage of a situation. When he gave his word to complete a project he would give it more than 100% to make sure that he did before the project was actually due.
There are thousands of things we will miss with him no longer with us. He was a wonderful caring son, husband to Michelle, brother to Gail, Uncle to Brian Keith, but most of all the proudest father of Rhiannon and Alannah. We are also proud of Johnny, because everything that he knew about technology was self-taught. People always admired him for his knowledge.
He will be missed by so many people whose lives he has touched
Dear Johnny,
I’ve known you since you were just 2 years old, shortly after the birth of my own son. I’ve watched you grow into a fine young man. You grew up with my children, playing, laughing and getting into all sorts of mischief. You, your sister, and your mom were inseparable from me and my children through your childhood and many years after that. I will forever have those fond memories to share with them.
I can’t even begin to imagine the pain of losing a child of my own. But I do know the pain of losing a child of my very best friend, your mom, because that is you. I do not have ANY words, however, that cna possible describe this pain.
You were a loving husband to Michelle, the most devoted father to Rhiannon and Alannah, and the very best son to your mom and dad. What more could anyone hope for in a husband, a father and a son? Nothing. They were always so very proud of you. And you were so very proud and thankful for the blessings given to you. A happy person who truly loved life, accepted what life gave to you, and refused to live in fear. Sadly, that life has been taken from you without any warning, before you were finished, and certainly much too soon.
I will always remember you, Johnny, as a very special person. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have had you in my life. I will never forget you. I love you and shall miss you very, very much.
Love, Aunt Betty
John was a gentleman, always so kind to me. It was always such a joy for me to get to know him. From what I knew he was a very great man and one that will truly be missed. He was such a hardworking person. May peace be with you. My prayers are with John’s family.
JohnE Boots! I miss you to an indescribable degree. All that is good for me is diminished because I can’t share it with you. I have never been so alone as I am without your soothing presence and calm intellect. Nor have I ever been so enraged and frustrated by our own species thoughtless and pointless behavior. I weep as I type this for you are not here to make a joke of things…..I pray someday we will laugh together again. Always your best, Geraldo
I have been pouring over these tributes, wanting to say something, yet not quite knowing what but this one captured my eye because of one thing – John and I share the same birth date, one year apart. As I lament on my turning 36, I now realise that John’s family would be celebrating his birthday this year, without him. So I lament no more. In fact, I am determined to celebrate my life to honour people like John’s. Why should we give up or complain? We owe it to John and all the other’s, to make the most of our lives and to do especially as they did – cherish our families and relationships.
My sincerest and most heartfelt prayers and thoughts are with John’s wife, girls and extended family.
Let us walk together with our children
They won’t ever have to worry
Through this time of trouble
We’ve got to love one another
Let us take our fellow Man, by the hand
Try to help him to understand
We can all live together, Forever and Ever
If we make it to the Promised Land
Numbers
Seven times five years
Your age at the time
from 1965 to 9-11,2000
It is now five years gone
One seventh of your life elapsed
since your murder
A new age dawned that day you died
One of war
One of hate
One world
where millions battle over
who knows the “one, true God” best
Billions of bullets
searing automotive shrapnel
slaughter hundreds in fruit markets
daily
Bazzar behavior multiplies
primeival prejudice grows exponentially
Killing the lambs of god
butchering the children of the holy
the holy butcher their own
by the thousands
every day
Thirty-five years from now,
how many will have died
for the failed prohpecies
of countless frauds
Whatever the numbers
it will have been
too many innocents,
too many without choice
too many to list
Rhime of the Ancient Biker Lovers 1-1-2008
Propelling ourselves into the future
with a twist of the wrist
the toe-tap of a boot tip
we live our lives in motorcycle days
in love, bound, mutualy dependant
heartbeats timed to the tachometer
together the miles roll up
like engine and fuel we combust
A spectacular explosion
unnatural energy leashed by a cable
teased with fingertips to exhilerating speeds
our hearts race
focused on the carving of a carefull line
existance perhaps defined
on instaneous decision response
reaction time decides
whether the future arrives
or perhaps ones end
with no time to touch the brakes
Time blurs by in teary bursts
Other times pass slow and easy
a gentle rolling stroll through
sunny hills of plenty
coursing into cooling shady river vallies
smells sights sounds impressions
regressions recollections spark
unspoken between us
changing like moments
Delrious at times
meditative at others
It’s always a new ride through a new day
Modern industrial duo dynamic
riding raw power every day of the week
adhering only to thin bands of rubber
representing an unstoppable force
defying gravity and dimension
with a twist right wrist and the tap of a toe-tip
we can melt and warp the countryside
while we grin inside our helmets
Foregoing any paper guides
regardless of the rest
careless of the caged masses
We are two together all ways
enjoying any weather
determined as leather to cruise
at ease outside the norm
subverting paradigms
we travel foward but never straight
As thunder follows lightening
these heavy horses rumble onward
Regardless the distance between us
saddled securely on our steely steeds
we conquer the earth under heaven
leaving pedestrians beguiled and wondering
how we make the asphalt steam in our wake.
It’s been 8 years today. I haven’t forgotten you. Your picture still sits on a corner table in my home. Another picture of you, with the words “Never Forget” is on the back window of my car. Your smile is everlasting in both your daughters faces. Your memory will always be in our hearts. We will always continue to share stories of your short life. Although your mom and dad still cry over you, they also laugh at some of the stories, that they still tell of you.
Love Always, Auntie Roe
John and I were friends in highschool. The memories of him are simple; he was never unkind to anyone. He never said a bad word about anyone. Only as the years have gone by have I begun to realize how few people like that we have in our lives. Perhaps we can all honor his memory by striving to be more like him.