John D. McCafferty
John D. McCafferty died on the last Saturday of the old year.
A friend for several decades wrote: So sad to hear of John’s passing. Quite the special human being, Mr. John McCafferty, larger than life. Bringing a smile, keeping you on your toes; enthusiastic, no nonsense, poetic. A teacher, a friend, a reader, a writer, an embracer of Life. A sceptic, a humanist, a hardass, a softie. Creator of many awkward moments, and of many inspiring ones. We were lucky, we whose lives he touched. And you two together. What a fantastic team, supporting one another, bringing out the best in one another, inspiring and challenging others. It’s been wonderful knowing John, and having you both in our lives. May we keep alive that zest, that funk, those lines of Shakespeare and Frost.
A long-ago San Marcos High School student said Mr. McCafferty taught me to love literature. He corrected and commented on every paper I turned in. He was the best teacher I ever had. I went on to UCSB to major in English because of him.
A colleague in the newsroom of the Los Angeles Times said I never had a better friend. I never knew where a conversation would lead, but I knew it would always be interesting, sometimes provocative, and occasionally hilarious. And it’s not easy to make a copy editor laugh.
John found it easy to make friends: He liked them first. There are friends who remember him well in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Goleta, in several states, and around the world in places he and his wife taught, including Germany, the Czech Republic, China, and as Peace Corps volunteers in Russia. A friend and colleague from his 11 years in the English Department at SBCC said he liked the letters John wrote from his travels. They were always filled with humorous insights about the country, the people, and the drink. His letters made me feel I was traveling with him. His humor toward life spilled over to others.
A Peace Corps volunteer, fresh out of college back then, wrote I have a deep appreciation for having John in my life during our years in the Russian Far East. Remember how much getting mail in our villages mattered? He wrote letters giving me teaching advice, talking about books, news of what was going down in Birobidzhan. John’s signing off Biro B. John. One evening he related a story about Gorky Pig, the mounted wild boar head he insisted on keeping on a chair in your apartment. John’s sense of humor, his intelligence, his ability to make people feel comfortable around him – all these made him such a good guy to know. He was smart without an ounce of pretension. He had that common touch, a warmth, a love for a good story, that made him approachable and always entertaining. I also got the feeling he did not suffer fools, which I admired. All of these things made a lasting impression on me and made him a special guy.
An old high school Carpinteria teammate wrote: Thank you, John, for writing our book, “Aliso School: For the Mexican Children.” If you had not told our story, it would not have been written. Warriors never die!
McCafferty is survived by his wife of forty-seven years, Sharon Dirlam, and seven children and stepchildren — John, Karen, Carol, Susan, Michael, Cindy and Lisa, and their
families.