Sunday, February 10, 2013

I Remember Him Well

John was a dedicated, hard-working guy
by Vickey D.

I was employed at the Martin Marietta facility in Waterton, Colorado, for many years. The best of those years was in the finance department working for John Barun.

A co-worker named John Fasciani was planning his retirement in the mid-1970s. It was common knowledge that he had a lot of years with the company. How can this be?  He's not that old. It turned out that he started with Martin Aircraft Company in Baltimore as a young boy delivering messages on his bicycle. He went on to college, and those young years on a bicycle were bridged for him and counted as years of service towards his retirement. Amazing! 

Another notable thing about John was his annual poker party (pronounced with a distinctive Baltimore accent ... try it). This poker party was legendary, and the very top management considered it an honor to be invited. They did attend and were proud to do so. John was not in management, he was just a dedicated, hard-working guy with a worn-out pencil. John was one of the nicest guys I've ever met—this is probably more appropriately John's story, not mine.