John Linsky

John Linsky left this world on September 8, 2021 leaving those who knew him with many memories of this friendly, animated, outgoing, fearless, Cardinal baseball-loving, fly-fishing obsessed, charmer of a man. John was born to Martha and Joseph Linsky in North Little Rock, Ark., on September 9, 1941. He was known affectionately as Butch by his older sister, Barbara, and younger brother, Jim, because a nurse at his birth said he looked like a "toughie." His big blue eyes and white blonde hair suggested otherwise. Growing up in the 16th Street neighborhood, John was an adventurer who didn't break the rules but teetered on the edge of doing so. During summers, he was out the door exploring until he came home to stop the bleeding. As an adult, John proudly told colorful stories of his childhood injuries that included a tree-climbing incident with a limb puncturing his underarm, a compound fracture of his arm during a jumping contest when his sister shoved him with hopes of increasing his distance, and a severed artery in his groin area after a fall on a fence post while out with his best friend Ben Cumnock. He never cried during these accidents but his sister did so hysterically. John happily described these gory injuries to his children and anyone else who would listen, considering them all a badge of honor which is why it seemed important to include them here. John graduated from Catholic High School in 1959 and attended Christian Brothers University in Memphis for a year before enlisting in the Air Force. After four years of service, which included the birth of his son, John Robert Linsky Jr. ("Rob"), with his first wife Judy Eddins, John was honorably discharged and moved back to Little Rock where he met and married his wife Charleen Linsky and raised his stepson, Marc Blazer. John joined Xerox and moved his family to Shreveport, La., where he welcomed the birth of his daughter, Katie. The family finally settled in Jackson, Miss., where John and Charleen made lifelong friends with the "Briarwood Bunch" at Briarwood Presbyterian Church. Their friendship included family outings and late-night adult gatherings that wrapped up with spirited, intoxicated sing-alongs of "I Want To Go Home With the Armadillo" on Austin City Limits. After 10 years in Jackson, John moved his family to Memphis, where he pursued other interests outside of the corporate world. Once John found something that interested him, he fearlessly tackled it. He took a class on trim carpentry that led to Brothers Home Builders, a business he ran with his brother, Jim. John was an active ham radio operator, and had eclectic taste in music from the Austin City Outlaws to Andreas Vollenweider, the electric harp player. When John found something of interest, he was all in whether that was recording every episode of Hill Street Blues on VHS tape, studying statistics of every player on the St. Louis Cardinals roster, joining a writer's group, tying flies for his fly-fishing jaunts on the Little Red River, researching ancestry, or building a sailboat from scratch. He was a devoted brother in adulthood helping his sister, Barbara, around the house and organizing lunches with Barbara and Jim at Franke's in North Little Rock. John's biggest passion, without a doubt, were his grandchildren. When his first grandchild, Hannah, was born, John drove like a mad man to Texas to be there in person when she arrived. John was determined to be the first grandparent to hold any grandchild born and in later years, went so far as to politely nudge/push his son-in-law's mother out of the way when she wrongly assumed she would get the first "hold." Other grandchildren include Sam Linsky, Henry and Harry Shaw, and Sara Blazer. Hannah officially gave John his grandfather name at the age of two, when she called him her "Pokey Papa." Over time, Pokey turned to Po. A stroke nine years ago stole the best of John but his fiery personality remained whether he was talking endlessly to those who would listen, cussing Gayle King on the CBS news, berating Donald Trump, yelling at the local TV weather girl or trying to convince all that he could still drive despite failing the driver's test, a fight he continued daily until last year. John's passion for all things extended even to his afterlife. He was determined to donate his body to science and provided his daughter with the necessary paperwork 20 years ago. His biggest fear was ending his life in a nursing home. He regularly told his children when the time came, to push him over a cliff or prop him against a cactus in a desert. When that time did come a year ago, his children chickened out and made sure he was comfortable at the North Carolina State Veterans Home. They did fulfill his wish of full body donation. He always said he was no use to anyone in the ground. His family feels confident that he'll be welcomed on the other side because this Catholic-raised boy bragged about having last rites read to him more than once over his 79 years thanks to his aforementioned injuries. John will be celebrated at a private family gathering in the spot he loved most on the Little Red River. He leaves behind his wife, Charleen Linsky; son, Rob Linsky and wife, Heidi (Hannah and Sam); daughter, Katie Linsky Shaw and husband, Brent (Henry and Harry); son, Marc Blazer and his wife, Jessica (Sara); his sister, Barbara Silaski; brother, Jim Linsky and wife, Becky; and five nephews and their families. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that friends simply do one random act of kindness in John's memory. John easily struck up conversations with strangers in line and left those he met with a smile on their face. An act of simple kindness is what he'd want most.