John Fleming was a loving man, true friend, adventurer and
thrill-seeker.
John was the oldest of three brothers and an adopted Apache Indian
sister. John and his brother, Eugene, grew up with poor eyesight. While
studying at Harvard University, Eugene learned that he and John had
retinitis pigmentosa.
John participated in Boy Scouts, where he learned to pack parachutes.
One summer, he and his mom spent weekends at the top of a tower in the
woods notifying flight controllers of airplane approaches. John learned
the craft of ceramic tile setting from his father and worked in the
family business, and then on his own, until deteriorating sight ended
his career. John dreamed of being a pilot; in 1961 he joined the Air
Force. Sadly, deteriorating eyesight ended this chapter of his life.
Years later, after a near mid-air collision with another airplane, John
was forced to give up his dream of flying.
John was always athletic. In high school, he wrestled and played
football. He loved riding tandem bikes with his cousin. In Portland,
Oregon, John joined Blind Ambition, Portland’s first blind dragon boat
team. John has upwards of 1,938 skydives, over 1,200 of which happened
after he lost his sight. John’s buddies urged him to give up skydiving
after he lost significant vision. However, John was adamant that he
could not give up this dream as well. He and his buddies devised a plan
utilizing audible altimeters and two-way radio communication with
friends on the ground who talked him down.
Fearless and tenacious, John used his experiences to encourage and
inspire other people to pursue their dreams despite adversity. In the
late ’90s, John became the president of the Rogue Valley Chapter of the
American Council of the Blind of Oregon. In 2000, as a recipient of a
Durward K. McDaniel First-timer award, John attended the ACB national
convention. He was then elected president of the American Council of the
Blind of Oregon. In 2010, as one of the founders of ACB of Oregon’s
Metro PDX Chapter, John served as its first president. John was active
in ACB national, serving on the constitution and bylaws and credentials
committees. He served as president of ACB’s Visually Impaired Veterans
of America special-interest affiliate. During Mitch Pomerantz’s
presidential terms, John organized two very successful skydiving
fund-raisers, called “Blue Skies for Future Eyes,” earning close to
$10,000 each time for ACB. John also served as president, secretary and
treasurer of the Oregon Regional Group of the Blinded Veterans
Association.
On July 1, 2006, John married Darian Slayton, a fellow member of the ACB
of Oregon. This was an answer to another unspoken dream for John. In his
final years, John’s granddaughters were his greatest joy.
John never stopped living, loving, laughing and giving, that is, until a
second bout of lung cancer took his life on June 5, 2016. His zest for
life lives on through his story and our memories. Blue Skies Forever,
John!
— Darian Slayton Fleming