Friends and family are saddened by the passing of Gerald Johns, 57, and, quite honestly, a little blown away by the irony of his passing.
For decades, Gerald's loving wife, Ingrid, begged him to give up smoking. She incessantly chided him about the health problems he was sure to face in his old age after having smoked a pack of cigarettes per day since about age 16. Finally, on Friday morning of this week, Gerald vowed for the first time to give them up, cold turkey.
But in this case, it seems that his fate was sealed, as later that afternoon, while working to replace the pipes in an old building, he died of what appears to be carbon monoxide intake from the building's faulty furnace.
While it is ironic that he died almost immediately after committing to live healthier, what's even more surprising to Gerald's wife and friends is that they all used to badger him repeatedly about not breathing in carbon monoxide. "Gerald," they would say of the odorless gas, "remember, that stuff is no good."
Now he knows.
The service will be held at St. Paul's chapel at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday.