John Thomas Silveira was received into God's loving arms, Sunday July 21, 2013, at his home surrounded in love by his family and his "fuzzy angels" Sally and Patty.

SERVICE INFORMATION:

A Catholic funeral mass will be held Friday, August 2, 2013 at 10 am at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Salinas. The place and time for John's celebration of life will be announced at a later date.

John was born February 17, 1959 in East Oakland Hospital in Oakland, California to his loving parents John and Arlene Silveira and joining older brothers Michael Wayne Silveira and David Anthony Silveira. John's family moved from Fremont, California to Greenfield in 1965 when he was 6 years old. John grew up in Greenfield and during the summers he enjoyed riding motor cycles. John was also proud to say that he worked in the vineyards, planting the first rows of grapes for a new vintner named Jerry Lohr. John attended Greenfield Elementary and graduated in 1977 from King City High School. While attending high school, John's guidance counselor, Mrs. Leon Olson, noticed John's remarkable compassion for others. She suggested he enroll in the Certified Nurse's Aide Program, one of the first boys to do so. John started his health care career his first day out of high school as an aide at Mee Memorial Hospital in King City, California.

In 1979 John applied for an orderly position at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, was hired during his interview and began his 34 year career there. In 1980 John married the love of his life, Julie, and together they made Salinas their home. John later graduated from the Licensed Vocational Nursing program at Hartnell College in 1984, one of only 2 men in that graduating class.

John had a true passion for living life to its fullest and pursued his many varied interests with the same enthusiasm. In 1986, with boundless energy, John started his own part-time businesses from 2 hobbies, auto detailing and photography. John completed the New York Institute of Photography and ventured briefly into wedding photography. His hobbies never distracted him from his passion of nursing. While working as an LVN, because of his caring and compassionate nature, many co-workers encouraged him to further his nursing career and become a Registered Nurse. One person in particular, Mrs. Pat Garlinger, never relented, always gently reminding John he could do even more for his patients by becoming an RN. John listened, and while continuing to work full time, enrolled in the University of New York's registered nursing program, graduating in 1998. Later John enrolled in the massage practitioner program at Monterey Peninsula College and graduated in 2000.

In 2006 John was asked if he would be interested in becoming a Clinical Instructor for the Hartnell Nursing Program. From 2006 to 2012 John worked with his fellow instructors to pass along their experience and training to student nurses. This turned out to be the greatest experience in John's lengthy nursing career. It was a huge source of pride to him to have his legacy carried on through the students whose lives he touched, several of whom cared for him in the end. John's 34 years at SVMH were spent working in the ICU, Emergency Room, Heart Center, 5th Tower, and Ortho Neuro Spine care areas. John received multiple commendations and awards, his last being the 2013 Nurse of the Year.



John devoted a large portion of his life to his favorite sport, cycling. He enjoyed both riding on the road and mountain biking. John completed numerous "Centuries" or 100 mile, 1 day, bike rides. John even completed the Davis Double, a 200 Mile, 1 day ride, and was in the saddle for 14 hours. John was a past president of MoMBA, Monterey Mountain Biking Association, and was most known by his fellow cyclists for the phrase "Follow Me". John loved the trails in what he called his back yard, Fort ord. He even named some of the trails we now see on local maps, such as "The Goat Trail".

Another of John's passions was travel. In the early years of their marriage, John and Julie enjoyed tent camping and eventually purchased a motor home and co-founded the RV travel club "The Prairie Dogs". They loved Big Sur and the Santa Cruz Mountains yet embarked on larger adventures such as Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore. John's love of travel was not limited to camping. In 1977, John took his first trip to Hawaii. He was filled with the Aloha spirit, and later took Julie there for their honeymoon. Although they went to several of the islands, Maui was their favorite, and they returned there many times, most recently in 2010, always returning basking in the glow of the Aloha spirit. In 2005, for their 25th anniversary, John and Julie flew to Tahiti, to the islands of Moorea and Bora Bora.

John always believed in living each day as if it may be your last. John enjoyed zip lining, parasailing, hang gliding, and climbing Half Dome. For his 40th birthday he trained for and completed the Big Sur Marathon, running with his close friend Paulalan Genstler, who was also celebrating a milestone birthday. For his 50th birthday he jumped out of a perfectly good airplane at 18,000 feet. After each adventure, John felt he could scratch another item off of his "bucket list".

John was preceded in death by his grandparent's Manuel and Georgina Silveira; Uncle Tony Silveira; Aunt Stevie Silveira; Aunt Irma Baine; Uncle Bud (Frieda) Palmer; Aunt Helen Burke.

John is survived by his devoted wife of 33 years, Julie; Parents, John and Arlene Silveira; Brothers, Michael and David Silveira; Nephews, Abijah and Asa; Mother-in-law, Betty Culver; and many loving cousins.

John's beautiful smile, gentle soul, sense of humor and the sound of his laughter will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Many thanks to those who cared for John during his illness, Dr. Laura Stampleman and staff; Home Health Care, palliative care nurses Penny and Mary; Dr. Matt Katics; Dr. Steven Johnson; the SVMH Staff of the 5th floor; the SVMH Endoscopy Staff, the SVMH Radiology staff and Salinas Valley Radiologist Medical staff. Many thanks to Libby Brice for her unwavering selflessness in providing support. And many, many thanks to Greg and Laura DeMars, Cyndee Rodriguez, Maryellen Goyette, Karen Tenny, Todd Rippley, Tom and Carin Piini, Kim and Allison Benoit, & George and Margot Klepar for their love and support.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The John Silveira "Health and Peace" Nursing Scholarship, through the Hartnell College Foundation; Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare Foundation, or the American Cancer Foundation.

Health and Peace, Mahalo