Jon Louis Gullette
1998-2018
💚

Jon L. Gullette is my little brother, and my best friend. Though he didn’t get the chance to meet my son, we named him after his uncle who we know loved him and would have been the best uncle a kid could ever have.

I had the absolute privilege of spending 19 years with him, and have countless amazing memories. A huge portion of those memories are of him in the garage, working on his car. From the day he was old enough to start driving that was what he loved to do, and even before that he would always drive our parents’ boat when we were out on the lake. Our dad remembers teaching him how to drive the boat around the age of 10. He would sit on our dads lap, turn the wheel and mess with the throttle, always wanting to go faster. Once he did get his license, the first thing he wanted to do was learn to back the boat down the ramp into the lake. He mastered that and quickly took the job over, but I don't think my dad minded. 

Jon also loved drag racing. He got into it when he got his Mustang and would spend days, even weeks before a race getting his car just right. The day before he would clean his car so perfectly and would make sure it was in the garage the whole day so no dust or dirt would mess up his hard work. His car was not always the fastest, but he loved just being on the track with all the other cars, it was like his second home. We only had the privilege of seeing him race one time, but watching him that day we could tell it was his passion. It is where he wanted to be. He would spend hours telling different stories and talking about all the different cars and making us guess what make and model the cars were, just so he could correct us when we guessed wrong. 

His first, and only, job was at America’s Tire. He would go from working on our cars at home to an 8 hour shift working on customers’ cars and come home covered in grease, but always with his contagious smile on his face. He was also attending Las Positas College and was enrolled in their auto shop class. He really loved going to that class and always talked about it and how cool the teacher was, which is saying a lot because school was never something he was ever overly enthusiastic about. 

While Jon absolutely loved cars, he had other interests as well. Spending a day, or week, out on the lake was one of his favorite things to do. He always wanted to try new hikes and find new cool places to explore. He never showed any fear and would always want to climb the biggest rock or jump off something that looked crazy to the rest of us. He was always so brave and would make the rest of us brave too, he made the scariest of things seem fun. His dog, Sara, was always by his side and he took her with him anywhere he could. 

He loved to play video games, hang out with his friends, and he loved spending time with family. He was very close with his cousins. Cousin is not a strong enough word to describe his relationship and what he meant to each one of us. He was everyone’s brother, best friend, and THE favorite. He brought life to the group, always leading the way, on a hike or game or anything we did together. He was always there for everyone, the big moments like graduations, weddings, or when one of us moved into a new place, and even for the smallest moments, like helping us with our cars, or building a turtle cage. He was always someone you could count on to show up for anything, big or small, without question. 

He had the biggest heart, and was always the first to jump in to help anyone and everyone. He brought family and friends together effortlessly. He had a contagious smile and energy about him, everything was instantly more fun, brighter, and exciting when he was around. To know him was to love him, he made it easy to love him. We never thought we would be experiencing life without him, and feel his absence every single day. 

We miss you, our favorite, more than we ever knew was possible, and we love you endlessly. Until we see you again buddy.