For those who knew him well, John McNutt could be your best friend or a giant pain.

And my heart broke on Saturday when I learned that we would never spar again. Not because he pushed me to think more deeply about other people, but because of the level of caring he brought to everything he touched.

Last time we talked, he had slumped into his chair at the Junior Achievement office, exhausted from caring for his wife Sheryl. He hadn’t slept well in weeks and he looked like it.

Yet, he had come into work since it served as a type of therapy for him. A calm in the storm of late-stage dementia that awaited him at home.

He talked about how much a recent documentary about stress on caregivers had inspired him to reach out for help.

And he still found a way to flash his boyish smile at age 76.

Like many people, John found his way into my........

© Peterborough Examiner