MARK SHEARER CAR GUY’S GARAGE

“JP WAS more of a mentor to me than anything else. I’m the same age as his son and when I first met him I didn’t know who he was. I was looking for an answer to some question, and I got sent to Fat Jack’s wreckers and I walk in and there’s this gruff-looking dude that looked like Elmer Fudd if he was a bare-knuckle fighter. There were early Falcons everywhere and I was an early Holden guy; I don’t remember what I asked but he gave me this short answer. I was in my early 20s and a bit full of myself, and I walked off and said something derogatory. John turned around and with a low growl said: ‘What’d you say?’ I thought, well, I’m getting punched in the head anyway, so I may as well repeat it. He just burst out laughing and said: ‘What was it you wanted to know again, kid?’

“From then on I would see him around a fair bit; then I discovered he was the burnout dude, the guy with the Zephyrs and all that sort of stuff. So, it was quite a different relationship.

“I was always struck by how neat and tidy John’s garden and house were, compared to his wrecking yard. But of course, that was Margaret’s doing – John had greasy fingers, not green fingers!

“The big thing about John was he was loyal. If you were his mate, you were his mate and he would do anything for you. I’ve got a three-year-old grandson, and he has this look on his face and a sparkle in his eye that looks like: I’ve either just done something wrong or I’m about to go do something wrong. And do you know, John had that same look and bright sparkle in his eyes when I met him, and he still had it, right to the end.”