John C. Gaskins, 1950-2011
On Thursday, September 29, 2011, Johnny went home to be with his Lord and Savior. After a long battle with ALS, his body finally lost the fight peacefully in his chair at home. He was an icon in the surveying industry, well respected for his work and his leadership in promoting surveying. Whether you worked for him for 35 years or 6 months, he knew you and prayed for you almost every day. To those of you who worked with and for him for a long time, you know the kind of man he was, but for those who didn’t let me share a few things about our beloved founder:
Johnny was a simple man, who had a strong faith and loved his family, friends, and company. He spent many years working early mornings and late nights, sometimes while not even taking a paycheck, to provide for his family and the greater Gaskins family. He was a fun guy, a guy’s guy, who loved to hunt, be outside, work in the yard, and play golf. He loved hunting trips to Lagrange, Argentina, and Montana and he loved spending those times with the few of you who got to go.
He was a surveyor above a business man…and liked it that way. His style was very entrepreneurial and shot from the hip with decisions. He had good intuition about people and a great sense about what to do and how to do things. He valued work ethic and relationships, with an aim to be friends with his clients. Many of you remember the quote he frequently referred to, “it’s hard to fire a friend.†Johnny had a unique ability to connect with people of all kinds; whether it was with the contractors in the field or investors paying the bills, he seemed to quickly gain their trust and confidence.
We will miss him dearly; I will miss him dearly for sure. Even though he hadn’t been to the office in years, he still leaves a void. I want you to know how proud he was of all of you and the way we have navigated the last few years through these tough economic times. I will never forget as he handed me that “hammer†in March of 2006, he said “take care of my name, it’s the most important thing that I can pass on to you.†I know he would want all of you to have the same hope he held on to while fighting and enduring his ALS. The reason everyone left with a joyful heart after visiting with him can only be attributed to the hope he had in his salvation, his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are saddened because we don’t have him to advise, encourage, and strengthen us, but we rejoice that he has been fully restored.
To all of our friends and extended Gaskins family who have extended your love and sympathy through this difficult time…thank you. I understand that that while it is a great loss to me personally, our profession has lost a great surveyor and business man in Johnny. As our leader I will do everything I can to take care of the name Gaskins and build on the strong foundation Johnny built for us. Thank you again for your love and support; we are his legacy and I am proud of how we will carry it forward.
