John Clair Campbell

John Clair Campbell RPH CLU CHFC CFP, Papa John.

John was born to John Graydon Campbell, Jr. and Clara Mae Campbell on April 2, 1953, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. In 1956 they sold the family farm and moved to Massena, NY, where John’s dad worked on Saint Lawrence Seaway. In 1959, they moved, pulling their 8 by 35 mobile home from Massena to Toledo, Ohio. John always said his parents didn’t like him as a child so they moved to Toledo knowing he would spend the rest of his life there.

John found Northwest Ohio to be a good place to work, live, raise a family, and if he hadn’t moved to Toledo, he never would have met Carol. John grew up in Oak Grove Mobile Home Court in West Toledo. He always said it took a whole trailer park to raise a child. John’s work career began with a paper route at the age of 8. John was a proud graduate of the 1970 class of Springfield High School and a 1976 graduate of the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy. Like many of his generation, John worked multiple part time jobs to pay his way through college. For John, that was road construction, bridge construction, operating bulldozers for his father, unloading packages at UPS, working as a stock boy, janitor, painter, and his favorite, driving a Yuke at the stone quarry.

John was proud that, even though he had to work his way through school, his academic excellence was recognized by his induction into the Rho Chi Honorary Society for distinguished pharmacy students in 1976. John began his over 40-year pharmacy career in independent retail chain stores and hospital pharmacies. John stayed active in the pharmacy community by serving on the Board of Toledo Academy of Pharmacy and as a board member and as president of the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy Alumni Association.

John was particularly proud of initiating a financial training course for young pharmacists; Financial Planning for Pharmacy Students continues to be an elective offered in the pharmacy curriculum.

In 1979, while still working full time as a pharmacist, John began his second career in the insurance and financial services industry with Savage and Associates.

John enjoyed both of his chosen professions as they allowed him to do what he always strived to be: a teacher. John truly felt that if he did his job well, he was being a positive influence on his clients’ lives. Whether he was counseling a pharmacy patient or providing advice to a financial client, he always sought to make the information helpful and beneficial. John sincerely believed that no honest effort went unrewarded.

John liked to use stories during his meetings. Some of the stories had definite points, others not so much! He felt that a major difference between a new agent and an experienced agent was the number of stories they could tell. He also said that some of the stories would probably not have been ones that John Savage would have used. John liked to think his client appointments were educational or if not, at least entertaining!

Although John always worked a lot of hours, he continued to make time to be an active part of his children’s lives by attending school and sporting events.

John was a lifetime learner and always looked for the next new experience. While hiking the Grand Canyon’s Angel Bright Trail, John realized he was deathly afraid of heights. John was an avid reader; although he truly enjoyed reading history and historical fiction, he was on alert each November for the next Jack Reacher novel. He was very proud of his vast knowledge of useless trivia, which he said most people now just Google for answers. John was so very personable and could start a conversation with just about anyone, and he often did!

John attended the health club regularly after college. As he got older, John continued to go to the health club, but spent more time riding his bicycle on the Metro Park trails and training for the 75-mile Bike to the Bay to raise money for MS. John completed this ride for many years, with his last being at the age of 67.

John loved to travel and especially looked forward to the company conventions and Million Dollar Round Table (“MDRT”) meetings. These meetings allowed him to visit many of North America’s great cities. In these cities, John was always on the lookout for local breweries to taste their wares and to add to his impressive beer t-shirt collection. He enjoyed the educational and motivational speakers at these meetings, but his greatest joy was spending time with colleagues and friends.

John was also able to visit multiple international locations, many of these due to his connection with The Association of Two Toledos and Toledo Sister Cities International. He also traveled with The Greater Toledo Youth Orchestra as a chaperone. John was blessed to be able to travel with family on most of these trips.

John enjoyed the holidays, especially because Carol always made them special with dinners and a lifetime of traditions. His own holiday tradition of delivering over 50 centerpieces and cookie trays to clients and friends was a very special event for John. The last three days before Christmas usually were spent all over Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan delivering gifts and talking to friends and clients. His daughter Katie, starting at an early age, accompanied him, usually on Christmas Eve. The day began and continued with clients reciprocating the holiday delivery with offerings of Ouzo or brandy with a welcome stop at Michael’s Bar & Grill for a hearty lunch. They ended the day with a traditional final Slivovitz at the last client’s house; Katie maintains she never acquired a taste for Slivovitz!

John’s favorite hobby was gardening. He said he never had a bad day working in his yard. A good day was to sit on the back deck in the evening, watching the birds come to his many feeders while enjoying a glass or three of medicinal red wine. John enjoyed his many friends and was a regular every week with his buddies in the Tuesday Night Boys. He also looked forward to J. Alexander’s Restaurant on Thursdays for happy hour with his Savage friends. We also cannot forget the regular Fridays at Calvino’s with family and friends.

John was preceded in death by his parents, his son, Jason; and nephew, Jeffery. Left to remember his smile, kindness, and unique sense of humor is his wonderful wife, whom he met on a blind date. He always said their happy marriage was based on love, respect, and liking one another…along with the fact that most questions usually were answered by yes, love. Also surviving are his brothers Chuck, (Mary and their son Scott and his wife Krystal and their children Kayla and Khloe), and Ron (Anna and his daughter Maria); Children, Jennifer (Shawn) Calhoun, Catherine (Jacob) Wurzel, and Justin Campbell; and, of course, his very special grandsons, Jonah and Fritzie Joe. John said, “my biggest regret is I won’t be able to watch them grow”. He will also be missed by his best bud, Ziggy. John was known, in the neighborhood, as Ziggy’s Dad, who took him for walks in the morning with coffee and in the evening with a glass of wine. To be clear, John had the coffee and the wine, not Ziggy, but Ziggy benefited from the treats offered by many friends who eagerly anticipated the daily visits.

John was blessed with many friends. He would like to thank them for their thoughts, prayers, and help during his valiant struggle with ALS. Particularly thanks and love to Carol who was with him 24/7 and was an unbelievable caregiver. John always told young people to make sure they pick a spouse wisely. Make sure it is not only someone you love, but, more importantly, someone you like.

Thanks to all the Savage family for the cards, kind words and prayers. There could not have been a better company or a better group of people to work with over the past 40 years. Special thanks to John’s assistant and friend, Shirley. She was always there to help above and beyond; they made a great team for over 20 years. Thank you to Megan for taking excellent ongoing care of all of John’s clients. Thanks to Joel for sending John’s masseuse, Melinda, every week. A special thanks to Bill for his help, his conversation, and his wine drinking assistance. Finally, thanks to Dominque, who was so kind and gentle, and Tasha, the nighttime aide; they were always good at lifting John’s spirits with a laugh and brought a smile to his day.

The list of great friends includes the Tuesday Boys: Don, Mike, Lee, Keith and Gary; our dinners together will be missed. Thanks to our great neighbors for their kind words, prayers, and help. A special thanks to Laura, who came every day to help with the morning routine, her loving support, her help with Ziggy, and especially for always being there for 3 AM emergencies.

Lastly, Barb and Mary, we cannot thank you enough for your help. A final thank you to my children for all of their never-ending support.

In lieu of flowers, please consider setting up a bird feeder or planting a flowering shrub to remind you of John when it blooms in the spring.

Contributions can be made to the John and Carol Campbell Mercy College AASN Program Scholarship fund.

Family and friends are invited to visit from 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 27, 2023, in the Walker Funeral Home, 5155 Sylvania Ave. (west of Corey Rd.) where a scripture service and sharing of memories will take place at 7:00 p.m. John’s funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m., Friday, April 28, 2023, at Christ the King Catholic Church, 4100 Harvest Lane, Toledo. Interment will follow at Wolfinger Cemetery, Richfield Township.