Holy Spirit Team Remembers Coach & Teacher As ‘JB Strong’

John Bewley, a teacher and assistant football coach at Holy Spirit High School is being remembered fondly by the Spartan family and by folks from his hometown of Brigantine.

Bewley died Monday of cancer.

Popular Holy Spirit Faculty Member Passes Away

Earlier this year, Bewley shared his diagnosis on social media.

Have not on here much, for the last month I've been in UPenn hospital after being diagnosed with leukemia and having 2 blood clots and 2 brain bleeds as a result. I have been going through chemo the last 3 weeks and bone marrow drawn today. Prayers please!"

A post on the Holy Spirit High School Facebook page brought the news on Monday of John's passing.

It brings me great sadness to inform you that Coach Bewley, a 2005 graduate of Holy Spirit, passed away this morning. John was diagnosed with cancer last spring, and has done exactly what you would expect him to do since then, and that's fight. John fought this dreaded disease day in and day out, with nothing but a smile and a positive outlook.

 

Team and Community Came Together In John's Final Days

As sad as the passing of this good man is, there's something that deserves recognition.

That's the way the Holy Spirit Football Team and John's neighbors and friends in Brigantine came together to let him know how much he meant to people.

Holy Spirit says that even in his final days, John made it a priority on Friday to go to the school and wish the players good luck as they boarded the bus for their game at Delsea Regional.

He saw that the players were wearing special patches on their helmets that said "JB Strong" in his honor.

On Sunday, dozens of John's neighbors and friends gathered outside of his Brigantine home to chant his name and to try to pass on positive vibes as John sat on his front porch watching.

The videos of that gathering on the Brigantine Facebook page are as moving as anything I've ever seen on social media.