A tribute from Tony Heher

JP: A Life of Friendship, Curiosity, and Quiet Leadership

Like many others, I first met JP when he invited me to join the Hibernia (Tuesday) group. From there it was a short hop to an invitation to join Probus, and then to his Saturday hiking group.

JP did, however, have a way of extracting his pound of flesh. Within a year of my joining, as he began to slow down, he asked me to take over running both groups. Mindful that these were very big boots to fill, I recruited a group of leaders for each. Both groups can now be found on the Probus WhatsApp Community.

A greater act of “revenge” followed when JP asked me to lead the 2025 Probus Adventure. My request that he act as co-leader while I learnt the ropes was firmly refused. JP was very much a “learn by jumping in the deep end” kind of person. Daunted by the prospect of leading an Adventure on my own, I did recruit a co-leader — my wife, Sally. She proved invaluable, and we had a great deal of fun both during a ten-day reconnaissance trip in February and then again on the ten-day Adventure itself in September. Working as a team showed me just how much JP did on his own. 

There was another, deeper aspect to my relationship and connection with JP, beyond any club activities. We had both lost a child in tragic circumstances not long before we met, and this created a bond that few who have not experienced such loss can comprehend.  I shared with JP a paper I had written on the plight of those living with intellectual disability or mental illness. He offered invaluable help, encouragement, and incisive editing, which substantially improved the paper. He was also there in the audience when I presented it to U3A in June 2025, providing much-needed moral support on what was, for me, an emotional and confronting occasion.

JP continued to take a keen interest in how the ideas in the paper might be more widely shared, and what my next steps should be. He enlisted the help of his son, Jo, who produced an astonishing podcast that transformed what had been a rather dry, academic paper into something deeply moving. The podcast is available here.

JP and I shared conversations across a wide range of topics. In November 2025, he called me out of the blue to arrange to meet for a coffee. At the time, I was struggling with the debilitating effects of a back injury, and JP seemed to intuitively sense that I needed a friend to talk to. That is a rare and remarkable quality. At that meeting, he played a song about his life that Jo had created using AI.  AI does not simply produce results on its own. It requires curiosity, understanding, and thoughtful input. At 89, JP embraced this new technology with enthusiasm and skill — a fitting reflection of a remarkable man who remained open to lifelong learning.

His legacy endures in the lives he touched, the groups he shaped, and the example he set.