March 9, 1944 – January 23, 2023
John Flaherty Breckenridge, 78, passed away peacefully on Jan. 23, 2023, in Medford, Oregon.
He was born in Millburn, New Jersey. By age 4, the Portland, Oregon area was his base. He graduated from Lewis and Clark College and received a master’s degree from (then) Southern Oregon College.
For the last 45 years he made Ashland his home — or should it be said, “his apartment?” He lived in the same unit — 103 — for the previous 40 years. He was a lifetime bachelor.
Soon after schooling, he started work for the State of Oregon in their social welfare division. He retired 10 years ago as a case manager. All the while, his first concern was, “How can I help you?”
His interests included reading; book collecting; smaller music presentations (think The Wild Goose); skiing; Southern Oregon University sporting events; book collecting; gathering with friends to chat about books and their messages (and just about anything); deep academic pursuits of philosophies and spiritualities; book collecting; and nature.
Was book collecting mentioned? Half of the volume of the aforementioned unit 103 was his prized books. He claims to have “categorized” them, but the list remains elusive. And John’s treasured “The Red Book,” by C. G. Jung, is going to the Saint Gregory Palamas Monastery in Etna, California, a dependency of the Holy Monastery of Saints Cyprian and Justina, in Phyle (Athens), Greece. Why? You need to have known John.
John is survived by his brother Richard and his family of Seattle, and many dear friends. A private service will be held. Remembrances can be sent to The Friends of Ashland Library (friendsofashlandlibrary.org/join-donate/).
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