Surrounded by loved ones, John von Mehren died peacefully at his home in West Tisbury early August 3, ending a two-year battle with lung cancer. He was 49 years old.

Born Sept. 15, 1955, in New York city, Martha's Vineyard was the place he loved above all others, where he felt most at home. John first came to the Island with his parents, Robert and Mary Kay, and his brother, Carl, when he was only a year old. The following year his sister, Katy, was born, and his parents purchased their home on North Road in Chilmark where the family spent summers and numerous holidays. From a very early age, John loved to sail; he learned to skipper a Sail Fish and then the family's 19-foot sloop, the Phalarope. He competed in the Menemsha Railton for decades, taking home the victor's cup on numerous occasions.

In 1966 the family, which now included twins, Jane and Meg, moved to Paris, France, where they lived for four years. It was a heady time for a teenager to be in Europe - the British rock scene was exploding and the youth movement was in high gear with student protests closing down the Lycees, including the one John attended, for a number of days.

Back in New York, John, with his long hair and lean soccer player's build, was a dashing young man about town. He made quite an impression the evening that he escorted his high school girlfriend to her debutante ball in top-hat, tails and hair hanging halfway down his back.

After earning his degree in education at Boston University, John returned to the Vineyard where he spent the next few years teaching at the Edgartown Montessori School and working as a carpenter. It was through one of his students, three-year-old Jessica, that he met the love of his life, Sharon Jean Zankel. From that point on Sharon and Jessica were the center of his life.

John followed the family tradition and entered law school in 1984. He was graduated from Western New England School of Law and worked for a time in the Springfield area. Never able to stay away from the Vineyard for any length of time, John returned to the Island for good in 1988. He established his own law practice in Vineyard Haven, where he and Sharon also bought a home. Permanently settled on the Island, he began serving as a referee at soccer games, became a member of the board of the Vineyard Playhouse, resumed competing in the Menemsha Pond sailboat races and became an avid fisherman. After Sharon's diagnosis with breast cancer in 1996, John joined the board of the Vineyard Nursing Association, founding its annual clam bake fundraiser and helping to lead the organization until his own health prevented him from doing so.

In a cruel twist of fate, John's cancer was diagnosed only eight months after the disease took Sharon from him. Determined to relish every moment, he fulfilled numerous dreams during his final two years of life. He returned to Paris and traveled in France and Italy, chartered a 43-foot sailboat and sailed the New England coastline, and spent time with his beloved nieces and nephews - Nicole, Robert, Danielle, Christina, Jake and Lucas. He walked Jessica down the aisle and joyfully watched as she and Brian W. Abbott Jr. were married. In the final months of his life, John planned for the arrival of his dream boat, a 47-foot Beneteau sloop named the Jessica Leigh; she arrived in mid-June and he spent time on the boat up until his final week of life as friends and family joined him aboard to share his dream.

A private family service along with a public celebration of his life will take place at a later date to be announced shortly. In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome contributions in John's memory to the Pain Management and Palliative Care Program of the Vineyard Nursing Association, P.O. Box 2568, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs.