During my years researching San Bernardino County’s past, I’ve met some very interesting people. One of the most unique was John Howard Weeks.
Articulate, funny and creative, John had a huge role with The Sun newspaper staff for 45 years as a news reporter, news editor, features editor, and columnist. The self-proclaimed “Emperor of the Inland Empire,” who made a wonderfully light-hearted lasting impression for his devoted readers, died July 8 at age 75.
RELATED: John Weeks, author and longtime writer at The Sun, dies at 75
The eldest of four children born to Howard Benjamin and Dorothy Mae White Weeks, John was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma on May 30, 1949. As a child, his family moved to Loma Linda, where John’s great-grandmother Ellen G. White, a founder and prophet of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, inspired the creation of this Inland Empire city.
John Weeks in 2024. (Photo courtesy of Lyn Killian)
John grew up Seventh-day Adventist and wasn’t introduced to what some members of his church would consider a “non-healthy diet.” That is until his family moved to Southern California in the early ’60s.
Longtime friend Lyn Killian recalled the first time he tasted a burrito from Baker’s. He saw they had bean and cheese burritos. He said when he bit into that burrito, he thought he was in heaven.
In his book, “The Healthiest People on Earth,” which touted Loma Linda as the only “Blue Zone” city in the United States, John humorously raved that San Bernardino, where the McDonald brothers and the fast food industry took off, was right “next door.”
My family started receiving the San Bernardino Sun-Telegram (as the newspaper was called back then) after moving from New Jersey to San Bernardino in 1966 and over the years, John Weeks became my favorite columnist. He impressed me with his passion for the San Bernardino area and it was clear he absolutely loved what he did.
John first joined the Sun in 1968 as a 19-year-old covering obituaries and the weather report. Before long he was working as a full-time news reporter.
Julie Farren, who started working for the Sun in 1984, shared memories of John as a co-worker and editor in the newspaper’s Living section. Julie was working as a news assistant in “Features” that year on a part-time basis and did not have a permanent desk. So she would sit at reporter Dennis Kelly’s computer to compile the massive calendar section that came out Fridays.
Steve Cooper was a reporter and religion reporter, Tom Jacobs was the entertainment editor and John was assistant features editor and columnist. Their schedules varied so it was rare that all four were in the section at the same time, Julie recalled.
“I can count on one hand the number of times they were together. But when the four of them were together, it was so much fun,” Julie said. “They laughed and joked with each other, told bad jokes and puns, and you could tell how much they cared about each other. I had only been working there a short time and those few days in five years was the best time of my 40-year career. I was just in heaven watching them amuse each other.”
Jan Sears, who worked as a reporter for the Sun from 1967 until 1999 admired the popular newsman’s kindness, jovial demeanor and his creativity.
Jan Sears and John Weeks (Photo courtesy of Jan Sears)
Jan, who was married to John from 1984 until 2004, told me about his love for drawing cartoons that often complimented fellow columnists work. He also designed his own personal greeting cards decorated with “cute” vegetables.
His creative skills combined with a quirky sense of humor extended beyond the newsroom.
While becoming avid fans of the early 1990s T.V. crime drama, “Twin Peaks,” which focused on solving the murder of seemingly innocent high school student Laura Palmer, John came up with an idea. He convinced Jan that he could design T-shirts with “I murdered Laura Palmer” written on the front side and sell them across the country. And he did.
After several hundreds of them sold at $20 each, David Lynch, the producer of “Twin Peaks,” demanded a cease and desist order letter be sent to our local “Emperor.”
A great storyteller, John’s education in English literature from UC Riverside and at Birmingham University in England were put to good use with his play on words. John’s range of stories included writing about local history, special events and happenings in the Inland Empire, along with nostalgic stories. He also interviewed celebrities, such as two-time Academy Award winner and San Bernardino native Gene Hackman.
The myriad of interests highlighted in John’s columns was also quite evident away from the newsroom.
Another longtime friend, Steve Portias recalled recently how John was a blast to hang out with.
“We were always laughing and having fun,” Portias said, referencing when the three of us — John, Steve and myself — would get together. “John loved rock music and we talked a lot about all the old bands, music, and the Swing Auditorium. John and I cruised E Street in my custom van and we stopped about every block talking about what was there and what we did there.”
Besides his long career as a journalist at The Sun (eventually becoming part of the Southern California News Group), John was author, co-author or editor of seven books — “San Bernardino Bicentennial 1810-2010,” “Inland Empire” and “Mojave Desert,” both of which are part of the Post Card Series published by Arcadia, a novel called “Window Beyond the World,” “Choice Words,” a book of essays on the art of writing, “Dream Weavers” and “The Healthiest People on Earth.”
John Weeks had a wonderful impact on many people’s lives. With his final column appearing in December 2013, an era seemingly ended for his legions of fans.
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John Weeks absolutely loved the San Bernardino area and there will never be anyone quite like him. Although he’s no longer physically here, I can still hear his unique laugh and funny, quirky sense of humor.
The San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society will host a memorial gathering honoring our good friend from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17. It will be held inside the meeting hall at the Historical Society headquarters at 796 North D St. in San Bernardino.
Contact Nick Cataldo at Yankeenut15@gmail.com and read more of his local history articles at Facebook.com/BackRoadsPress.
