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John Colloton"Johnny Colloton walked these pathways and always made us smile," reads the special plaque that hangs on a giant oak tree next to John Colloton's former dormitory on the campus of the Riverview School, in Cape Cod, Mass. honoring his legacy.
One summer day in 1995, within a few short minutes, the smiles of family members and friends turned to tears. Their lives were changed forever.
John was learning disabled and had attended special education classes most of his life. A graduate of the Riverview School, he had gone on to complete courses and become certified in office skills from Cape Cod Community College. Upon graduation and his move to his family's home in Leawood, Kan., John got a job as a file clerk for a pediatric group.
"We had Johnny all set," said his mother Patty Colloton. "We were so proud of him for who he was and what he had accomplished."
And then tragedy struck in a most ironic place - a family friend's backyard pool.
John was born with some fine and gross motor skill disabilities, which prevented him from excelling at a lot of physical activities, with the exception of swimming.
"He loved to swim," said Pat Colloton, John's father. "It was absolutely his favorite thing to do."
On July 20, 1995, John died doing his favorite thing. He had been swimming with two friends, both boys were mildly learning disabled. Pat and Patty had dropped him off at the friend's home assuming there would be adequate supervision.
Soon the boys became engaged in an unsupervised dunking game. And the next thing the boys knew was that John was floating in the water. The father of the boy who owned the pool called 911 and attempted resuscitation, but when paramedics arrived, John was already dead.
The Colloton's filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The lawsuit was settled, and the family is using part of the proceeds from the lawsuit to bring John's story to light and to educate others in backyard pool safety and CPR training through a designated financial gift to the American Red Cross.
"We have two messages - if you have a residential pool, you have the responsibility to provide supervision and to have adequate CPR training; and if you are a parent, never assume there will be supervision," said Pat. "John died in only three feet of water. Residential pools are very dangerous, and we hope by bringing his story forward it will help save other lives."
The Red Cross has been a leader in water safety education since 1914, and its complete line of aquatics programs were founded on one basic principle; to prevent drowning in America.
"The American Red Cross is the pre-eminent instructor in water safety, and John had taken Red Cross swim lessons as a young child," said Patty. "When it came to making a decision as to where to direct John's money, there was no question that it would be to the Red Cross. We want to reach people, prevent this type of tragic death and hopefully save a life. John would have wanted it this way."
These pages are dedicated to the memory of John Colloton.
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American Red Cross
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211 W. Armour Blvd.
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Phone 816-931-8400
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