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John Goerner lived to help others.

As a husband, a friend, a coach and a student, he strived to uplift everyone he knew. He hoped to one day do the same as a lawyer.

“John was always a giving, helping person,” said Kristin Goerner, John’s wife. “He just knew he wanted to help people.”

Goerner, a student in Syracuse University’s College of Law who was studying remotely from Mohnton, Pennsylvania, died from pancreatic cancer on March 30. He was 41 years old.

The people closest to Goerner knew him as a loving person with seemingly boundless generosity and capacity to help others. It was his drive to better the world around him that pushed him to pursue a career in law, they said.

Larry Miller, a lawyer and close friend of Goerner, said he never turned away people who came to him in need. He would give anything — his money, his time and his advice — to support people who were struggling, whether they were his friends or complete strangers.

“When everyone had a problem, they always went to him,” Miller said. “People leaned on him constantly, and it was just the kind of guy he was.”

Goerner also kept around a pair of “blessing bags” — small kits that came equipped with basic necessities such as food and hygiene supplies — that he gave to people experiencing homelessness or others he came across who were struggling financially. After he gave one away, Miller said, Goerner would quickly replenish his stock.

Those bags were just one example of the compassion that drew Goerner to law.

Goerner’s conviction to help others stood out in his application to SU’s College of Law, said Kathleen O’Connor, associate dean for online education and head of the JDinteractive online law degree program Goerner was a part of.

“Some people come to law school because they want to further their career or do something that way,” O’Connor said. “That wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to serve others and to help others.”

Miller, who is a lawyer, inspired Goerner to pursue a career in law.

Goerner was always working to improve himself — whether it was pursuing another degree or picking up a sport in a matter of days or weeks — but his law aspirations were about something more, Miller said.

“You happen to have a guy here who was salt of the earth and would help anybody,” Miller said. “It was what he was doing already, but he could do it on a bigger scale as a lawyer.”

At one point, Goerner had a full-time job in information technology, spent time with his wife and friends, studied law and played lacrosse, all while dealing with his cancer diagnosis. He would work over 40 hours a week, then return home and study until he had all the necessary material memorized.

The people closest to Goerner knew him as a loving person with seemingly boundless generosity and capacity to help others. Courtesy of Larry Miller

Dan Moses, a second-year law student at SU who was part of Goerner’s study group, said he remained positive through everything.

Moses and the two other students in their study group met Goerner during a residency at SU. The group is now working with the College of Law to plan an in-person memorial for him at their next residency in August, he said.

Students and faculty at SU knew him most for his wit and his humor, O’Connor and Moses said.

“John was a fighter,” O’Connor said. “He was a wonderful example of a wonderful student and an exemplary man.”

The one place Goerner put aside his kindness was the hockey rink, where he was determined to win at any cost, Miller said. Miller first met Goerner and his wife when they filled a vacant spot in a couples hockey league he ran, and the husband-and-wife team soon became nearly undefeated.

In one closely contested three-against-two match, Goerner and Kristin held off Miller, his wife and his son, to win. Miller was devastated after the game — until Goerner walked over, put his arm around him and offered to buy him dinner.

Goerner excelled at hockey both as a player and as a coach. He met his wife, who was a long-time hockey player, through the sport. The game quickly became a key part of their relationship.

“It was wonderful sharing all our experiences with that (game),” Kristin said.

Goerner was always working to improve himself, whether it was picking up a sport or pursuing another degree, friends of his said. Courtesy of Larry Miller

After Goerner’s community became aware of his diagnosis, the kindness he showed the world came back to him.

Friends provided him with support and transportation. The youth lacrosse team he’d helped coach organized a fundraiser for his medical expenses, emblazoning their helmets with his initials. Students at a local high school collected money for his treatments.

When Goerner started a GoFundMe to help pay for a $200,000 cancer treatment his insurance wouldn’t cover, hundreds of people donated whatever they could to support him, Miller said.

“He didn’t think he ever touched so many people’s lives,” Kristin said. “I hope to God he can see it now.”

As he progressed in law school, Goerner had told Miller that he wanted to dedicate his career to advocating for equal rights and equal opportunity. A week before he passed away, Goerner refined his focus, Miller said.

As the pair sat in an Arizona hotel room, passing time between treatments Goerner’s community rallied to help him afford, he told Miller he had a new goal: to make sure everybody, no matter who they were, no matter what barricades insurance companies or the government put in their way, could receive the medical treatments they needed to survive.

He believed it was his purpose.

“His last breaths were talking about trying to get everyone, no matter who they were, equal rights and equal opportunity,” Miller said. “To his dying day, that was what his goal was in life, and that’s what I’ll remember him for.”

Published on April 26, 2021 at 11:34 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu