John Andrew Gaines
John was born February 25, 1960 to Toshika (Morikawa) and Bernard Gaines, in Shirley, Massachusetts at the US Naval Hospital. John and his siblings Deborah, James, and Joseph Gaines, spent early childhood years in France before their father retired from the US Air Force and settled the family in Ventura County, California. In 1977, John graduated high school in Newbury Park, California, along with another notable graduate, Heather Locklear.
In 1979, John joined the United States Army and was assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion, of the 75th Ranger Regiment. As a young soldier, he quickly embodied the Ranger Creed to never leave a fallen comrade behind, which was evident by way John lived to serve others. John had a gift for mentoring and teaching. Many of his military assignments gave him the opportunity to share his gift. He served as an instructor at the Huckleberry Creek Mountain Training Camp, Camp Darby, and as ROTC instructor at University of Portland, Oregon. John also served in 3/75 at Fort Benning, and other duty stations to include Ft. Richardson, Alaska and Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. At Ft. Campbell, he served as 1SG and worked in the Long Range Surveillance Detachment. He retired from the Army in July of 2000. Following retirement, John continued serving others by volunteering with the Spout Springs Fire Department. He was hired him full-time in July of 2009, quickly promoting to lieutenant a year later. During his time at Spout Springs, he responded to thousands of calls and received numerous letters of commendation. He voluntarily took on the tedious and arduous task of pre-incident surveys, of which his work set standards that are followed to this day. In 2015, he joined the Whispering Pines Fire Rescue Department, and was named Lieutenant, serving from 2018-2020. He received 2 awards for CPR saves, was named Firefighter of the Year in 2017, and Officer of the Year in 2018.
Although John’s humble service to his community and country was a large part of who he was, his dedication intensified and exemplified his true heart in his role as a husband, father, and grandfather. His oldest children, Andrew Gaines (wife Jen) and Danielle Bryant (husband Taylor) blessed him with grandchildren Elias Bryant (age 6), Corbin Bryant (age 4) and Zoë Gaines (age 2). On May 25, 2002, he married Carla Kiernan in Somers, New York, and together they’ve built a beautiful life with their three sons: Kyle (age 15), Jackson (age 13) and Cole (age 10). John and Carla have lived numerous places, but have found home for the longest stretch of time to be near Fort Bragg, North Carolina where the boys’ childhoods have been most strongly supported in John’s full-time dad duties at home. John shined running the Gaines-Kiernan home as only a truly professional NCO could. He was unwavering in his love, care, and dedication to his family. They were the source of his greatest joys, proudest moments, and happiest memories. He was consistently available to his family and community, always giving of his time and energy in a quiet, patient, steady manner.
John’s legacy is a patchwork of stories of his genuine love, reliability and trustworthy nature. The memories that will be carried forward are woven together with threads of his humility, selflessness, and ability to make everyone smile. He never skipped an opportunity to celebrate by gathering friends and family. He prioritized camping with his family (in the woods or in his driveway). He loved to have fun and dress up in funny costumes (especially if he could be in theme with Carla). He was a committed Raiders fan (regardless of their record) and jumped into adventure, celebrations, traveling, and living life to the fullest. His priorities were easy to identify because he lived them daily. John taught all of us how to live life and every person he encountered is a better person for having known him.
John passed away March 3, 2022 at age 62, in Pinehurst, North Carolina, surrounded by his family. John leaves a huge void for his family, friends, and community. A memorial service to celebrate John’s life will be held at Grace Church (1519 Luther Way, Southern Pines) on Monday March 7th, 2022 at 11 AM EST. A live stream of the service will be available via https://gracechurchsop.online.church
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to
The Autisum Society of North Carolina: https://www.autismsociety-nc.org
or Operation Underground Railroad https://ourrescue.org
Family and Friends are invited to share their favorite memories of John, by emailing: [email protected]
Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com.
Services have been entrusted to Boles Funeral Home.
