For 77 years, John Wing Platt spent his life quietly doing what was needed. John was a man who kept his own counsel, but he was always available to counsel others. A pharmacist by training, he was a trusted advisor to family, friends, customers, and customers who became friends. Known as Wing to those closest to him, he was the owner of The Medicine Shoppe in Auburn, NY, for over 25 years, and most recently The Wellness Pharmacy in Winchester, VA for more than 10 years.
Wing will be deeply missed by an entire community, including his wife Meta, sons Rich (Davina) and Stephen (Amy), and grandchildren Kerry, Sierra, Chase, and Logan. His absence will also be felt by the many people and pets he cared for over the years, including his own dog, Brenner. The oldest in a family of eight children, Wing grew up in Elbridge, NY, and is fondly remembered by many of his childhood friends. Predeceased by three brothers; Brian (Sharon Demassi Welch), Michael (Virginia Peo Olson), and Greg (Pamela Conte). Wing is survived by his brother Geoff (Nancy Amore) and his sisters Peg (Patrick Trivison), Mary Beth (Carl Withey), and Nona (Daniel Gormley). Through his broad interests in everything from family history to progressive politics, Wing created and sustained genuine connections throughout his life with nieces, nephews, cousins, and many others he crossed paths with.
With a heart as big as his dreams, Wing was a thinker and a tinkerer who always had a project (or three) going in his spare time, like butterflies, giant bubbles, or wooden boats and he was just as interested in what others were doing, thinking, and working towards. Whether he was compounding a prescription for a cat or digging a pond near the home he built with his brothers, Wing was fully present, engaged, and purposeful.
Thorough in his work and intentional in his pursuits, Wing was the “house mouse” of his platoon at Parris Island, where he completed basic training in 1966. After graduating from Howard University School of Pharmacy in 1980. Wing continued his education for 35 years after that, through both formal training programs and innovations in the pharmacy he owned. Wing was a lifelong learner, a forward thinker, and a creative problem solver who never settled for off-the-shelf solutions in his personal or professional life; he was both a steady presence and a self-driven seeker who was respected by customers, peers, family, and friends.
A caregiver to thousands over the course of his life, Wing received outstanding end-of-life care at Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, VA, where he died peacefully on July 23 from complications of prostate cancer. Although Wing was known by all for his generosity, there was one thing he wouldn’t share; he took his secret formula for giant bubbles with him to the grave.
In lieu of flowers or donations, he would be honored to have friends and family perform a random act of kindness in his memory.