by Gretchen Wing

The man most Lopezians know as “Grampa” actually is one – to 21 grandkids, and 27 great-grandkids.

But John Severa wears other hats: unofficial caretaker of Hummel Lake, loyal fixture at the Take It or Leave It, Halloween “treater” for kids (40 pounds of candy last year).

John’s most important hat, though, is the cap on his head, which states: “Fishing is not a matter of life and death – it’s much more important than that.”

That cap doesn’t lie. John caught his first fish at age nine, in the coastal town of Crocket, Calif.

“Sand shark, six feet long,” he says. “My dad helped me … I’ve been fishing close to every day of my life.”

His dad, a welder, later operated a party boat as a business, and John and his brother lived in a stilt-house on the water. That life left its mark. Today, you can find John out at Hummel Lake any day of the year.

Need a boat and life jacket? John will set you up.

Forgot your fishing gear? John can equip you.

Catch a fish? John will take your picture.

Perhaps your luck was bad or you have no time to fish; you’re welcome to any that John has caught.

“I don’t eat fish,” he laughs.

But he gives away several pounds each week, both to locals and to the Sisters at St. Mary-on-the-Lake in Bellevue, Wash., thanks to the delivery service of Sister Judy Tralnes.

John came to Lopez from Seattle six years ago, to join granddaughter Samantha Taylor and great-grandkids Damien, Dalton, and Patience.

The “Lopez Wave” took him by surprise, but now, “I wave at everybody.”

A familiar figure at Neil’s Mall, “Grampa” is often mistaken by tourists as a manager.

“I’ve had people come up to me, ‘I want this shirt, how much?’” he laughs.

His home is now filled with treasures from the Dump: a dozen fantastic clocks; dancing toy hamsters, and a new collection of talking “Furbies” (after he sold his old collection for $600).

Lopez weather suits John fine, after years in California’s high Sierra.

“Hell, when it snowed there,” he remembers, “I couldn’t even find my car.”

Rainy days don’t bother him a bit. His fishing line in the lake, John watches DVDs in “Ol’ Bessie,” his 1980  Chevy Malibu.

A brief first marriage gave John two kids, but he doesn’t like to talk about that. His real love, Jan, he met in Marysville, Calif., while repossessing her car – supposedly. John made the payment so Jan could keep the car.

“She was gorgeous,” he says with a smile. John babysat Jan’s two daughters while the couple got to know each other, and after a Las Vegas wedding, they became his as well. Later, he and Jan took in the three kids of friends killed in a plane crash. Hence the 21 grandchildren.

John spent years traveling as a maintenance manager for a motel management company, while Jan did the books.

“They would buy a motel, and they would send me in to find out why it wasn’t in A-1 shape,” he explains.

St. Joseph, Missouri; Troy, Kansas; Tampa Bay and Panama City, Florida; Houston; Dallas … wherever he was posted, John found a place to fish, even if only in pay-to-fish ponds. Florida was the best: “There, within a half-hour, you’re on your way home with 20 pounds of fish.”

But he hated the influx of rowdy college kids at Spring Break.

When the children reached school age, John and Jan requested a job near a school. They were sent to Sea-Tac, which worked well.

Both daughters got married early and moved on, but life got tougher due to health problems. John “retired” into full-time care of Jan, whose diabetes was affecting her kidneys. He had to check the motor of her monitoring machine every hour, day and night. After about six months, at age 54, Jan died in her sleep, next to her husband.

“It took me five years to sleep more than five hours,” John says, “’cause I kept waking up every hour.” They had been married 20 years.

Afterwards John carried on, but realistic dreams of Jan affected him so badly, he moved north to start over. Fifteen years later, after living in Everett and Seattle, he came to Lopez.

John’s greatest joy is helping others to fish – locals, tourists, or the middle school class teacher Greg Ewert brought out to the lake a few years ago.

In 2008, the Lopez Lions presented John with their Community Service Award. The award states, “John Severa has shared his angling experience and skills with the island youngsters … John’s service is much appreciated by the whole Lopez community.”

Asked for words of wisdom, John immediately responds, “Teach your kids how to fish. They’ll stay out of trouble.”

Perhaps someday someone will print those words on a cap.