Last letter from John Hartford to Jason Leigh:
I only found this note yesterday, May 29th, 2005, while digging through an old cigar box. It is now a VERY treasured item from the late, great, John Hartford, who was my friend when I lived in Nashville as a starving artist. He and his wonderful wife, Marie, always treated me with the highest degree of respect. They invited me as their guest to John's concerts, and I even helped Marie with their stand for autographs, which John never charged a fee for, unlike many greats of his time and even unto today. I was often confused as being John's body guard, which John quickly informed people that I was his, "songwriter friend who only looks like a body guard." I recall the first day John called me by telephone saying, "Hi ya. This is John Hartford. I hear you are a songwriter friend of John D. Loudermilk. Any friend of his, is a friend of mine." He spoke in a low, friendly voice, that at first, I thought was somebody playing a trick on me. I could hear him cracking a smile over the wire. When he invited me to his house; my low-profile, humble life, suddenly changed. And thus began a friendship between a famous great songwriter/performer and a leaping unknown. John Hartford passed away on June 4th, 2001, after his subdued cancer returned and took him quickly. His wife, Marie, passed on one year later on January 2, 2002. 'Such a tragic end to a wonderfully blessed couple. John was 63.
"Rest in Peace John. I'll never forget your friendship you offered this 'unknown' in your busy world of 'Knowns' and your words of encouragement you extended and your never ending kindness you always showed towards me."
Jason 'Greywolf' Leigh
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