John Berylson obituary

PurleyLion said:
Exceptional obituary 👏

He had a collection of over 100,000 books, very much one of us 😉

League 1 is low but “the depths of English football”, a little bit of poetic licence me thinks!
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If I remember the story correctly, he was at the 2-5 defeat to Leyton orient when he decided to buy the club. I think that night the millwall wit got him. Those days were the depths as far as I can remember. It was so bad I remember us sarcasticly singing we want six and pissing ourselves with laughter when they got close to our goal. I remember reading his notes, “if that’s what they’re like when they’re beaten, they must be even better when they win”.
 
Reading all the tributes to John set me thinking.
What was it about John that enabled him to do so many wonderful things with his life?
Obviously, he was extremely intelligent, highly motivated and with boundless energy.
Many top executives have those qualities, so nothing exceptional there.

Finally, I concluded that the quality that really set him apart from other rich men.
That quality is that he really loved people.
He loved people to the extent that NOBODY was unimportant to him.
Everybody mattered. Everybody had something to contribute. Nobody was too small to deserve his time.
He did not use people. He encouraged them and supported them to be the best they could possibly be.
When we look at prominent people in the public eye today, politicians, captains of industry, they all claim to care. But so often it is just words.

With John, it was not just words. He always backed it up with his actions.
When you look at the testimonials from Matt Smith, Steve Morison, they came from the heart. He did not help them because of how it would benefit him, John Berylson. No, he helped them because he CARED about THEM.

That is why, particularly in the football world, he was so special.
That is why he will be missed by so many people.
That is why he will be missed by everyone who knew him.
 
Peckham Lion said:
Thought this is superb, very informative.


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Brilliant - thanks Peckham and I particularly enjoyed reading the 15 messages of condolence.

I believe JB epitomised this leadership quote in all his dealings:

"Leadership is about the team – the culture they keep and embrace; it’s about empathy for your customers, clients, employees and the communities where you do business; it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect.” —Kat Cole, COO & President of FOCUS Brands
 
There’s the old saying “if it’s too good to be true then it probably is” and in my experience of life that’s been proved time and time again.

In JB’s case, he was too good to be true, and the exception to rule. He was everything we and others could have wanted from a fellow human being and much, much more :bow::bow:
 
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BigPaul said:
Reading all the tributes to John set me thinking.
What was it about John that enabled him to do so many wonderful things with his life?
Obviously, he was extremely intelligent, highly motivated and with boundless energy.
Many top executives have those qualities, so nothing exceptional there.

Finally, I concluded that the quality that really set him apart from other rich men.
That quality is that he really loved people.
He loved people to the extent that NOBODY was unimportant to him.
Everybody mattered. Everybody had something to contribute. Nobody was too small to deserve his time.
He did not use people. He encouraged them and supported them to be the best they could possibly be.
When we look at prominent people in the public eye today, politicians, captains of industry, they all claim to care. But so often it is just words.

With John, it was not just words. He always backed it up with his actions.
When you look at the testimonials from Matt Smith, Steve Morison, they came from the heart. He did not help them because of how it would benefit him, John Berylson. No, he helped them because he CARED about THEM.

That is why, particularly in the football world, he was so special.
That is why he will be missed by so many people.
That is why he will be missed by everyone who knew him.
Click to expand...

Lovely words, Paul.

The tributes by so many people involved at the club, past and present, really opened my eyes to what a person John Berylson was. I already liked him plenty, but the personal testimonies about his kindness, patience and willingness to help others when his life must have been ridiculously busy, is a real mark of the man.
 
BigPaul said:
Reading all the tributes to John set me thinking.
What was it about John that enabled him to do so many wonderful things with his life?
Obviously, he was extremely intelligent, highly motivated and with boundless energy.
Many top executives have those qualities, so nothing exceptional there.

Finally, I concluded that the quality that really set him apart from other rich men.
That quality is that he really loved people.
He loved people to the extent that NOBODY was unimportant to him.
Everybody mattered. Everybody had something to contribute. Nobody was too small to deserve his time.
He did not use people. He encouraged them and supported them to be the best they could possibly be.
When we look at prominent people in the public eye today, politicians, captains of industry, they all claim to care. But so often it is just words.

With John, it was not just words. He always backed it up with his actions.
When you look at the testimonials from Matt Smith, Steve Morison, they came from the heart. He did not help them because of how it would benefit him, John Berylson. No, he helped them because he CARED about THEM.

That is why, particularly in the football world, he was so special.
That is why he will be missed by so many people.
That is why he will be missed by everyone who knew him.
Click to expand...
Great words and couldn’t agree more BP. I can’t help thinking that I have not heard anything negative from anyone connected with Millwall, be it staff, players or supporters. That says it all to me. What a man, a true gent and a wonderful person who will be impossible to replace.
 
BigPaul said:
Reading all the tributes to John set me thinking.
What was it about John that enabled him to do so many wonderful things with his life?
Obviously, he was extremely intelligent, highly motivated and with boundless energy.
Many top executives have those qualities, so nothing exceptional there.

Finally, I concluded that the quality that really set him apart from other rich men.
That quality is that he really loved people.
He loved people to the extent that NOBODY was unimportant to him.
Everybody mattered. Everybody had something to contribute. Nobody was too small to deserve his time.
He did not use people. He encouraged them and supported them to be the best they could possibly be.
When we look at prominent people in the public eye today, politicians, captains of industry, they all claim to care. But so often it is just words.

With John, it was not just words. He always backed it up with his actions.
When you look at the testimonials from Matt Smith, Steve Morison, they came from the heart. He did not help them because of how it would benefit him, John Berylson. No, he helped them because he CARED about THEM.

That is why, particularly in the football world, he was so special.
That is why he will be missed by so many people.
That is why he will be missed by everyone who knew him.
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Top Stuff. BP 👊🦁
 
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