A Brief Biography
John Beresford (1965 - 2005)
John Beresford was an entertainer, a healer, and an activist. His courage, influence and personal touch in the communities he moved within made him a giant to many and a quiet friend to others.
Born in Springfield, Virginia, John studied opera at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia before moving Washington, DC where he sang and acted on many stages. In the late 1980s, he became active in the AIDS community and ran a shelter for men dying of the disease. He made it possible for 13 men to die with dignity and in 1987 he became one of the organizers of the unveiling of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on the National Mall.
In the early 1990s John moved to Boston, Massachusetts where he got his license in massage therapy from the Massage Therapy Institute and opened his own practice. He continued his work for the HIV/AIDS community by producing events that raised funds for outreach organizations.
John continued the cabaret style of performing that he'd gravitated toward over the years, and he became a regular actor with several Boston city theatres including the Publick Theatre and at the Museum of Science where he enjoyed sharing the magic and wonder of science with children.
In winters, John was fond of entertaining children in the role of Kris Kringle, adding a particular enchantment to the experience for deaf children because Santa John was fluent in American Sign Language.
Amongst the numerous causes for which he championed was one that existed in his home community of Dorchester, a neighborhood of Boston. His house overlooked Ronan Park, an original Frederick Law Olmsted creation, but the park had long been neglected and claimed by thugs and drug dealers. With neighbors, he formed the Friends of Ronan Park, and together they rescued the 11-acre space. Always ready to disarm wary neighbors with his sense of humor, he brought neighbors out and back together by producing festivals, theatrical shows, and monthly clean-ups in the park.
In perhaps the most tragic turn of events, one day before he was to give the mayor of Boston a tour of the park to show him the progress the neighbors had made, John was slain at the entrance to the park while intervening in a mugging.
Those who had the honor of meeting him knew that when you were with John - the entertainer, the healer, or the activist, you laughed more and the impossible seemed possible. This, perhaps, was his greatest achievement.
