John Adam Petrowski

Memorial from John's wife, Barbara Koenig:

My dear sweet, gentle and beloved husband John passed into the realms of the spiritual world on Sunday night, April 13, 2025. He exited this realm with a knowing that left everyone who knew him wiser, often seeking more of his knowledge and awareness. John was a profound teacher, spiritual mentor, philosopher, scientist, mathematician and practicing Buddhist. Always helping others, in the end he had to accept help himself, always grateful and thankful for all that was done for him in his last years.

John was born in DeMoines, Iowa, while his parents were en route to San Diego in 1931, during the Great Depression. He grew up on his parents' farm and orchard in La Mesa, along with his brother Mike, until he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War in the early 1950s. He served in the Army Signal Corps. During the war, he spent many nights fixing radios for soldiers out of the back of his van.

After a visit to Japan before coming home, he was introduced to Buddhism, and from that time on, he read voraciously all the teachings, writings and Buddhist texts he could in order to educate himself to help to answer questions about the nature of living a good life with compassion, patience, understanding and wisdom.

He amassed a library of over a thousand volumes on Buddhist teachings from masters who themselves walked the pathway to understanding the nature of reality and Buddhist principles of awakening. Although he longed to, he did not find a permanent physical teacher to learn from, and books became his teachers. He meditated daily all of his adult life, and in the end, his only regret was that he could not find a master from whom to learn more, and with whom to share. Perhaps it was because he himself became a master. As his stepson, Roman, observed, “How could he find a master to learn from if he himself was one?”

His studies led him to an interest in Spiritualism, and in the early 1970s, he helped found and taught at the Chapel of Awareness in Encinitas, California, founded by Rev. Eugene C. Larr, also a practicing Buddhist. In the 1980s, John and I founded Intuitive Arts Fellowship, a metaphysically based spiritual non-profit organization located in the Old Cardiff Church in Cardiff by the Sea. At IAF, John taught and I pastored, holding classes and services for 22 years.

John taught hundreds of students. His own studies centered on the teachings in Tibetan Buddhism, primarily Dzogchen teachings and writings of His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Namkhai Norbu, among others. Unknown to family and friends, John wrote down his observations, thoughts, poetry and insights, and we are slowly gathering those works with the intent to eventually publish them.

John was a brilliant mathematician and worked at SAIC in San Diego as a scientist-engineer in the 1970s and early '80s. His understanding of the physical world led him to interests in physics, astronomy, cosmology and the nature of the physical universe. After graduating in electronics engineering from San Diego State College in the 1960s, he helped develop the first cardiac left ventricular by-pass pump used by Dr. Michael Ellis DeBakey in Houston,Texas, in the 1960s.

John was a “Z” man, and loved his 1972 silver Datsun 240Z car. Always a Ford guy as well, before the Z car he always had Thunderbirds and Mustangs. He and his brother Mike learned about cars growing up in La Mesa by taking apart their dad's Model A Ford and putting it back together, more than once.

John and I married in 1978 when he was 47. He had the patience of a saint at home living over the years with two dogs, two cats, two finches, and a very creative stepson, Roman. John never hurt a fly and tenderly cared for plants, especially his beloved shamrocks in pots. He delighted helping others with their creative pursuits, and helped create props for Roman's films.

John loved working with wood and created beautifully crafted frames and supports upon which to mount my artworks. He loved to do computer programing and was adept at a host of computer languages. Although he was a PC man, he learned to like a Mac laptop given to him by Roman, and although he argued with it, it did take him to sites where he could learn more about Buddhist teachers, and how to deal with his physical ailments.

John endured so much physical pain throughout his life, including spinal fractures during the Korean War that were never treated, service-related hearing loss, an infection that nearly cost him his leg, COPD, and finally in the end CHF and pneumonia. The physical pain he would not abide was having a dental procedure. Although he passed away without teeth, his smile was contagious.

When we met in 1975, John said that he got down on his knees and thanked God, saying, “I have finally found her.” At that same time, I found John when I was feeling so very lost. He is now at my side in a different way, and in my sleep and dreams, we fly together. He left us with these words found the day after he passed:

“When I die I will soar with the angels, and when I die to the angels, what I shall become you cannot imagine.” - Rumi