Ok so I had a chance to do a little more research today. All made possible I believe because I bought the bulbs I wanted to plant across the street. I haven't been able to find much until today, suddenly all kinds of information came up.
Amoonwolf and I both came up with the name John. His name is actually Jon Hanshus. He died in 1989. Based on some of the information I found on the property and his parents I believe he was a teenager when he died. His parents are about 64/65 years old. I haven't been able to locate an obituary for him yet. Maybe he will let me find one eventually.
He prompted me today to draw a picture for him. He tells me his parents have a picture of him like it, of him in his basketball uniform. He was either the number 16 or 16 years old. He says he had wavy red hair and freckles and a shaggy haircut like Larry Bird. I think people teased him and he may have had a nickname based on his lanky frame.
Here's my picture of him: