It is possible, likely even, that somebody who met John Schlarman in his 45 years on this Earth did not like him.
But I've never met that person.
The University of Kentucky offensive line coach was nicknamed "The Great American" by his fellow UK football coaches, a sardonic nod to just how personable, honest, earnest and respected Schlarman was.
From his days as an undersized but standout offensive guard playing for Kentucky under Bill Curry and Hal Mumme in the 1990s to his time building "The Big Blue Wall" as Mark Stoops' offensive line coach in the years since 2013, I interacted with Schlarman exactly one time in which he seemed out of sorts.
That was after Kentucky's narrow 24-20 escape against Eastern Michigan in 2017. That day, the visitors from the Mid-American Conference had confounded the Schlarman-coached UK offensive line, recording 10 tackles for loss and five sacks of Wildcats quarterback Stephen Johnson.
Afterward, his pride bruised, the frustration rose off Schlarman during his postgame media session like heat off of asphalt.
Every other time I ever spoke with Schlarman, he was smiling and upbeat. That includes in the two years since he was diagnosed in the summer of 2018 with cholangiocarcinoma, the cancer of the bile ducts that ultimately claimed his life Thursday morning at age 45.
In what was a life well-lived, John Schlarman's final battle against an unrelenting and cruel foe was a lesson in courage.
With the approval of Stoops and UK, the core of Schlarman's battle plan was not to cede cancer an inch in terms of allowing it to cheat him out of his normal life.
So, even as he had to travel out of state for cancer treatments and/or other medical procedures, Schlarman coached his guys.
Last season, after Kentucky's 38-14 whipping of Vanderbilt in Nashville, Stoops marveled at the lengths to which Schlarman had gone to be with the Wildcats for their final pregame practice.
"What John is doing is amazing," Stoops said. "He had a treatment this week. Then he had to go back for another little procedure. ... Then he shows up at (Friday's) practice (in Nashville) — we thought he was going to miss it — but, sure enough, we get here and he pops in. He's got the smile on his face like nothing is going on, goes about his business. It really is a remarkable story, what he's going through and the job he is doing."
Kentucky senior left tackle Landon Young said last season that UK offensive linemen were astonished at how much Schlarman knew about how they had performed in practices the coach could not attend.
"Lord knows, wherever he is, he is going to watch every single play of that (practice) film as soon as he gets a chance," Young said. "So we want to make sure he is proud when he looks at it."
Schlarman and his wife, the former LeeAnne Federspiel, have four children: Joseph, Benjamin, Matthew and Evelyn.
There was always a glow about Schlarman when one saw him with his children. One of his final Tweets, from Nov. 4, was congratulating his son Joe for his football season.
"So proud of @JoeSchlarman for the year he's had and the young man he is becoming!!! Keep up the hard work Joe!!" John Schlarman wrote.
To his battle with cancer, John Schlarman brought the physical strength and the determined will that made him a standout lineman on Fort Thomas Highlands' 1992 Class 3A state championship team and a four-year starter (1994-97) and All-SEC offensive guard (1997) at UK.
Coupled with his usual good cheer, Schlarman's physical robustness initially tended to mask the severity of his condition.
This fall, that changed.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Kentucky football program has been in something of a self-protective bubble.
So it was not until video emerged of Stoops presenting Schlarman with the game ball following UK's 34-7 pasting of border-rival Tennessee in Knoxville last month that most of us saw the dramatic weight loss the offensive line coach had undergone.
The following week, Schlarman did not travel with Kentucky to its road game at Missouri.
It was probably not a coincidence that UK turned in an uncharacteristically listless performance in a 20-10 upset loss.
"We continue to pray for Coach Schlarman and we know he is still fighting," UK senior center Drake Jackson said following the Mizzou loss.
For Schlarman to be away from his team, from his offensive linemen, on a game day, you knew his situation had become dire.
On Thursday morning, many of us awoke to the news about Schlarman we had been dreading.
That four young children will now grow up without the father who adored them is beyond heartbreaking.
For the offensive linemen that played for him, Schlarman's loss will leave a lasting void.
"He's been more than a coach to me. He's a mentor," former UK and current Detroit Lions guard Logan Stenberg said last year. "John Schlarman was the reason I came to Kentucky."
For the rest of us, Schlarman leaves a vivid example of what courage in the face of unanticipated adversity looks like.
That, and a reminder of the urgency every one of us should feel to get the most out of every day we are given.
To the very end, John Schlarman did that.
