Died: May 24, 1997
John came to Yale as a freshman and was assigned to Morse. His roommate was Mike Atherton. John was a tennis player and was active in Naval ROTC, as well as a participant in our intramural programs for Morse. In the Remembrance to follow, Don Kornblet gives us a glimpse of John during his time at Yale, and I note that, at the time of our 25th Reunion, he was living in Virginia and, at our 30th, his entry showed that he had returned to Rhode Island and listed himself as a “writer/author.”
Donald Kornblet remembers:
John and I roomed together freshman year (with Kirk Baird and Mike Atherton) in Vanderbilt Hall.
John was a fun person, with a broad Rhode Island accent (Warwick with a silent “w” on the “wick”), a tall, commanding presence (6 feet plus), and a jovial laugh. For some reason I could never figure out, John was taken with Italy, and was the only Italian language major I ever knew! The scene is still vivid of walking into our Vanderbilt living room and finding John with Italian book open, speaking Italian words and phrases in a manner suggestive of great discomfort. The most striking memory of many freshman year experiences was a get away week-end during the spring of 1963 when John and I drove up to Cape Cod. Lacking resources for suitable lodging, we spent the night in sleeping bags on Truro beach. At 6 a.m. the next morning, John introduced me to the wonders of warm beer for breakfast and for that, alone, he will always be enshrined in my memory. Wonderful times!