In Springfield, John attended Butler grade school, where he showed an early talent for art and writing. At SHS he edited the Capitoline and wrote for the Senator Speaks. He was a member of Jr. Choir, Wranglers, and played varsity tennis all four years.
He attended Carleton College, earning a B.A. in European History in 1962. During his Army service, he was a Russian interpreter and later taught Islamic art in Turkey. In 1966-72 he worked on MA and PhD degrees at UCLA in the fields of Russian history, Islamic politics, and Islamic art.
In later years we lost track of John, though he remained close with Stephen and Joann Grove Dilts, who knew him at Carlton and named one of their sons for him.
Before his final illness, John worked for many years in the travel section of AAA and volunteered almost daily at an animal shelter, The Lange Foundation. John was 69 and is survived by his older sister, Diane.
Memorial donations may be made in John’s name to: The Lange Foundation, 2106 S. Sepulveda Blvd. West Los Angeles, CA 90025, 310-473-5585. Thanks to Stephen Dilts and Judy Vicars Van Hagen for the information.
2 comments:
Quite a life!
My favorite memory of John is from about 1956 when our Explorer Scout Post 36 took a one-week canoe trip in northern Wisconsin. John and I shared a canoe, he in the bow and I in the stern. The last day our itinerary found us going upstream, against the current. After a while I noticed that we were no longer gaining on it but were instead losing ground. I looked up and saw that John had put his paddle down and was quietly working on a candy bar.
The woods loudly resounded to my "Harrison! You idiot!" John and I both heard that one at scout gatherings over the next couple of years...
Thanks for the memory, John.
--Allan Stephens
My memory of John is quite different. In 5th grade or so at Butler, we began to take art classes from Miss Roper. She had a large corner room on the upper floor, with a front section that had a sink and shelves for storing paints and clay.
At drawing time, I soon found that my talents were fairly limited. John sat next to me, and his drawings were complex and detailed. I found it very soothing to lay my head down and watch him work. Don't know why I got away with it: probably Miss Roper thought I was a hopeless case, anyway.
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