Deceased October 14, 2011
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In Memory
John died peacefully on Oct. 14, 2011, at his home in Manhattan after a two-year battle with cancer.
I really got to know John in the spring of 1952 when we were both on the Amherst crew. I was the coxswain and John was the number two or three oarsman. We became the closest of friends while at Amherst, spending quite a bit of non-academic time together since my fraternity, Phi Delt, was right across the street from John’s, Chi Psi.
Senior year, John and I discussed taking a student trip to Europe. We planned it and did it! It was a highlight in our lives. We sailed over and eight weeks later returned on a revamped Liberty ship carrying about 500 students and teachers. John was a great tour guide. We had both taken fine arts courses at Amherst, and he remembered all the well known places to see. What fun to be with John and Deane Tank, who hooked up with us partway through our tour. I think we really surprised our parents with how much we experienced.
After that summer of 1955, John went into the U.S. Air Force. Following the service, he got a job as a cruise director and spent three years sailing around the world. What a life!
John then settled down and married his lovely wife, Loretta Hunt. They had and raised a beautiful daughter, Cyndy. John was a successful businessman in Manhattan. He was especially active in Amherst activities in Manhattan, along with The Players on Gramercy Park South and the White Horse Theater Company. John loved attending Amherst reunions and Homecomings. Loretta and John vacationed often in Florida.
As his daughter, Cyndy, so aptly put it, “John was a true lover of life.”
I will miss him.
Jim Endriss ’55