RIP to Ed Andrews and John Knope

 John Knope passed away on December 19th, as reported on his Facebook page.

Here is his obituary.

The following was written by another classmate, Tony Mangione:

"Sad and surprised to hear about John’s passing. I just talked to him on the phone last month. I read that his sister Patty preceded him. I last saw her at Sandy’s funeral. We confessed our mutual attraction and regrets we never acted upon it. And John was there quietly laughing at it.

It’s amazing how the finality of an old friend’s name brings up a trove of memories, all of which bring up smiles and feelings. John’s family welcomed me to their home, like the Obersts did, when I was a strange kid in a stranger land. I tried to teach Mrs Knope how to “pony” during a party at their house, and then dancing to the Lettermen and Johnny Mathis when she left the room. His parents attended my wedding but he did not as he was in the service. We were on the wrestling team coached by Teike, another great one gone. He did ask me once if I was mad that he was dating my ex-girlfriend. Of course not; they are both great people.

John and I talked a lot about his work with vets in need, his volunteer work for many years. He had a quiet way about him.

A whole world opens up by his name and picture, none of which appears in an obituary. Let’s just say that what makes a person great is that in some ways they become part of someone else’s memories making their lives more meaningful and relevant in many ways. In his own quiet way, John did that.

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Ed Andrews passed on October 18th. 

The following was written by his friend and our classmate, Fred Bleier:

Greetings from Memphis TN.

Sad to report another pioneer class passing. Ed Andrews died on October 18 in Encinitas CA from complications arising from colon cancer. Our thoughts are with his wife Kathy and their children Dan, Dave, Susie, and Kate.

I first met Ed in Mike Spang’s 104 home room at BK - remember when the teachers moved between periods while we stayed put? How weird was that!

He graduated from Notre Dame, then spent several months living with me and Rick Brown in Athens GA before driving with me cross country to Long Beach CA (we were pulled over by a cop in the middle of nowhere Arkansas and hassled for about an hour - maybe not surprising as we were driving a Ford Mustang with NY plates.)

We lived together in apartments in Long Beach and Huntington Beach until I was transferred (USN) to SC. Ed met and married Kathy and remained in CA where he worked with World Savings for 37 years, retiring as an Executive Vice President.

Ed (known as “Easy” by his close friends reflecting his unflappable, easygoing nature) was a great friend and will be missed by all of us.