Douglas W. Scher

Alan's step dad worked for mine, he was a fast-talking aluminum siding salesman who drove a Cadillac, bet more than he should have on the horses, and had a heart of gold. His mom was a nurse and also a very nice person. Because of his step-dad's gambling jones, it seemed they were always struggling financially, but Alan never seemed to let it get him down, he was always looking on the bright side.    The summer before our freshman year,  Alan and I went door to door canvassing homeowners for leads. One August day when it was uncomfortably hot we knocked off @4 and went to play on the beach near Wickliffe. There was a  large  log that had washed up and it was floating around on the shore break. We decided it was good day to go for a ride and launched it one of us on each end. The tide had just begun to turn and was going out. We got out about 200 yds and were having a great time when the sky turned dark and a storm came up.  We had no paddles, there were no boats in sight and no people on shore, and the Lake was getting deep and choppy.  Alan in his signature pollyanna everythings gonna be ok voice said we could make it Canada, but I said Alan I know it's a little late to be asking this but can you swim. He said "Oh sure" but I wasn't convinced. So we counted to 3 and jumped off the log. It was a tough swim- we went parallel to the shore and ended up 30 minutes later face down exhausted on another part of the beach. One or both of us could easily have drowned. Never told this story until now... RIP my brother.

Philip Fields

Hi Doug, I remember Alan and Harris very well. Nice comments you made.

Gary Collins

Thanks you, Doug.  Mark Twain have been proud to create both the story and the person you describe so well.  I only vaguely remember interaction with Allen but  I'm deeply saddened to hear of the loss of such a man.  There are so many great people in the class of '68 some gone and some still giving to the world.  In our own way, we too are a 'can do' generation. 

Jay Roseman

Jay Roseman. I was close friends with Alan since Byron. We were roommates at Ohio State and remained friends for years afterwards. He did have an unusual family. Harris would play high stakes poker games with his coworkers and usually win. He was an excellent poker player. But , he would lose his winnings and more at the track. That 23% house advantage is almost impossible to beat without valid inside information. 

Being in the toy business, the local tv stations came to my store every December to film their toy stories. Alan's grandmother Alta would see me on tv and to her, I was a big celebrity like Johnny Carson. Alan was a brilliant guy, a true genius. Unfortunately, he was never able to harness his intelligence for constructive uses. He was a victim of internal demons and was never able to rise above them.  Alan and I smoked weed together our first quarter at Ohio State. It was the first time for both of it   Unfortunately, Alan got heavily into almost all types of drugs and remained so for the rest of his short life

Alan was a gentle kind soul that would never hurt anyone and would share with and help out any friend. He was a loyal, trustworthy friend, the best kind of friend there is. A good friend has left way to soon

Philip Fields

Hi Jay. Never realized you were so close and were roommates at Ohio State. I was friendly with him too

Patricia Hrutkay (Seeger)

Below is a comment from Alan's sister Cindi Bernstein Green:

"Thank you all for the kind remarks about my brother- they were so heartwarming to read. Doug Scher, your post was particularly interesting.  I miss Alan every day, but I truly believe that he is in a better place. ❤️

Robert Kirschenbaum

Thank you all for posting such nice things about Alan/ Doug the Lake Erie story is pretty wild and amazing. Sooo sorry to have lost another one of our classmates. 

Louise (Jan) Campbell (Campbell)

I just saw these comments on Alan. They lifted my spirits and made me smile to remember him. 

Philip Fields

Perhaps one of the most positive things about someone passing, is to realize the impact he or she had on so many other people, that you never even realized. I knew Alan well, and the comments made were very true.