John and I went to grade school together. We were good friends, but I was a bit too wild for his very straight laced parents. One night John and I got into some trouble, and John's parents blamed me for being a "bad influence" (which I probably was). They forbade John from ever hanging out with me again. Thru high school we barely spoke. This saddened me greatly because he and I shared a love of science and tinkering with little electrical projects and such. Without John there were few left in my young life who were interested in such things. I was truly shocked to see John's name on this list.....but then again I guess we are all shocked to see the names on this list. John was a thoughtful and sharp guy who could be very creative in our little nerdy world.
John and I were real close. After our junior year we toured the US, Canada, and Mexico for 2.5 months. He was my Best Man at my wedding in 1968. He went to Davis and after 2 years got into SF Dental school which usually took 3 years if you wre admitted at all. Unfortunately shortly afterward he started using LSD among other drugs and lost interest. Fifteen or twenty years later he tried to regroup and get his life back in order but felt he permentaly lost a lot of his intellect and felt no future for himself. We eventually met up when I was back In Marin and went for a walk on Mount Tam. Sandy's comment about a strict dad was so true which led John legally changing his name Jai Starchild. He eventually ended his own life.
It was good to read Sandy and Kurt's posts. I knew John best when we were in elementary school. John and I were both interested in chemistry and repeated experiments we had seen at school. We also built and flew Jetex powered model airplanes together. John was very bright and clever in solving the problems we worked on together. I remember him (and was it you, Sandy) disecting live frogs in front of the class as a science project, showing us the beating heart and inflating the lungs. It blew me away. I remember his parents and especially his father. I agree that he was very strict. I don't know why I didn't interact with John much at Redwood. I left after my freashman year as my family moved to Iran for 2.5 years. When I returned I had lost a year and graduated with the class of '64. I was shocked and saddened to hear what happened to John. I would not have expected that. His storey sounds very sad.
I met John in nursery school on the Tam Hi campus. We then went to Covey Private School in Tam Valley. We met up again at Homestead Elementary School in Mill Valley and were in school together through 8th grade when the Jurvigs moved to the Laurel Grove area. After two years at Tam, I transferred to Redwood, and the first person to welcome me to Redwood was John. "Johnny"was a good friend but led a very restricrted social life, as his mother never let him far from her sight, and his mother did not think anyone was good enough for John. I remember talking to John in June of '63, and John had his pick of colleges, but he was very discouraged that he got no support from his parents. June of '63 was, John told me years later, a very difficult time as he was finally standing up to his parents. I would se John on and off after I returned from overseas and I tried to befriend him, but he had become extremely withdrawn, denying any social invitations. I don't know about the idea that "He's in a better place," but if that's possible, Johnny is indeed fortunate, as he was a very tortured boy and man. RIP my friend.
Sandy McKean
John and I went to grade school together. We were good friends, but I was a bit too wild for his very straight laced parents. One night John and I got into some trouble, and John's parents blamed me for being a "bad influence" (which I probably was). They forbade John from ever hanging out with me again. Thru high school we barely spoke. This saddened me greatly because he and I shared a love of science and tinkering with little electrical projects and such. Without John there were few left in my young life who were interested in such things. I was truly shocked to see John's name on this list.....but then again I guess we are all shocked to see the names on this list. John was a thoughtful and sharp guy who could be very creative in our little nerdy world.
Kurt Wisecarver
John and I were real close. After our junior year we toured the US, Canada, and Mexico for 2.5 months. He was my Best Man at my wedding in 1968. He went to Davis and after 2 years got into SF Dental school which usually took 3 years if you wre admitted at all. Unfortunately shortly afterward he started using LSD among other drugs and lost interest. Fifteen or twenty years later he tried to regroup and get his life back in order but felt he permentaly lost a lot of his intellect and felt no future for himself. We eventually met up when I was back In Marin and went for a walk on Mount Tam. Sandy's comment about a strict dad was so true which led John legally changing his name Jai Starchild. He eventually ended his own life.
William Dimpfl (Dimpfl)
It was good to read Sandy and Kurt's posts. I knew John best when we were in elementary school. John and I were both interested in chemistry and repeated experiments we had seen at school. We also built and flew Jetex powered model airplanes together. John was very bright and clever in solving the problems we worked on together. I remember him (and was it you, Sandy) disecting live frogs in front of the class as a science project, showing us the beating heart and inflating the lungs. It blew me away. I remember his parents and especially his father. I agree that he was very strict. I don't know why I didn't interact with John much at Redwood. I left after my freashman year as my family moved to Iran for 2.5 years. When I returned I had lost a year and graduated with the class of '64. I was shocked and saddened to hear what happened to John. I would not have expected that. His storey sounds very sad.
William Harker
I met John in nursery school on the Tam Hi campus. We then went to Covey Private School in Tam Valley. We met up again at Homestead Elementary School in Mill Valley and were in school together through 8th grade when the Jurvigs moved to the Laurel Grove area. After two years at Tam, I transferred to Redwood, and the first person to welcome me to Redwood was John. "Johnny"was a good friend but led a very restricrted social life, as his mother never let him far from her sight, and his mother did not think anyone was good enough for John. I remember talking to John in June of '63, and John had his pick of colleges, but he was very discouraged that he got no support from his parents. June of '63 was, John told me years later, a very difficult time as he was finally standing up to his parents. I would se John on and off after I returned from overseas and I tried to befriend him, but he had become extremely withdrawn, denying any social invitations. I don't know about the idea that "He's in a better place," but if that's possible, Johnny is indeed fortunate, as he was a very tortured boy and man. RIP my friend.