I do not know the details surrounding Jack's death but they are not important. I knew Jack for four years. Our first introduction was at the Day vs Warren junior high football game. I can't say that did much to make us friends as we were on opposite sides of the ball. But that changed when we got to high school and we were on the same team. Jack will always be for me, someone who did not take himself to seriously. At a time when most of us were all wrapped up in our own lives Jack never seemed to get caught up in that. Today we might say he was comfortable in his own skin. In that Jack taught me a great deal - I only wish I had been a faster learner. And Jack, you were a pretty good ballplayer to boot.
Jackie Fawson and I were friends since Franklin elementray school. We spent a good deal of time playing baseball in the school yard, and his father was often there hitting fly balls to us. It was a lot of fun, and, I can tell you that Jackie could hit a baseball a mile.
One Saturday afternoon, as a bunch of us were playing ball, Donna Pozzi, who lived right beside the school yard, was having a party with her girlfriends and invited us to join them. I think Donna also tried to teach me to dance to rock n roll music, a worthy objective, and much harder than hitting slow pitch baseball.
I always liked Jackie because he was real. No BS about him. I admire that in a person and respected him for his forthrightness, his ability to hit a baseball, and for facilitating my introduction to women, after which, like most men, my life went downhill trying to catch women, instead of a baseball.
Within the past 5 years, I have had some serious medical problems, and am always saddened by the fact that many of my high school friends passed away at a much earlier age than most of us are now.
Jackie, I'm pleased to have known you, you enriched my life through our friendship, and I am truly sorry we lost you at such an early age.
(This from Dave Bliss, for like it or not, he feels like writing "a history of the Class of N.H.S. '64" )
In the case of Jack Fawson, one has to almost 'force himself' to think that he has passed away...asking inwardly, "How COULD someone that strong, and that tall...have passed away 'so soon?' "
I knew him only in sports encounters, but what I did know was sort of a surprise, for, given that he was such a 'big and tall guy,' he struck me as being just about the opposite when it came to his 'nature,' his temperament. He was best described as "gentle."
And that's why I was so surprised one day there...must've been senior year, when at the lunch break, and walking through the corridors of Bldg. 3, with others passing by either "to lunch," or "from Lunch," I came upon one of those 'thankfully rare' incidents of a pretty fierce fist-fight going on, right there in the hallways, with people crowding by...either to get past, or to stand watching the fight.
And low and behold, I was surprised to see..Jack was one of the two guys, the 'combatents,' fighting it out.
For some strange reason I have never understood, some people, speaking now of students, and I suppose some of our classmates, actually seemed to ENJOY such spectacles, calling out inappropriate words, goading the opponents on...as if it was entertainment. Well, maybe it was to them, but not to me. I never liked that mentality of enjoying watching two people fighting, and EVEN LESS SO, when the two opponents in a fairly forceful slug-fest were known to me, guys I considered friends of mine, and also members of "the Class of '64," which even in our school days, as from September, 1961, fresh out of Jr High, had become something of an ever increasing and a most definite, enduring joy to me.
Well, seeing these two guys seriously fighting, fists flying, and thus without a moment to consider things, I jumped Jack blind, unexpectedly, from behind, by complete surprise, and got him instantly locked into a "Full Nelson," if anybody remembers that move, whereupon one's two arms are 'disengaged,' almost helplessly, from any movement at all, no matter how much strength he might have. . And, being up on my N.H.S. football lineman "weight-lifting-and- upper-body- strength exercises," I managed to lean backwards slightly, just enough to lift Jack bodily, completely off his feet.
And so there he was, mighty Jack, suspended in air, with the fight instantly terminated...for I happened to know his 'opponent,' another friend of mine, actually (since third grade!), who, I surmised, had already come to the place of wishing to high heaven that he could get out of the fight without being defeated...for he may well have had a temper, but he wasn't really a fighter.
(NOR, I'm sure, did Jack's opponent want to risk hitting ME by mistake...for I have to admit that over the years I've had somewhat of a temper of my own to deal with. For instance, I wonder if you know, I hope you don't, that I was ejected...and that as the captain of the Varsity football team... by the referee from the Brockton football game, in our Senior year, for fighting? Yep, I finished the game having let my guys down, seated dolefully on the bench for the remainder of that game, which we lost to Brockton. (Fortunately for me, it was "an AWAY game.")
Hey...as a 'not unimportant aside,' if you want to know what sixty-plus years of seeking to deal with one's temper can produce, I'll be pleased to share with you (by means of an article I've written, available on the web), for I've been asking THE ALMIGHTY for years, off and on, but more "on" of course, as time goes by, to grant my request that the 'temper factor' be once and for all dealt with.
Let me give you a hint: it HASN'T BEEN REMOVED...but there are ways to deal with it quite successfully, BEFORE it mounts up, like it did that day in Brockton, and becomes a problem. ' Temper:' It's really got something to do with 'pride,' and that on the wrong side of life.
When it comes to the matter of one's pride, the wrong kind now, not the normaI sense of maintaining one's correctness in doing things responsibly, I guess you could say it's like one who fights against one's pride as 'his opponent,' as in "rounds," like in a boxing match. And with 'training and conditioning,'...so to speak..I've noticed that it IS possible to win victory over one's own wrongful pride...for such victory can and does win out. And here I must say that for me, such personal victories have come more by means of one's relationship with God than by some other device or practice.
(Back to what happened at N.H.S. on that particular day of the fist-fight in the hallway of Bldg. 3 at lunchtime:)
;No doubt Jack had a moment or two of sheer surprise, right there in the middle of a serious and physically contentious bout, as to what had just happened to him, for by means of a 'Full Nelson," applied from behind him, he was instantly rendered physically useless. Strong as he was, whether offensively or defensively, he was "just hanging there" in mid air, unable to move hardly a muscle...except to turn his head around as far as he could, to see ''who the H - - L' was interfering?"
Whether he saw me or not, I don't know, but I did speak right into his ear, saying "Jack...Jack, it's me, Dave. This isn't for you...this is not you! Let's let it go...there's got to be better way."
And at this, with him firmly and helplessly in my grip, I felt an immediate relaxation as his muscles 'un-tensed,' as I held him rather tightly, from behind. It was as if he.was glad...and thankful, and even relieved, that the fight had ended in this way with neither a winner or a loser.
Fortunately for everyone...including me...Jack's opponent...someone I'd known very well since third grade...but never as a fighter, really...and definltey shorter than Jack, had the sense to just stand stock still, with his fists still clenched at his sides...looking angry enough, but thankfully wise enough also, not to hit his helpless opponent, or to proceed any further using violence to 'get even,' or to deal with the matter. .
The bell had rung, warning students that the afternoon classes were about to begin, and the crowd that had gathered dispensed quickly enough...some disappointed perhaps, others (including me) to be quietly thankful that the angry encounter...caused by whatever...I never asked...had come to an end.
And ever after that, Jack was especially and warmly friendly towards me...not that we hadn't been friendly towards one another before...but I guess it was just one of those 'quiet memories' that two guys can have and share, when things could've turned out much worse. For I do know one thing: Jack may have been angry, but deep down, he didn't want to hurt the guy he'd had...apparently...a rather serious argument with, and for this, I felt even more drawn towards this unusual guy, a combination of strength and gentleness. .
We as a class are saddened by the premature loss of Jack...or ANY of our members whose names appear now on lists that we can read. Perhaps the pain, the sorrow and the loss we feel can in some ways be softened by recollecting, at times like this...the value we received and enjoyed by knowing and remembering the "special-ness" of those we've lost.
In a word, "they were special." And in another word, "Our Class was Special." May thankfulness overshadow the loss that we feel.
Submitted by Dave Bliss, Class of '64...April 14, 2014.
Roger Watson
I do not know the details surrounding Jack's death but they are not important. I knew Jack for four years. Our first introduction was at the Day vs Warren junior high football game. I can't say that did much to make us friends as we were on opposite sides of the ball. But that changed when we got to high school and we were on the same team. Jack will always be for me, someone who did not take himself to seriously. At a time when most of us were all wrapped up in our own lives Jack never seemed to get caught up in that. Today we might say he was comfortable in his own skin. In that Jack taught me a great deal - I only wish I had been a faster learner. And Jack, you were a pretty good ballplayer to boot.
David Benjamin
Jackie Fawson and I were friends since Franklin elementray school. We spent a good deal of time playing baseball in the school yard, and his father was often there hitting fly balls to us. It was a lot of fun, and, I can tell you that Jackie could hit a baseball a mile.
One Saturday afternoon, as a bunch of us were playing ball, Donna Pozzi, who lived right beside the school yard, was having a party with her girlfriends and invited us to join them. I think Donna also tried to teach me to dance to rock n roll music, a worthy objective, and much harder than hitting slow pitch baseball.
I always liked Jackie because he was real. No BS about him. I admire that in a person and respected him for his forthrightness, his ability to hit a baseball, and for facilitating my introduction to women, after which, like most men, my life went downhill trying to catch women, instead of a baseball.
Within the past 5 years, I have had some serious medical problems, and am always saddened by the fact that many of my high school friends passed away at a much earlier age than most of us are now.
Jackie, I'm pleased to have known you, you enriched my life through our friendship, and I am truly sorry we lost you at such an early age.
David Benjamin
Kevin Maloney
Jack was a geat guy and good friend. We competed with each other from elementary school through high school. He left us far too soon.
Margaret O'Brien (Regan)
Jackie -We had some great times over the years with our families. Miss you.Cousin Margaret
Dave Bliss
(This from Dave Bliss, for like it or not, he feels like writing "a history of the Class of N.H.S. '64" )
In the case of Jack Fawson, one has to almost 'force himself' to think that he has passed away...asking inwardly, "How COULD someone that strong, and that tall...have passed away 'so soon?' "
I knew him only in sports encounters, but what I did know was sort of a surprise, for, given that he was such a 'big and tall guy,' he struck me as being just about the opposite when it came to his 'nature,' his temperament. He was best described as "gentle."
And that's why I was so surprised one day there...must've been senior year, when at the lunch break, and walking through the corridors of Bldg. 3, with others passing by either "to lunch," or "from Lunch," I came upon one of those 'thankfully rare' incidents of a pretty fierce fist-fight going on, right there in the hallways, with people crowding by...either to get past, or to stand watching the fight.
And low and behold, I was surprised to see..Jack was one of the two guys, the 'combatents,' fighting it out.
For some strange reason I have never understood, some people, speaking now of students, and I suppose some of our classmates, actually seemed to ENJOY such spectacles, calling out inappropriate words, goading the opponents on...as if it was entertainment. Well, maybe it was to them, but not to me. I never liked that mentality of enjoying watching two people fighting, and EVEN LESS SO, when the two opponents in a fairly forceful slug-fest were known to me, guys I considered friends of mine, and also members of "the Class of '64," which even in our school days, as from September, 1961, fresh out of Jr High, had become something of an ever increasing and a most definite, enduring joy to me.
Well, seeing these two guys seriously fighting, fists flying, and thus without a moment to consider things, I jumped Jack blind, unexpectedly, from behind, by complete surprise, and got him instantly locked into a "Full Nelson," if anybody remembers that move, whereupon one's two arms are 'disengaged,' almost helplessly, from any movement at all, no matter how much strength he might have. . And, being up on my N.H.S. football lineman "weight-lifting-and- upper-body- strength exercises," I managed to lean backwards slightly, just enough to lift Jack bodily, completely off his feet.
And so there he was, mighty Jack, suspended in air, with the fight instantly terminated...for I happened to know his 'opponent,' another friend of mine, actually (since third grade!), who, I surmised, had already come to the place of wishing to high heaven that he could get out of the fight without being defeated...for he may well have had a temper, but he wasn't really a fighter.
(NOR, I'm sure, did Jack's opponent want to risk hitting ME by mistake...for I have to admit that over the years I've had somewhat of a temper of my own to deal with. For instance, I wonder if you know, I hope you don't, that I was ejected...and that as the captain of the Varsity football team... by the referee from the Brockton football game, in our Senior year, for fighting? Yep, I finished the game having let my guys down, seated dolefully on the bench for the remainder of that game, which we lost to Brockton. (Fortunately for me, it was "an AWAY game.")
Hey...as a 'not unimportant aside,' if you want to know what sixty-plus years of seeking to deal with one's temper can produce, I'll be pleased to share with you (by means of an article I've written, available on the web), for I've been asking THE ALMIGHTY for years, off and on, but more "on" of course, as time goes by, to grant my request that the 'temper factor' be once and for all dealt with.
Let me give you a hint: it HASN'T BEEN REMOVED...but there are ways to deal with it quite successfully, BEFORE it mounts up, like it did that day in Brockton, and becomes a problem. ' Temper:' It's really got something to do with 'pride,' and that on the wrong side of life.
When it comes to the matter of one's pride, the wrong kind now, not the normaI sense of maintaining one's correctness in doing things responsibly, I guess you could say it's like one who fights against one's pride as 'his opponent,' as in "rounds," like in a boxing match. And with 'training and conditioning,'...so to speak..I've noticed that it IS possible to win victory over one's own wrongful pride...for such victory can and does win out. And here I must say that for me, such personal victories have come more by means of one's relationship with God than by some other device or practice.
(Back to what happened at N.H.S. on that particular day of the fist-fight in the hallway of Bldg. 3 at lunchtime:)
;No doubt Jack had a moment or two of sheer surprise, right there in the middle of a serious and physically contentious bout, as to what had just happened to him, for by means of a 'Full Nelson," applied from behind him, he was instantly rendered physically useless. Strong as he was, whether offensively or defensively, he was "just hanging there" in mid air, unable to move hardly a muscle...except to turn his head around as far as he could, to see ''who the H - - L' was interfering?"
Whether he saw me or not, I don't know, but I did speak right into his ear, saying "Jack...Jack, it's me, Dave. This isn't for you...this is not you! Let's let it go...there's got to be better way."
And at this, with him firmly and helplessly in my grip, I felt an immediate relaxation as his muscles 'un-tensed,' as I held him rather tightly, from behind. It was as if he.was glad...and thankful, and even relieved, that the fight had ended in this way with neither a winner or a loser.
Fortunately for everyone...including me...Jack's opponent...someone I'd known very well since third grade...but never as a fighter, really...and definltey shorter than Jack, had the sense to just stand stock still, with his fists still clenched at his sides...looking angry enough, but thankfully wise enough also, not to hit his helpless opponent, or to proceed any further using violence to 'get even,' or to deal with the matter. .
The bell had rung, warning students that the afternoon classes were about to begin, and the crowd that had gathered dispensed quickly enough...some disappointed perhaps, others (including me) to be quietly thankful that the angry encounter...caused by whatever...I never asked...had come to an end.
And ever after that, Jack was especially and warmly friendly towards me...not that we hadn't been friendly towards one another before...but I guess it was just one of those 'quiet memories' that two guys can have and share, when things could've turned out much worse. For I do know one thing: Jack may have been angry, but deep down, he didn't want to hurt the guy he'd had...apparently...a rather serious argument with, and for this, I felt even more drawn towards this unusual guy, a combination of strength and gentleness. .
We as a class are saddened by the premature loss of Jack...or ANY of our members whose names appear now on lists that we can read. Perhaps the pain, the sorrow and the loss we feel can in some ways be softened by recollecting, at times like this...the value we received and enjoyed by knowing and remembering the "special-ness" of those we've lost.
In a word, "they were special." And in another word, "Our Class was Special." May thankfulness overshadow the loss that we feel.
Submitted by Dave Bliss, Class of '64...April 14, 2014.