I have added a truth below maybe some knew maybe not....but 50 years is long enough to keep a sad secret.....a secret that was a product of the times we grew up in.
I went to Ohio University freshman and sophomore year and roomed there with Don. (We were both good friends there with Fred West who was killed in Vietnam) Don's older sister (Janice?) also a CHHS grad was there too. We both pledged Phi Delta Theta fraternity. I left for the University of Illinois after the sophomore year. Don graduated OU and went to Duke Law and became a NYC lawyer.
I reconnected with Don in 1973 when I moved to NYC to become a writer. He was married to his Cleveland HHS girlfriend Janice who had rather abruptly dropped out of Heights and gone to live with her brother) an interesting story of the times that which I don't think I should tell - as it was a bit of the crazy times - but now so many decades later----they had a child and I believe gave it up for adoption....never knew exactly what happened...they never spoke to me about it....private matter between them....god have mercy.... Don became/was an Estates & Trust lawyer for a "top" white shoe firm. Shortly my moving to NYC they left for Atlanta he for a corporate law job and I lost track of them for what was to be forever.
After 9/11 in NYC I reconnected with a few old friends. A fellow OU fraternity brother told me in 2001 that Don died in 2000. In 2007 (just after moving to Denver from NYC) I got curious about him again and Googled around and ended up talking to his widow who lived in West Virginia. She was just coming out of the experience of his death. What follows is sad:
Don was married three times. He retired from corporate law to West Virginia and there he committed suicide. His widow said he never got over the suicide of his second wife. Janice first wife who lived in California had continued to call him every year or so but..."not in years." She did not know of his suicide. Several years after his death his only sibling (his sister Janice) also committed suicide. I had a bundle of questions which I didn't feel I could ask. I wish now that I had.
We were once close friends. I never would have guessed his end. Don did everything right from a career standpoint. Life is a long and strange journey for all of us. For some it is simply tragic.
Don and I hung out togehter a lot in High School. We would cruise around on Fridays & Saturdays. He was a good baseball player and while in Junior High School (Monticello) we were on the same baseball teamed sponsored by the City of Cleveland Heights each Summer at Monticello. He was quite the "Lady's man and had several young Lady's after his attention. Don was also a great Ping-Pong player. We played a lot of games in his basement in to the wee hours of the night. He was a lot of fun and always had an upbeat attitude. I lost tract of him after High School. I am very sorry he ended his life, he really was a great guy. That is an amazing story that classmate David Brown has commuincated. Life is quite a journey. My deepest sympathy to Don's family. I also knew his sister Janice., she was a very attractive girl. Unbelieveable how things turn out. I never would have imagined that those two people would have taken their life. My they rest in peace.
Don, I spoke about you tonight to a few of our old friends. They were good times. I am grateful to have known you and been a friend. We missed you buddy.
David Brown
I have added a truth below maybe some knew maybe not....but 50 years is long enough to keep a sad secret.....a secret that was a product of the times we grew up in.
I went to Ohio University freshman and sophomore year and roomed there with Don. (We were both good friends there with Fred West who was killed in Vietnam) Don's older sister (Janice?) also a CHHS grad was there too. We both pledged Phi Delta Theta fraternity. I left for the University of Illinois after the sophomore year. Don graduated OU and went to Duke Law and became a NYC lawyer.
I reconnected with Don in 1973 when I moved to NYC to become a writer. He was married to his Cleveland HHS girlfriend Janice who had rather abruptly dropped out of Heights and gone to live with her brother) an interesting story of the times that which I don't think I should tell - as it was a bit of the crazy times - but now so many decades later----they had a child and I believe gave it up for adoption....never knew exactly what happened...they never spoke to me about it....private matter between them....god have mercy.... Don became/was an Estates & Trust lawyer for a "top" white shoe firm. Shortly my moving to NYC they left for Atlanta he for a corporate law job and I lost track of them for what was to be forever.
After 9/11 in NYC I reconnected with a few old friends. A fellow OU fraternity brother told me in 2001 that Don died in 2000. In 2007 (just after moving to Denver from NYC) I got curious about him again and Googled around and ended up talking to his widow who lived in West Virginia. She was just coming out of the experience of his death. What follows is sad:
Don was married three times. He retired from corporate law to West Virginia and there he committed suicide. His widow said he never got over the suicide of his second wife. Janice first wife who lived in California had continued to call him every year or so but..."not in years." She did not know of his suicide. Several years after his death his only sibling (his sister Janice) also committed suicide. I had a bundle of questions which I didn't feel I could ask. I wish now that I had.
We were once close friends. I never would have guessed his end. Don did everything right from a career standpoint. Life is a long and strange journey for all of us. For some it is simply tragic.
Charles Peterman
Don and I hung out togehter a lot in High School. We would cruise around on Fridays & Saturdays. He was a good baseball player and while in Junior High School (Monticello) we were on the same baseball teamed sponsored by the City of Cleveland Heights each Summer at Monticello. He was quite the "Lady's man and had several young Lady's after his attention. Don was also a great Ping-Pong player. We played a lot of games in his basement in to the wee hours of the night. He was a lot of fun and always had an upbeat attitude. I lost tract of him after High School. I am very sorry he ended his life, he really was a great guy. That is an amazing story that classmate David Brown has commuincated. Life is quite a journey. My deepest sympathy to Don's family. I also knew his sister Janice., she was a very attractive girl. Unbelieveable how things turn out. I never would have imagined that those two people would have taken their life. My they rest in peace.
Richard Ison
Don, I spoke about you tonight to a few of our old friends. They were good times. I am grateful to have known you and been a friend. We missed you buddy.
Rich Ison