19 Years of Friendship

John and I live next door to each other in Wiley Hall at Purdue University. Our friendship began with a simple question "Are you a Cubs fan?"

John and I shared plenty of interests and our friendship grew with late night euchre games, Alfono's Bread sticks, opening and
closing down Vino's, breakfast club, skippy burgers, spring break and Purdue basketball. John and I used to carpool back and forth to and from Purdue. Talking for hours, there was never lack of conversation. He was a funny guy and often had me in stitches with his ironies of life. He loved to quote Calvin and Hobbes comic strips and would enjoy pointing out people or organizations that where 'unclear on the concept'. John was the reason I passed CS 180. He thought I was 'unclear on the concept' of an elective course. He would say, 'Why would anyone take a computer science flunk out course as an elective?? Ken, I think you are unclear on the concept of an elective.'

A group of our friends all turned 21 years old at the same time, and John volunteered to be the designated driver. He showed us a great time in the city of Chicago and we all watched the sun come up the next morning. We felt safe because John was there. We knew we could let ourselves go and John would take care of us. Like our friend Steve said, 'If it wasn't for John, we may have woken up in a gutter.'

Along the way John and I stopped being friends and became family. He'd invite me over for dinner at his parents house and his Mom would cook for us. She is an incredible cook. After graduation from Purdue, we both stayed in the Chicago area. We'd enter dart tournaments together... I could never beat him at darts. Watch Purdue basketball together and dream of where we would be when the Cubs went to the World Series.

I was best man at John and Heather's wedding. I remember clearly the moment he saw her in her wedding dress. He looked at me and said, "She's so beautiful." John was a passionate guy. Everyone who knew him knows he wore his passion on his sleeve. Ask him a question about the his work, or the next great Porsche and John's eyes would light up, the cadence and pitch of his speech would increase and his hand would fly around his head wildly. Nowhere was this passion more apparent that when he spoke about his Family. When I'd ask him how Heather, Linda, John or Paula were doing, I'd hear hours of the latest and greatest.

John was solid all around great person, friend and brother. I will remember him always.

Ken Field Jr