Van and I went through Lincoln, Mellon, and High School together.  He was one year behind me but we played on the same football and baseball teams. My memories of him are a bit different.  He was just one of us guys playing sports and hanging out at the Rec.  We used to go at one another at Lincoln - never afterward. Armed wrestled him once at the Rec and we tied.  Other than that he was a good and talented teammate. Sad to know that he's gone.

Van was a very private guy and not easily approachable.  Even though I played football and baseball with Van for 4 years, and he was an excellent athlete in both, I was never very close to Van.  His serious nature made him seem like he was older and more mature than the rest of us.  Van was a guard on our football team and was one of Coach Fife's messenger guards.  Coach Fife called all the plays from the sidelines, so he would ferry the guards in and out with his play selections.  Van also excelled in baseball playing mostly 1st Base.  If I had to select a professional baseball player of a similar nature, it would be Steve Garvey of the LA Dodgers.  The were both short of stature, uniforms always cleaned and pressed, never seeing any dirt on their uniforms, both strong hitters.   Perhaps his maturity and serious nature came from his homelife.  Once I was invited to Van's home and met his dad.  He was quite formal, dressed in a smoking jacket and bow tie, ala Father Knows Best.  He seemed older (grandfather age), but then anyone over the age of fifty seemed like a grandparent in those days.   I hadn't seen or heard from Van since 1962, but a memorable part of my youth and I was sad to hear of his passing.    

A very private guy who I remember as a very good football player. I used to bowl with Van on occasion. He never made himself as available as some of the other guys. I do remember a couple stories about Van. Somehow he and Bucky Hamilton got crossways. As I remember it Bucky challenged him to meet him in the parking lot. Big mistake! We all ran to the parking lot and it was over pretty quickly. Van was a very strong young man. One night as we were crusing around in Feb. with the top down in my dad's 1960 Buick Electra 225 Conv. we came up on Van on Washington Blvd at a stop light. In my car Sandy Berg and Richard Rubin. In Van's Cindy Hussing. Van's car was his own a 1958 Chevy Belair hardtop with a 3-speed and a 348 c.i. 250 horsepower engine. I thought my 325 hp engine could take him. Big Mistake. We raced toward St. Clair CC. We passed a policeman going the other way at about 100 mph. Van in the lead turned in to the road to the CC. We both pulled into the parking lot and got out to discuss the the situation. We decided to wait a decent amount of time and then go back up Washington Blvd. and go home. Big mistake. We were stopped by the cop we had passed at speed. He went back and forth between the cars asking questions that would implicate the two of us in drag racing. He asked Van if he knew me and me if i knew Van. Van said he knew me and i said i did'nt know him. I finally said i knew he was in my High School class but i really did'nt associate with with him. It worked and he let us go. I don't know if Sandy or Cindy remembers but i can say Sandy was scared to death during the race. She jumped into the back seat and got on the floor. 

 I got to know Van mostly during my junior and senior years at Lebo. We started out not liking each other too much, but through Trinity Club and Varsity Football all that changed. Van was a very good student and athlete. He could be cold and curt at times, but occasionally would allow you to get close to him, where you would find a heap of love and kindness.   I felt honorded and humbled to be one of Van's friends...especially because I was fortunate enough to see that loving side of him more than most people. Van always felt like my brother.   My heart is broken with the news of his passing. He was actually the   next   person on my "bucket list" to contact before my cancer takes me...just to say "Hi" and "I love you". I waited too long. So as a reminder to myslef, and to you, please allow me to end this note with part of a Robert Herrick poem...a warning to ALL of us!  "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying:And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying."    R.I.P. Van