Three members of the Class of '69 grew up on the 3700 block of Blanchan Avenue in Brookfield, Illinois.  We all graduated from Gross.  Now, as I grew up across the street from Alan from the time I was 5 years old, one would think that I knew him well.  But, no, he had brothers (and only much younger sisters); I had a sister; he lived on the west side of the street; I lived on the east side of the street; he lived on the north end of the block; I lived on the south end of the block. I do remember him and his brothers flying on their bicycles down their driveway onto Blanchan Avenue off to.. well, wherever we used to go on our bikes when we were kids.  I remember Alan as "nice" and "quiet".  I'm sure that people who knew him better than I could add to those adjectives. I lost track of Alan after R-B, though, back in those pre-Facebook days, the Mother Network was pretty good at keeping us informed as to what was going on with our former classmates.  Alan went into the service. Somewhere along the way he traded that bicycle for a motorcycle.  He died on that motorcycle in 1976, at age 25; one of the first members of the Class of '69 to pass on.       I went to his wake.  His mother looked at me and said, "Janice, you went to school with Alan, right?"  I told her that I did; we graduated from Gross and R-B together.  And then I sat with her for a few minutes. RIP, Alan.  I'm so sorry that you left us when you were so young.