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Sad to Inform
We have just received word from Eric Snowden that his friend and classmate Jon Warden (class of 62) has passed the end of June.
Per Eric,
After flunking out of Miss Brown’s kindergarten, Jon Kevin Warden joined us in Mrs. Penegar’s first grade class, September1950. At that time, there was little to do in Rockville; but Jon did it better than the rest of us:
■ National Honor Society
■ Best-Dressed Guy in Town (after Dickie Bloomer left)
■ Read and argued Jean-Paul Sartre
■ Showed up at the Senior Prom sporting a Lambda Chi pledge pin
In comparison, we were hapless High School Harrys.
After attending DePauw University and Park College, Jon transferred to Indiana University and majored in English. After graduating in 1967 he taught briefly in Michigan, where he met Julie, his wife of 50 years.
In 1968 they moved to New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, to teach at the McLaren School. In 1970, shortly after their only child Alexa was born, they sailed to Luxembourg on the S.S. France, where Jon studied at Louvain University. Back home, they both earned Master’s degrees at Indiana State.
Their formal education completed, the Wardens settled in northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C. Julie became involved in Special Education, and steadily rose to be Director of a school for special needs children. Jon taught briefly, then had a somewhat manic career that began with selling encyclopedias door-to-door, and crested with him addressing groups of sales reps in hotel ballrooms.
All that was left behind in the late 80s, when he developed a passionate interest in oil painting. He read about it. He talked about it. And most of all, he painted. Landscapes were his favorite, and he spent hours in all seasons, behind his easel, racing against sundown.
His own light vanished in late June, several weeks short of his 75th birthday, after a long illness.
On his last trip to the Hudson Valley, he painted the iconic scene hereabouts: the Shawangunk Ridge, dominated by Mohonk’shuge stone tower. New Paltz is full of art students, so there are countless renderings of this scene. Jon’s is my favorite. I will always treasure it.
Eric Snowden, RHS 62
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Allan Barnes (1962)
Noon was a good friend, spent many evenings at his home, would really like to know what he did with his lifel
Nancy Swaim (1962)
Thanks Eric for the great character sketch of Jon. I was so smitten that I kissed him while he was at the water fountain in second grade. So embarrassing....
Jim Miller (1962)
Eric, that was great to know what Jon (I will always remember him by that name, never knew him as Jack) did and what his family was like. I knew from talking with you at a reunion several years back that he had become an artist, but the rest of the detail I did not know (or had forgotten). I also thought he attended Parsons College in Iowa, which is one of those private schools that failed in the 80's, not sure why. Thanks for your recount and the heartfelt tribute to him. Nancy, he was a good looking kid, nothing to be embarrassed about, after all you were only 7 or 8 at the time.
Allan, I had never heard Jon called "Noon." Guess there's a lot to not know about people you think you know a lot about.
Jon was a friend of mine also, and I remember the discussions we would get into about Jean-Paul Sartre and Søren Kierkegaard, the early Existentialists. Jon admired them and I went along as I had no earthly idea what they were really talking about, but Jon seemed to. I wonder if he continued along that particular philosophical path during his life. There are many things and times I remember about Jon, among them drinking coffee (and smoking illicit cigarettes) with him and the group in Shirley's Cupboard and of course discussing politics and other pursuits, most of which we didn't really know much about yet. There were others, some quite funny and others just stuff of what kids do and talk about. Overall, he was a good and highly intelligent fellow, sorry to hear of his departure.
Jim Miller