1930s
Arnold S. Rosenthal ’31
Leonard Schlesinger ’33
Nathan Blacker ’38
Maurice Palter ’38

1940s
John L. Brown ’41
Harold S. Spector ’41
Frederick H. Walter ’41

1980s
Cynthia Heslen ’83
Gregory B. Sobel ’87

1990s
John V. Bianco ’91
Oscar R. George ’96

Winter 2006 | Class Notes

IN MEMORIAM

John V. Bianco ’91

May 11, 1962 — November 17, 2005

“John was such a force in this world. There’s a big piece of John still living in all of us who knew him. If he could send a message now, he’d tell his friends to stay together, to look out for each other, to have some fun, and, for God sakes, to get off our butts and do something for the world,” said his classmate and friend Carl Metzger ’91.

John Bianco ’91 was a larger-than-life kind of guy who beat cancer, embraced his career, reached out to those with similar medical issues, and, most of all, held tight to his family. In the 1990s, when John’s wife, Grace Curley ’92, served as the law school’s director of development, the staff and faculty, as well as many graduates, offered support as John valiantly and successfully waged a six-year battle against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In early 1996, doctors told John he had only three months to live, but John, with what Grace often called sheer “cockiness,” embarked upon a regime of Chinese exercise, herbal teas, meditation and positive will. By September 1996, John celebrated his life and health by playing a 90-minute student-alumni soccer game at his high school. In 1998, he was strong enough to undergo a second bone marrow transplant, putting him firmly in remission. Unfortunately, on November 17, John, whose immune system had been severely compromised during cancer treatments, succumbed to an infection and died suddenly.

We often dwell on endings, and for good reason, but it was the story of John’s life and the past number of healthy years that convey the true richness of his personality. Two years ago, John joined Ropes & Gray as a partner in the Fish & Neave IP Group. He was a tireless and enthusiastic advocate for his clients, probably because he had the type of inquisitive mind and relentlessness that made him not only an excellent attorney but also an engaging person. John was a tinkerer himself — he and daughter Maeve, 10, invented a wheat thresher as part of a school project last year, and they even had a patent pending on another idea. For Maeve, and his other daughter, Rowan, 3, John recently built a playhouse in their North Reading backyard; but, as was always the case with John, this was no modest endeavor: John created a two-story Cape with a center entrance and dormer. He also loved soccer, coaching Maeve’s teams over the past few years, and serving as head coach this last year. For many years, John invited Grace’s friends over for a gourmet dinner on her birthday. Decked out in black tie, John welcomed all with a tall glass of wine and a hug, saying again and again how lucky he was to be married to Grace. That was John: full of unrestrained enthusiasm, extravagant and very loving.

In December, the family held a celebration of John’s life. He would have loved being the “star,” said Grace, so we came together, not just in grief, but to recall the bright light of his too-short life. — Deborah Feldman