I received this e-mail today, this evening, from a high school friend. One of the few I’ve kept in semi-regular contact with over the 20+ years since we’ve graduated. Here it is:
Keith Amos passed away today, October 9, 2006 at 2:19 PM Pacific time.
He suffered from pancreatitis and had been battling with it since June.At the time of his passing he was home with his life Partner, Alan
Todd. He was in the company of much of his family and passed away
peacefully. There are no funeral plans, however he is to be creamated,
his ashes to be scattered at Leo Carillo state beach at a date yet to be
determined.
I went to North Hollywood High School’s Magnet program. I remember meeting Keith on the first day, he won me over within minutes. Keith could find humor in everything and always had a huge smile on his face. We laughed over so many things. We shared my locker for most of those three years and knew he would be one of my very best friends for the rest of our lives. I remember when he and Honcho were living together that we would get together and play Pictionary…he was a great partner. Whoever had Keith on their team usually won.
I lost contact with Keith over the years I’ve been in Vegas. I was in hopes of reestablishing contact with Keith after finding a yahoo group dedicated to those that were in our Magnet class. But I didn’t pursue it like I should have, especially now that I have the 20/20 vision of hindsight. How do 39 year olds die of pancreatitis? I never dreamed he would be gone so young. It’s frustrating that I lost contact with him to begin with, but it’s devastating to realize that now it’s too late to reestablish it. It’s hard to swallow that someone so full of life could be gone.
Let this serve as a reminder just how short life really is and if there is someone you are wanting to reconnect with, do it now…don’t let it wait, you just don’t know what tomorrow might bring.
Filed under: Uncategorized
