John Lovas was a hard act to follow.  As the first born of Frank and Ann Lovas, he was in the lead for life.  As the second born son, I know too well what following the footsteps of a big brother meant.  He was bigger, smarter, better at sports, and seemingly anything he did.  He even got the better paper route, the Cleveland Press, versus mine, the Cleveland News in that he had the same number of customers in one block of our street (224th) compared to my six blocks (all of 223rd and 224th).  He was very competitive, actually all the Lovas kids were, probably inherited from our father.  For most of us, we only had close interaction with John until he was 16 or 17 when he went off to John Carroll University.  In the next few years I and other siblings dispersed as well for school, work, etc.  But those early years were up-close and very personal, sometimes too much so.  Perhaps our dispersal helped us to be closer as a family and made family get-togethers over the years more enjoyable.

I've read all of the comments posted until now on the DeAnza "festschrift" to John and found them to be very complimentary, and many of the attributes each has expressed have resonated with my experiences and interactions with brother John.  I thought I would collect here those that best fit my image of John.  He was a genius, a brilliant leader, reassured, stimulating, witty, engaging, insightful, and passionate.  He was also genuine, professional, personal, confident, and never backed down. He was a master politician, creative thinker, gifted, dynamic, fresh, and eager, a fountain of ideas, persistent, dedicated, and a visionary.  He talked a good bit, was articulate, a big talker, he could talk, talk, and talk with a booming voice and commanding presence.  He was not universally liked and provided his listeners with moments of exasperation and irritation.  These are words excerpted from the festschrift, but they represent John's essence and spirit.  Thank you all for jogging my memories of him through your words. 

As I read the accounts and recalled my experiences with John, it seems to me that his life was a performance with him the central character and us the audience.  It was interactive to be sure, but usually he was in control.  He was a class act.  I miss you John, now and always.

Frank Lovas