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On December 31, 2020, classmate Carter Bell wrote:
Jeff Benson notified me yesterday that Peter M. Radovanovich passed away this week in Wisconsin. He had been in poor health for many years.
Update: Judy (Justin) Pozdol spoke with Jeff Benson at the 2023 Class Picnic on September 16, 2023 to confirm that Peter had passed.since no obituary could be located. Jeff confirmed that an Estate Auction for Peter's possessions had been held on January 10-16, 2022. Information concerning the auction can be found here:
https://katherinesauction.com/2022/01/03/the-estate-of-peter-radovanovich/
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Frank Ress
Peter was a great friend all through junior high and high school. I met Peter at Benny, when we were in the same section (7-3 and 8-3, for the trivia buffs). He stood out, since he acted like he was an English prep school student, not an attendee of a Waukegan public school like the rest of us middle-class kids. He always wore a coat and an ascot, and he had a distinctive, articulate way of speaking. He was distinctly 'Peter' - he was never 'Pete'. I actually taught myself how to write essays by composing the way I imagined Peter would talk. True story.That didn't mean he was stuffy. He was a wit, and always smiling. I distinctly remember one time he got stuck out in the hall during music class (I think 7th grade). I don't remember what he did to get thrown out, but the classroom door had a tall skinny window, and Peter started walking back and forth past the window, looking straight ahead and deadpanning the whole time. I don't recall the teacher ever catching on, but I had a hard time not cracking up.
Junior year in high school we were both in Mel Goldberg's English class. We both got thrown out one day for playing chess on a little travel board instead of paying attention to someone's presentation. Ah, the good old days.
I also remember Peter and Mel having some sort of disagreement about the relative merits of some aspect of poetry (poetry has never been a thing for me, so the details are long forgotten), and it resulted in Peter writing what has turned out to be my favorite poem. I was going through some of my collection of life's detritus, and found that I still had a copy that I'd saved. Peter had teamed up with Ken Frick to 'publish' his ode. If you'd like to read it, I'll post an image of it on my profile.
Now that I've retired myself, and as we head toward our 50th reunion, I was hoping to get in touch with Peter again. I'd heard a little about him via the Jeff and Carter grapevine, so I thought we might reconnect, but now that's not to be. I'll miss him.
Stephen (Steve) Bensing
Frank,
Thanks for sharing. I'd love to see the poem.
Steve Bensing
Christine E Pokett (Whittier)
Frank, Nice memories of Peter. I remember him in the Mikado in junior high as Ko-Ko. When I saw your write up on him, it brought some of my junior high memories back. I still have the record that was made of the Mikado on May 2, 1970 with Peter's distinct voice along with the cast of others, John Bach, Carter Bell, Jamie Smith, Catherine Nix, Sarah Richardson, Anneke Domerchie, Randy Holmes, and Lauren Christian. David Cantwell was the Accompanist.
Chris (Pokett) Whittier
Gregory Johnson
Frank, thank you for your memories of Peter. He and I became casual friends in high school through a shared Anglophilia and love of quirky things (and people). I remember stopping by his house once (I think he lived north of Yorkhouse Rd?) and Peter spontaneously bursting into song with a Victorian Christmas ditty - "Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, who'll put a penny in the old man's hat..." Unlike most high school kids, he wasn't afraid to follow his own path. I've often wondered since then where life had led him.
Anna (Anneke) Regina Domerchie (Teaters)
I also knew Peter in junior high at Benny. He was definately an articulate performer. He and I shared the stage in the Mikado. That was such a great experience for all of us and our friendships were strong at the time. Some very great memories. Wish I had been able to touch base with him here in Wisconsin. But as things go in life we followed our own paths. Thanks to everyone for all the memories of Peter.