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William Stuart Kahn, Jr., 56, son of William and Christine, passed away February 11 in So San Francisco. Bill grew up in Burlingame, attending Mills High then UC Davis. An avid sportsman, Bill loved everything outdoors; always sharing great experiences. He is survived and lovingly remembered by his mother, his four brothers, his nieces and nephew, his aunts, cousins and many friends
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Randy Stroot
Bill was one of my best friends in HS. I was first introduced to him by Mr Parker(track coach deceased the same year before Bill...ironic). They both convinced me to join the track team, thinking I would be a good high jumper based on how high my leg kicked up while punting in football games. That part of it didn't work out too well, but a great friendship was the result. He and Mr Parker did eventually train me for the triple jump, of which had better results.Of course, Bill was one of the premier track stars in the league; so I was honored to have him as a track mentor and friend. As a junior, he cleared 6 feet, 5 inches in the high jump, breaking the school record which held for years thereafter. It also ranked him fourth in the state at the time. He routinely bested events in high hurdles and triple jump at league track meets.
Besides his atheletic talents, Bill had a high flying spirit(pun not intended?), always upbeat, positive, supportive, intelligent, witty and great sense of humor. He never had a bad word for anyone. He was a real fun guy to be around; especially when we got together with Dave Case, cruisin' the El Camino in his '65 Mustang or my '56 Chevy.
Of course, we had some more serious times(we tried anyway) going over chemistry or math notes. Bill reminded me at the 20th reunion that I came over to tutor him over at his house; but really, I was there just to get out of my house(which was tough) and have some fun. I never believed that he really saw it that way.
After HS, we all lost touch for a number of years; then I tracked him down in SF and brought him to the 20th reunion. Thereafter, he soon enrolled at UC Davis, and pretty much became a professional student for the next 15 years. We stayed in touch on a regular basis. I even drove down to visit him on the UC Davis campus. During the last year of his life, he called more frequently with a malady of ill symptoms. He moved onto a boat on the bay in SSF; and within a couple of months, I received notice from his family that he had drowned. That was eery news, as I had previously sensed in the back of my mind that something would happen, but I remained positive in the hopes that I could one day accept his invitation to visit his boat.
That window closed quickly, as do many similar scenarios in life that continue to repeat themselves; leaving all of us with an obvious lesson to grasp those brief awakenings. The redeeming consolation is to know he was still a good spirit in the end; and to believe he went to a better place; and that we will meet again.