Hi,
I, too, was a friend of John Ross. I met him 25 years ago through Phil and Vivian and SFS. John was witty and direct and irreplaceable for his collections, observations and obfuscations on life and folk-life. Shared great food and wines,apple pressings and all between. I was saddened to hear of his passing. Early on in the blogs-there were concerns over finding family, etc-if that has not been achieved-maybe we should check out the Coast Guard..he was after all serving for a few years..perhaps CG could help with funeral costs, etc. I think it would be nice to have a bosin (sp) play at his memorial...he enjoyed that quirky instrument and once helped me put together a workshop for folklife!