Let me just put this here, I was among those girls in our class who had such a crush on Arnold Bortz. Ruth Ann Redd and I would shamelessly try to flirt with him, and he would simply smile.
In 1984, our class held their first reunion by going on a riverboat cruise, then dancing at the home of the Cincinnati Stingers hockey club in what was then known as The Colesseum.
Arn was mayor or Cincinnati at the time and had access to a limousine. I asked if he would take my husband and me for a ride in the limousine. He said, "Sure, hop in!" We then drove up the public landing to the Colleseum, about 300 yards away!!!
I always reminded him of this whenever we had the chance to meet afterward.
In the spring of 1962, Arn's father passed away at age 55. I attended a shiva at Arn's home in North Avondale. My intention was to support a classmate who was grieving the death of his father. Shortly after that, Arn contacted me and the rest was history. We dated throughout our WHHS years and our families even summered together once in Florida.
After graduation, Arn went off to Harvard in Cambridge, MA and I left for Connecticut College for Women in New London. We would see one another several times a month with me usually taking the Hartford/New Haven RR to Boston. Arn traveled to New London for special college events. We never missed attending a Harvard football game in Cambridge nor the Harvard/Yale games in New Haven.
After college graduation, Arn went off to England on a Watson Scholarship to study at the London School of Ecpnomics; I went off to Boston University School of Law. Our paths went their separate ways and we never dated again. We remained good friends until his death today. He had been struggling with Parkinson's Disease for more than ten years.
My high school and college years with Arn were wonderful. He was kind, generous and a gentleman. I was grateful that he was able to fulfill his dream of living in Cincinnati where he could help reshape the city's direction. He had a lovely family with Sue and their three children, their spouses and grandchildren.
I'll miss Arn and, indeed, his memory will always be a blessing.
Arn and I became good friends in high school and better friends in college. Our widowed mothers lived in the same apartment building, and we would talk often about a variety of subjects during our summer breaks from college. Arn was of course very intelligent, well-read, and quite worldly. What I admired most was his commitment to making the world a better place. He worked tirelessly as a young man to make life better for young people who needed a chance to succeed, and as mayor of Cincinnati to make a better city. In his profession he planned and worked on projects that he believedd were beneficial to everyone in the city. He succeeded in doing so. Although we never kept in touch as I moved to Austin after the army and made a life here, but at every reunion we would spend time catching up and talking about our lives and especially our children. Arn was a good man, and his loss leaves a void. I was very lucky to have known him and had him as a friend. I will miss him. May his memory be a blessing.
Well, I too had a big crush on Arn. I had a huge crush on him at North Avondale elementary school and always told him when I saw him in recent times when he was at the Kenwood, as was my Mom, that he was my first love. I always felt like that love was unrequited. But at our last reunion I once again told Arn that he had been my first love, and he said he had loved me too. He told me a story that I didn't remember. He said that one day during elementary school we were sitting together on his lawn on Wess Park Drive and that he had told me that he loved me, and added, "Can you imagine how much courage that took?"
Whether or not that ever happened, I'll never know, but it was such a sweet moment with Arn. He was always handsome, his whole life, and had a radiance and spark that made him not just someone a lot of us wanted to be around, but also a leader, both at WHHS and then in the life of Cincinnati. I love seeing in his obituary all that he contributed to our city and the world. At the Kenwood I also had the good fortune of getting to know and spend some time with Sue, and getting to meet Molly, Sam, and several of Arn and Sue's wonderful grandsons. It was clear how much those kids loved their grandpa Arn.
I will miss Arn and already miss knowing that he's in our world. May his memory be a blessing.
Ann Shepard (Rueve)
Let me just put this here, I was among those girls in our class who had such a crush on Arnold Bortz. Ruth Ann Redd and I would shamelessly try to flirt with him, and he would simply smile.
In 1984, our class held their first reunion by going on a riverboat cruise, then dancing at the home of the Cincinnati Stingers hockey club in what was then known as The Colesseum.
Arn was mayor or Cincinnati at the time and had access to a limousine. I asked if he would take my husband and me for a ride in the limousine. He said, "Sure, hop in!" We then drove up the public landing to the Colleseum, about 300 yards away!!!
I always reminded him of this whenever we had the chance to meet afterward.
Gail Weintraub (Stern)
In the spring of 1962, Arn's father passed away at age 55. I attended a shiva at Arn's home in North Avondale. My intention was to support a classmate who was grieving the death of his father. Shortly after that, Arn contacted me and the rest was history. We dated throughout our WHHS years and our families even summered together once in Florida.
After graduation, Arn went off to Harvard in Cambridge, MA and I left for Connecticut College for Women in New London. We would see one another several times a month with me usually taking the Hartford/New Haven RR to Boston. Arn traveled to New London for special college events. We never missed attending a Harvard football game in Cambridge nor the Harvard/Yale games in New Haven.
After college graduation, Arn went off to England on a Watson Scholarship to study at the London School of Ecpnomics; I went off to Boston University School of Law. Our paths went their separate ways and we never dated again. We remained good friends until his death today. He had been struggling with Parkinson's Disease for more than ten years.
My high school and college years with Arn were wonderful. He was kind, generous and a gentleman. I was grateful that he was able to fulfill his dream of living in Cincinnati where he could help reshape the city's direction. He had a lovely family with Sue and their three children, their spouses and grandchildren.
I'll miss Arn and, indeed, his memory will always be a blessing.
William (Bill) Waxman
Arn and I became good friends in high school and better friends in college. Our widowed mothers lived in the same apartment building, and we would talk often about a variety of subjects during our summer breaks from college. Arn was of course very intelligent, well-read, and quite worldly. What I admired most was his commitment to making the world a better place. He worked tirelessly as a young man to make life better for young people who needed a chance to succeed, and as mayor of Cincinnati to make a better city. In his profession he planned and worked on projects that he believedd were beneficial to everyone in the city. He succeeded in doing so. Although we never kept in touch as I moved to Austin after the army and made a life here, but at every reunion we would spend time catching up and talking about our lives and especially our children. Arn was a good man, and his loss leaves a void. I was very lucky to have known him and had him as a friend. I will miss him. May his memory be a blessing.
Mary Benjamin
Well, I too had a big crush on Arn. I had a huge crush on him at North Avondale elementary school and always told him when I saw him in recent times when he was at the Kenwood, as was my Mom, that he was my first love. I always felt like that love was unrequited. But at our last reunion I once again told Arn that he had been my first love, and he said he had loved me too. He told me a story that I didn't remember. He said that one day during elementary school we were sitting together on his lawn on Wess Park Drive and that he had told me that he loved me, and added, "Can you imagine how much courage that took?"
Whether or not that ever happened, I'll never know, but it was such a sweet moment with Arn. He was always handsome, his whole life, and had a radiance and spark that made him not just someone a lot of us wanted to be around, but also a leader, both at WHHS and then in the life of Cincinnati. I love seeing in his obituary all that he contributed to our city and the world. At the Kenwood I also had the good fortune of getting to know and spend some time with Sue, and getting to meet Molly, Sam, and several of Arn and Sue's wonderful grandsons. It was clear how much those kids loved their grandpa Arn.
I will miss Arn and already miss knowing that he's in our world. May his memory be a blessing.