John Roache passed away at home during the night of March 3rd, 1999.
Neither his wife, Judy, nor any of his many friends were aware of any
current illness or stress as far as we know.  It is anticipated that
an official cause of death will be made known when it is available.
Funeral services are being planned for next week in Inglewood, CA;
no firm date as yet.

John was a strong proponent of ragtime music and other genre such as
stride and novelty piano.  Well known to aficionados, he was generous
with his help to other folks.  He was highly skilled in the art of
'sequencing' and could turn an otherwise mediocre rag MIDI file into
pure delight for listeners' ears.  He began sequencing with the use of
a Commodore computer, and that goes back a few years.  Last year he
hauled all his sequencing equipment to Sacramento to conduct a seminar
on sequencing for the enlightenment and amazement of many ragfest
attendees.

John created and maintained his own Ragtime Music web site with MIDI
files anyone could download and enjoy, and it was indeed enjoyed by
many.

He was an accomplished musician who was on his way to overcoming the
results of an earlier stroke which had weakened his left hand, and his
public appearances in such places as The Rose Leaf Club were becoming
more and more frequent until he suddenly stopped attending a few months
ago.

He was preparing to build a web site for Old Town Music Hall, El Segundo
CA, and had attended the performance there of Mimi Blais the previous
Sunday and that of the Magnetic Ragtime Orchestra earlier on.

An honest, forthright man of many interests, he was a radio ham
(WA6WUL) and a wine connoisseur and, we suppose, the list goes on.
He will be sorely missed.

George McClellan and Lee Roan
Temple City CA