The few times our paths crossed -- notably at OPPO performances -- Amos struck me as a deep well of kindness; truly a noble soul.  We are so much the poorer for his passing . . . 

amos and i were friends way back in our champaign-urbana days.  one of my favorite memories of him was when his band free range chicken played a downtown champaign bar and amos opened with a solo acoustic cover of sepultura's 'territory'.  the crowd in this college sports bar had no idea what to make of him,  just some wild looking man screaming 'war for territory' at everyone while windmilling a D power cord on an acoustic guitar.

I'm so, so very sorry to hear this. Despite being just a handful of years younger, I was lucky to have Amos as a TA at the University of Illinois his first semester and mine. Today, in education, we talk about the importance of "belonging" and "culture", and Amos inherently knew both of those things more than 30 years ago without anyone providing him with training about them. That small class in that weird corner room in the Armory had a strong sense of community, and everyone felt that they belonged. 

Over the next few years, I would buy the Free Range Chicken cassette, the t-shirt, and go to concerts. I'm quite certain that the t-shirt remains in this house in my T-shirt Archive in the basement. And, it wasn't because I was super-knowledgeable about music, it was because I knew a guy in the band. As you wrote, that is how Amos made everyone feel in my experience at U of I. Now, I read about his accomplishments over the ensuing decades, and I'm so impressed. Of course, I'm not surprised about the equal parts of humanity that lined up with those accomplishments.

To Amos's family and closer friends, I'm so very sorry. He left a strong impression on me. I will think of him even more often and consider how I can be a little more positive and a little more friendly, and I will add Amos's memory to my reasons to commit to the work of social justice and to ensuring that all kids have real opportunities for their future, access to the resources to get there, and the support to take advantage of those opportunities and those resources. Again, I am so very sorry to learn this news.