John Friends died the way he lived: outside, in motion, and in the company of people he loved.

On Tuesday evening, April 14, 2026, John suffered a heart attack while on his regular Tuesday night mountain bike ride, a standing tradition with an ever-widening and evolving circle of friends. He was just twelve days shy of his 63rd birthday.

To know John was to learn from him, regardless of the setting.

For more than three decades, John was an extraordinary educator. He began his teaching career at Eaglebrook and Bement Schools, and then, beginning in 2002, spent twenty-four years at Full Circle School in Bernardston. John eventually became one of two leaders of this “little school in the woods,” but he also shared with his co-director the roles of groundskeeper, librarian, CFO, and school nurse. He was a defining presence in the life of the school.

John believed every child has gifts and talents, and he built both his indoor and outdoor classrooms in ways that fostered intelligence, innocence, courage, and joy. His sincere wonder and curiosity about the natural world, his penchant for science experiments that involved explosions, and his willingness to adjust and learn from others made him an exceptional teacher. He had a rare gift for helping people see more in themselves than they originally thought possible.

But John’s classroom was never contained by a formal academic space. He taught and learned on mountains and lakes, on back roads and bike trails. He taught people of all ages how to ride without fear, how to link turns on a snowboard, how to fall and then get back up again. Over the years, he introduced countless kids and adults to mountain biking, skateboarding, waterskiing (including barefoot skiing), wake skating, and, above all, snowboarding. For many, he was a first coach and a steady encourager. For more than a few, John’s support changed the course of their lives.

Adventure was part of John’s DNA. He cycled long stretches of the Erie Canal, circumnavigated Lake Ontario, took on multi-day rides through the Finger Lakes, and even biked hundreds of miles along Brazil’s Estrada Real with friends from two continents. John measured his years in miles traveled, birds spotted, trails ridden, and vertical feet climbed, often logging six figures on Strava. In the end, though, it wasn’t the distance covered that mattered to family and friends. What people remember most about John was the way he brought people along and made everything fun.

That instinct to welcome others into adventure led John to found RideMass, which later grew into the United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA) Southern New England Series. Through his nonprofit, Northeast Alternative Sports Inc., he helped build one of the few series of its kind, making competitive snowboarding and freeskiing accessible to thousands of athletes.

John leaned into adventure from an early age. He was born in Troy, New York, on April 26, 1963, to Gerald and Barbara Friends, and grew up alongside his two older brothers, Barry and Todd, in a family that moved easily between home and horizon. There was a year spent living abroad in England, ski trips in Europe, and summers at the family’s cottage on Sodus Bay: a place that later became a permanent home for his parents and, over time, a summer anchor for John and his own family.

Just after high school, John lived for a year in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where he became fluent in Portuguese and formed relationships that lasted the rest of his life. It was in Brazil that he first held an infant in his arms, and when that child, Marcello, grew up, started his own family, and moved to the U.S., John embraced Marcello, his wife, Andrea, and their young son, Pedro. John later became godfather to their daughter, Sara, and he loved Pedro and Sara as his own grandchildren.

At the center of John’s life was his partnership with his wife, Mary Ellen. Together, they built a life grounded in shared values—presence, intention, generosity, and a deep respect for other people—but even more than that, a deep and trusting love. They were true partners in every sense: in parenting, in cooking, in building community, and in a life that always made room for others, while at their core, they were each other’s best friend.

John was a loving father to his son Caleb and daughter Ellie, and in both of them you can see his imprint. Caleb carries forward John’s love of the mountains and the community around them, now living in Lakewood, Colorado with his wife Amy, supporting the USASA Rocky Mountain Series and recently stepping into John’s longtime role as technical supervisor of the slalom venue at USASA Nationals. Ellie, who once taught alongside John at Full Circle, now works as a children’s librarian, spreading that same sense of joy and curiosity John shared with countless young people.

John’s circle of friends was wide but never casual. He had a way of drawing people in, encouraging them onto a bike ride, onto a mountain, or into a community and making them feel like they belonged. The Tuesday night ride group, known fittingly as the “Drafters,” is just one example. Over the years it has grown into a tradition because John kept inviting people in, one person and one ride at a time.

Even in his passing, John’s generosity continued. His final act was to donate his organs to help others.

A celebration of John’s life will be held on his birthday: Sunday, April 26, at 11:30 a.m. in the Hess Auditorium at Deerfield Academy.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Northeast Alternative Sports Inc., the nonprofit John founded to support the USASA Southern New England Series. Those contributions will provide access and opportunity for the next generation of athletes.

John believed, at his core, that people were capable of more than they knew, and that sometimes all it took was someone beside them, cheering them on.

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