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NEWSLETTER MARCH 2007 Alumni Committee Adrienne Philpott Chairperson |
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3850 E. Atlantic Ave.
Sp. 235 |
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I’ve decided to get the newsletter out earlier this year, because the stack of emails I have are overwhelming. I may continue this practice of the newsletter going out after the first of each year instead in the middle of the year. We need to remember those who have passed away. We send condolences to the following families:- CHRIS (ANDRADE) VELARDE, whose husband Roy “Cookie” passed away May 24, 2006 of congestive heart failure. I talked again with her in January of this year and I found out that RUBEN HERNANDEZ passed away April 2006. I called his widow, Connie, and she said that one day he felt weak and was gone within a month. - MARILYN (LITTLE) FRAZIER who passed away June 3, 2005. She had been battling a weak heart for several years, pursuant to an email I received July 17, 2006 from her son Richard. Marilyn lived in Littleton, CO. - JIM BACA of Show Low, AZ. On Dec. 2, 2006, I received a phone call from LOUISE STANFORD NELSON of Charlotte, NC informing me that Jim died November 23, 2006 of kidney failure. - RON WORMAN passed away October 19, 2006, and on November 10, 2006, EDWARD NEGRETE died. There were nice write-ups about both of these men in The Sun and we remember they helped out on many reunions.- October 28, 2006, I received an email from PAULA (DODSON) OLSON, telling me that VIRGINIA (SWEET) JELKEN’s husband, “passed away the night before of a massive heart attack. First stricken on Oct. 25th, they wanted to put him on life support but Jake, a former Marine, had previously signed for no additional life support. They had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary the previous Christmas Day. Paula writes “Virginia isn’t very big, but a very strong person.” All the reunion material and newsletters kept being returned to me re CHARLES LAMB, JR., until July 11, 2006, when I received a call from the present owner of Charles’ residence advising that Charles died about 20 years ago. On February 21, 2007, I paid a visit to Classmate PAUL BOLLES, who was at the Valley Convalescent Hospital in San Bernardino. He was being fed through his stomach and was not doing well, but he recognized me. He talked, as best he could, about when he got out of the hospital he wanted a party. He had had a couple of strokes and a heart attack. He returned home for a short period of time, but he needed round the clock care. On March 3, 2007 at 2:30 PM, I received a phone call from Maureen Murphy Smith that Paul passed away that morning. I had also heard from Betty Jolliff Bibbee advising me of his death. Paul’s funeral service and burial was March 12, 2007 at the Riverside National Cemetery, followed by a get-together at the home of Bob and Mickie Morey in Fontana. ANN WARREN JOHNSON called me on February 22, 2007 with the tragic news that BILL and KAY (QUAM) FORD lost their son William III, due to a job-site accident. I did then on February 23, 2007 receive “a very difficult email” from Bill and Kay. Bill was up on scaffolding 28 feet above ground, when he lost his grip. Memorial services for Billy were held at Bobbitt Memorial Chapel in San Bernardino on Wednesday, February 28 at 3:00 PM. Homer Wilson and I joined the SRO crowd of classmates, family and friends to say goodbye to their son. It was such a lovely service albeit sad. On March 14, 2007, I received from Juanita Burns Beighle, a copy of an email she sent to her classmates. “Dear Fellow Classmates of Class of 1954: On February 22, 2007, Kay (Quam) Ford and Bill Ford (a graduate of Class of ’53) lost their son William “Billy” Ford III due to a tragic job related accident. The San Bernardino County Museum Association is establishing a Memorial Fund in the name of William Billy Ford III. They are building a new building at the Museum. It will be named the Hall of Geological Wonders. The monies donated will be used for the completion of this New Hall. If you would like to make a contribution to this Memorial Fund, here are the instructions to make your donation. l.
Make checks payable to – The San Bernardino County Museum
Association or (SBCMA). 3. Donations are tax-deductible – Federal Tax Identification No. 95-6095688. 4. Checks should state “In memory of William Robert Ford, III.” She thought the Class of 1953 would be as interested and I thank Juanita for forwarding this to me in time to get it into this newsletter. I spoke to BEVERY DAVISSON VAN FRANK on February 17, 2007 and learned that she has had more than one heart attack. Back in January, 2006 she suffered from congestive heart failure. August, 2006 her heart stopped. She now has a pacemaker and goes to Kaiser once a month, but the care on the monitor comes from St. Mary’s in Apple Valley, CA. She is really upbeat and has such a great attitude for having gone through so much. In August, 2006, Judy Bellah Wilson, (Class of ’54) widow of our classmate DUANE WILSON, fell and broke her other leg. You may recall that July fell only a month after Duane’s death and broke her hip and was confined for a while to the Waterman Convalescent Hospital. I have spoken to Judy’s daughter and she is doing great. She is now driving again. This is a major improvement and really GOOD NEWS!On Feb. 20, 2007, BEVERLY SIEBERT PHILLIPS had a morphine pump inserted in her back. We all hope and pray that this will help alleviate the excruciating pain her body has been in for such a long time. Well, it was not to be. Today, March 13, 2007, Bev called. The Dr. is putting her in the hospital to take out the pump. She is terribly infected. I spoke to her today (3-14-07) and her stay will be a week.We are very happy to report that Diane Kiefer, wife of classmate ED KIEFER, who was diagnosed in October, 2006, with E-Coli poisoning is doing great! Diane and Ed had gone on a cruise, expecting to be home 2 or 3 days prior to the “70th birthday party of the Class of ’54, (see article page 4) but she ended up at Kaiser in Fontana instead. On March 10, 2007, I received an email from Diane – she went to see the doctor and he wants another MRI before he does surgery. She fell several weeks ago and the doctor thinks something other than her hip is causing the problem. Diane, please keep us posted and we pray for a speedy healing. TO ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE DECEASED AND TO THE CLASSMATES DEALING WITH A SICKNESS, INJURY OR GRIEF – YOU ARE IN OUR PRAYERS!!!THE FOLLOWING ARE REPORTS FROM OUR GLOBE-TROTTING –CLASSMATES! David and MARILYN JONES HUMPHREY report they went to the Holy Land in March, 2006 for three weeks. It was truly a wonderful experience. “I’m certainly glad we went to Israel in March and NOT now. We had a wonderful tour guide who was a walking encyclopedia on Israel, Palestine, and we also did an extended trip into Jordan. Our group was with a Christian ministry, called High Adventure. We were very moved at the Garden of Gethsemane. Our group also went to the Nativity Scene and of course, the Garden Tomb, where we all participated in Holy Communion. There were about 29 of us. I loved the trip on the boat…..Sea of Galilee.At this point I would like to inject the following: A portion of an email I received on October 2, 2006 from Marilyn regarding the horrific automobile accident that David had. (This is David’s story) He was on his way to T or C, it was sunny but had started to sprinkle about 45 miles north. When he approached the top of a hill he could see water covering the freeway (apparently from a quick shower just ahead of him) “I hit the water, hydroplaned, spun sideways, went down into the center divider, the airbags went off and then I came up the other side I went airborne across the southbound lanes. Fortunately there were no cars or trucks in my way” He took out an extensive part of the guardrail, yet the left side where he sat was virtually left intact. If the car had hit on the left front at more of an angle David says “I would not be here analyzing the physics of this crash. I just thank God (over and over and over…) that Marilyn was not in that right front seat. All the sheet metal from the door is now a tangled mess in the passenger seat.” (He emailed photos –very scary)I would like to share his email to his congregation: “I do not believe that we should rely on God’s love, grace or miraculous intervention to make up for our mistakes and/or failure to live and drive responsibly. However, I do believe that God is with us and, more often than we realize, allows us to survive our mistakes. I claim no special standing or favor with God, but I give God the glory for my surviving this crash and commit myself anew to being the best husband, son, father, friend and pastor that I can be for as long as God graciously allows me to serve Him on this earth. To God Be The Glory”. And to this, I say AMEN!In September, 2006, I received an email from LONNIE HELT POWERS. “Just got back from our trip to Yellowstone. Had a wonderful time, but we got snowed out after the second day….the leaf colors were beautiful up there this time of year. We saw elk, black bear, and lots of buffalo and of course lots and lots of geysers. We really enjoyed our trip driving, stopping when we felt like it. Plan on doing more trips in the near future.” Classmate BILL BOTTS sent an email last summer advising he had a busy summer with 30 days in Europe ending with a week at a Tuscan cooking school. Toured Turkey, Greece, the Greek Isles and Northern Italy. The first of August he spent 15 days golfing in Idaho, Montana and Utah – then off to Sedona, AZ on the 10th of September, 2006.An email from BUD GRISANTI dated December 7, 2006 regarding the trip he and his wife took. Here it is in its entirety: “It was a most memorable trip! Flew from SF to Quito. Took city tour, visited the equator line, 0 latitude. Flew to Baltra Island, Galapagos. Has airstrip due to U.S. Seabees inhabiting it in WW2. Fastest way to get there. Boarded the MV Legend, with 97 passengers, to begin our tour. Not the most luxurious ship that we’ve been on. They organized us into groups of 16 and scheduled out first trip the afternoon that we arrived. Next morning we had breakfast 6:45, left ship 7:30 via zodiacs, 3 hour island trek, back to ship, had lunch, rested, 3:30 another zodiac to island, back at 6:30; dinner, got briefed for next days activities.Visited Bartolome, Isabela, Fernandina, Santiago, Rabida, and Santa Cruz Islands. Each island was unique. We saw sea lions that had no fear of humans, yellow land iguanas, red sea iguanas, flightless cormorants, turtles (picture) and blue footed boobies. Swam and snorkled in the bay with sea lions and penquins nearby. At the Charles Darwin Research Center on Santa Cruz Island we saw Lonesome George, the last tortoise living of his species. He has 2 females but no action. They imported tortoise from SD Zoo. They call him Super Diego because he has reproduced many offspring. After 5 days we proceeded to Lima for the second half of our trip. Didn’t gain any weight on this cruise!We flew from Lima, at sea level with 7 Million people then to Cuzco, elevation 10,500 ft. Rested first day to get acclimated. Tried coca tea which was recommended and it did help. Our group of six was escorted thru the Arubamba Valley, the sacred Inca Valley. Saw magnificent ruins of the Temple of the Sun. Visited a llama farm, weaving center, and local Indian market. The valley is formed by the longest tributary of the Amazon River. We took a train from valley to Aquas Calientes, l hr. 30 min. About 30 min. from the destination, the train stopped to let hikers off who wanted to hike the rest of the way. We’re told the hike from that point to Machu Picchu is 7 hrs. We took a 30 minute bus ride to Machu Picchu on a two-way, one lane dirt road. These magnificent remains were never discovered by Pizzaro. We’re told that it took 10,000 workers 30 years to complete. MP was built to hold 900 people; probably for priests and royalty. The Incas were successful administrators and controlled an area from Colombia to Chile, and east to Argentina, for over 300+ yrs. Pizzaro landed in 1531, and by 1533 had destroyed their civilization. All for gold and silver! It was a fascinating trip and I would recommend it to anyone.”RAY RAYMER, and his son, took a much needed 3+week trip to Scotland, Wales, Ireland and crisscrossing England by rail. I received a postcard early last year from GENE and MAUREEN MURPHY SMITH who were visiting Gene’s older brother and wife in rural Missouri. Miki said visiting them is like visiting her own relatives.It’s relaxing and very enjoyable. I received an email from MARY (HARGROVE) STEFFENS advising that she and Don have moved from Lincoln City, OR to Otis, OR, a small community just a little north because life in Lincoln City was getting to hectic. (Having spent the summers of ’96 and ’97 in Lincoln City, I can tell you the state of Oregon is a great place to vacation). They have restored an older mobile home. Last fall they made a trip to Italy for a 3 week fun trip, stopping at Aviano AFB to visit their grandson for a few days. It rained a while during the visit to Venice, but cleared up by the time they got to Rome. They rented an apartment on the Cinque Terre Coast and spent 6 lazy days there. She describes it as beautiful and the people were very friendly. She says she’s glad Italian sounds a lot like Spanish so she could communicate somewhat. She said most everyone speaks English anyway! They have another grandson who graduated from basic training from Lackland AFB in San Antonio the end of August. So that was their next trip. I’ll have to get an update on that trip!WELL, I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE REST OF YOU, BUT TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD IS EXHAUSTING! NEWS FROM THE ISLANDS! Classmate Authoress Lynde Lakes (known as Pauline Lorimer in high school) found out in February that Triskelion Publishing is buying three of her novels – she had just signed the contracts. Her quote “CAN YOU HEAR ME CHEERING?” No release dates, but she is happy for the step forward. I have read one or two of her stories and they are GOOD! CONGRATULATIONS!!! Please keep us posted.On February 12, 2007, I talked to Bill Travis, of Kathleen, GA., who is looking for Orville Morris, brother of Marilyn Morris, who had entered a convent. If anyone knows the whereabouts of these people, please let me know so I can convey the info to Bill. On September 30, 2006, the Classes of 1954 from Pacific High School and SBHS got together to have a “70th birthday party. I attended, along with my friend Sally Muskat who was visiting from Michigan. The dinner was held at Pharoah’s Lost Kingdom in Redlands. It was very enjoyable and I must report that we still have some “swingers” who can cut a mean rug. Thanks to Juanita Burns Beighle for coordinating the event.MARILYN JONES HUMPHREY is coming to California for a speaking engagement on October 3. She has requested that we have the picnic on October 13, 2007, so she can attend and help out. I said GREAT! I’ll get the park reserved soon. I certainly hope we have a better turnout than we did in ’06. Mark it on your calendar now! Our annual picnic will be held October 13, 2007 at Sylvan Park in Redlands. I know – this is the same day as the 55th Reunion for SBHS Class of 1952. If you have plans to attend their reunion, you will have time to attend your class’ picnic. PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR CLASS This brings me to the serious items that need addressing –I understand postal rates are going up to $.41 in the early summer. This mailing will get out before that, but we must request that you PLEASE stay in touch with me or someone who can get in touch with me regarding your change of address. If you DO receive this newsletter, but you DO NOT wish to receive any further mailings, PLEASE let me know or ask a friend, classmate or family member to contact me. I have made this request before, but have not had a big response, sooo I’m going to start eliminating the names of classmates that we do not hear from within six months beginning with this mailing. My address and phone number and email address are shown at the top of the first page. My cell is 909-855-9935 and my fax is 909-864-7244.Now, let’s talk about our 55th REUNION which will be held October 11, 2008, probably at the Hilton. We have a format of plans – Friday night our usual get together at the Hilton (and by the way, the Hilton has been totally refurbished); a sit-down dinner Sat. night with a photographer taking candid shots ONLY. During the evening there will be announcements of who is in attendance, because we will have you ‘sign in please’. We will ask that each person whose name is called please stand up and be recognized. Then we’ll have a brunch Sunday morning at a restaurant on Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino. Nothing is carved in stone, but we want to keep this reunion low-key with plenty of time to visit. We are still determining the music aspect. The above is based on the majority of requests received from our classmates. You will receive another newsletter after the first of the year with all the details. Your dues are $10 per year = $50 due by mid ’08). Please contact me for your balance owing, if any. And, now that everyone has the up-to-date information - if you have a thought, an idea, or just want to let off steam – please let me hear from you!If you have not recently gone on line to visit our website, please do so – go to sbhs-1953.org and have a look at the changes that have been made. We’ve got a long way to go, but thanks to the help I have received from Treg Painter, who I call a “computer guru”. It is exciting to see the changes take place and someday when everything is done, then all I’ll have to do is up-date the information. I would like to remind you that if your information is not shown with your name, but you wish for it to be shown, please give us permission by writing to me and the information will be added. I just heard a good one – so I’ll leave you with this – There are three stages in our lives, YOUTH, MIDDLE AGE – AND YOU REALLY LOOK GOOD!!!!
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