| For the newest updates, go to Page Two with this link. | ||
Hello Fellow RIHS 59-ers! We wanted to try something new before our 45th reunion--a message page. You will be able to read these greetings here on our class website, but we will also post a copy at the reunion in October. The 2004 reunion booklet does not include any updates, only contact information on classmates. We thought we needed more! This page could also be a fun way to reflect on our years at Rocky or the past 45 years. Do you have any humorous or noteworthy stories to share? (Even though we are all very proud of our own families' accomplishments, we're hoping to hear primarily about our 1959 classmates.) It would be great to hear from ALL of you!
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| Want to participate?
Just
send your comments directly to Vicki at vwazz@hotmail.com in the body of an
email. We do the rest, including spell check! If you
can't reply by email, send your news to this address: The newest messages are
posted at the TOP of the list. |
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Go to Page Two of the message board. |
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| 9/27/04, Diane
Larson Gelaude can't make the reunion, but here is a
quick note: Greetings to Class of 1959, I am truly sorry to miss the reunion this coming weekend. I leave for Scotland on Sat. I had hoped to at least attend on Friday PM but life has been very hectic these past 2 weeks. My Mom is in the hospital again so I have been trying to work & be up there for her. She is stable now and doing better. My sister & brother both live far from here so they can't help. With everything going on, I probably won't get there Fri PM as planned. I will be thinking about "you all" though. Don & I are both still working and going strong. No plans for retiring. We both love what we do. We live on a farm south of Orion. Don farms and restores old John Deere tractors. He buys & sells. I have my own Travel Agency and work from home. Check out my website sometime www.bluehorizon.net. Our 6 kids are all grown & self-supporting. We have 11 grandchildren. Again "Hi" to everyone. Enjoy the week-end. Stop by the farm and see us sometime. The coffee pot is always on and the welcome mat out. . . Regards, Diane (Larson) Gelaude |
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| 9/13/04,
Sharon Bisby Hansen sent
more short updates from reunion questionnaires: Judy Adams Walton, Myrtle Beach, SC: I planned on retiring 3/31/04 but things at work changed and I had to postpone. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be retired. Otherwise just enjoying life in Myrtle Beach. Diane Althoff Love, Florida and Maine: (See Diane's earlier note below dated 5/15) Diane added that she has 2 sons, one in Boston and one in Naples. There is another grandchild on the way! Cynthia Anderson Anderson, WV: Jerry and I are looking forward to retirement next year. We plan to travel...especially to CA to visit our daughters. Sibyl Anderson Acker, Polo, IL: Retired from teaching in June 2004. Church organist, have been playing for 40 + years. Now working at a grocery store and also helping my husband with his business. He's a climatologist (dealing with weather). Lynn Atkinson Cimfel, Gurnee, IL: I am retired and find my calendar now full of things I want to do. Mike Bridges, Rockford, IL: I retired in 2003 from Rockford Blacktop Construction Co. Robert Brissey, Dubuque, IA: My wife of 39 years and I now have two granddaughters. I'm a Real Estate Broker in Dubuque with both sons in the business. Donna Browder Hillman, Arroyo Grande, CA: We continue to be conservators for a young man we have had since he was 10 1/2 years old. He is now 23. Husband, Gene, is still self-employed (Hillman Instrument Co.). We travel some to Vancouver, WA where our 2 daughters live. We have 4 grandchildren. I am also active in women's ministry at our church. Basically, we are a busy family, not even thinking retirement! Keeps us young! Leon Butcher, Q-Cities: Retired from the sheet metal trade after 41 years and 7 months. Lawrence Carpenter, Louisburg, NC: We moved to North Carolina in 1987. I took early retirement in January 2004 and moved to a gated recreation community. Maxine Cope McDonald, Q-C area: Retired from the Rock Island Arsenal in 1998. Husband Richard also retired from RIA. Like to baby-sit great nieces and nephews. Volunteer at Trinity West Hospital and really enjoy going to NASCAR races. Robert James Crum, Q-Cities: No big changes... Still working at Short Hills Country Club and have been raising my grandson for the past 15 months. He is 5 years old. Janice Denhard Visser, Spring, TX: Married Richard Visser. Six children, 10 grandchildren. Dick is retired from ironwork. I am Safety Director for a trucking company. Scott Ellingson, Centennial, CO: (also see note below dated 4/18) Wife, Sandy (Alleman "62" sorry), and I live in Colorado. Married 37 years, we have 3 kids and 7 grandchildren. I'm still racing a nostalgic front engine dragster alcohol injected Ford Flathead. Yes, the same engines a lot of us had in HS. You'd think I'd know better by now. We race in CO, WY, KS, and NM. Driver's compartment was a lot roomier than it is now; didn't know metal could shrink that much!! Jerry Esrick, Evanston, IL: Partner in Wildman Harrold in Chicago, a law firm with 225 attorneys. Former Chair of Executive Committee. Two kids, Dan (32), also an attorney and Sara (34) social worker. Wife, Ellen a retired teacher. Avid sailor, skier, and traveler. Max Fitz, Brooklyn IA: Retired! Enjoying it traveling, seeing the USA, fishing, hunting, chasing the gals and staying SINGLE! Larry Flaherty, Q-Cities: Retired, single, workout everyday, but still work part-time at the Bettendorf Fitness Center and also teach tennis. Deneen French, Q-Cities: I retired this September after 40 years with the government. I have been married for 34 years to my wife, Jan (RIHS '62). I have one son, two daughters and five grandchildren. Now that I'm retired, I plan on traveling a lot. Sue Ellen Friedman Parkhurst, Germantown, TN: Owner, RSVP Memphis/Nashville and owner of Carly's Gifts and Promotions. Charles Garber, West Chester, PA: President and CEO of Structure Probe, Inc. in West Chester, PA. Lorraine Hall Hathaway, Q-Cities area: Lou and I have been married 43 years, and have 3 daughters and 3 grandchildren. I'm active as a volunteer for the local hospital, genealogy society, and DAR as well as an avid family history researcher. Lou and I like to travel and love to visit our children & grandchildren, as well as friends all over the country. Hinda Halpern Cole, Seattle WA: (also see 2/6/04 note from Hinda) We survived a horrific home reconstruction project and are enjoying the beauty, weather, and activities of the Pacific Northwest. One of our children and family live in Portland, OR. David Harlan, Morton, IL: Retired from Lucent Technologies; Six months in Illinois and six months in Florida each year; Enjoy golf and travel and genealogy. In the last five years, visited Hawaii, Alaska, and Europe. Robert Harmon, Chesapeake Beach, MD: Our three children have blessed us with two grandkids each. At the time of the 40-year class reunion, I had built a new home near Austin, TX where I had planned to retire. I was working in high-tech industry and got laid off. Now I'm working in downtown Washington, DC for American Petroleum Institute. Margie and I live right on the Chesapeake Bay. Good seafood! Jane Hollingsworth Hotze, Morrison, MO: I just completed 17 years of commuting between our country home in mid-Missouri and St. Louis, MO (12 years) followed by Wichita, KS (5 years). Held position as director of marketing/or for major healthcare organizations in each spot. Now am starting my own healthcare consultancy from our Missouri home. My husband and I are continuing to enjoy our 3 Paints (horses) plus our garden, antiques, summer Canadian home, etc. Francis Inch, Jr., Mission, TX: Had quadruple bypass November 2003 and decided to try and retire January 2004. Purchased a home in Mission, TX retirement community and home in RI. We plan on staying in RI during the summers and TX during the winters. Charles (John) Johnson, Bristol, IL: I am currently CEO of Clark Dietz, Inc., a 150 person consulting engineering company. I enjoy golf, woodworking, yard work and our granddaughter, "Ellie". Linda Johnson Little, Port Byron, IL: Three year cancer survivor, retired on disability, active in church, singing in the choir, Gilda's Club. Learning lots of new crafts there. Love to dance and go hear my talented musician husband perform. Have 14 grandkids and 2 great-grandkids! Wanda Johnson Hutchings, Chambersburg, PA: My husband, Bill, and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. All three of our sons are graduates of Penn State. Our youngest son has blessed us with our two granddaughters. Our recent venture is a log cabin in West VA. Come and see us in the mountains. Judy Kaiser Nies, Hayward WI: (also see note about Phil Nies below) Enjoys quilting, reading, spending time on the lake, and having their children and 7 grandchildren visit. Prebble La Dage, Vancouver, WA: I am happily retired and so busy that I have no idea how I had time to work. I enjoy biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, golf, Tai Chi, etc. The states of Washington and Oregon are ideal for all of the above and life is good! James Lerch, Q-Cities: I retired from Alcoa. I still work as Police Chief of Sherrard, IL. Will retire from there soon, after 25 years. Moved to RI from Illinois City. Love living in town again. We are raising our two small grandkids, age 3 and 4 years. Life is full. Carolyn McCallum White, Summerfield, FL: Being full-time residents of FL, we spend most of our time with the big 3... Golf, Doctors, and Early Bird Specials! We do have season tickets for Florida Gators Basketball, but still root for the Fighting Illini! Peggy Mockmore Henderson, Q-Cities: Our oldest granddaughter, Holly, got married last June. We now have 11 grandchildren. I'm still working at Hampton Clinic as an RN. Doing a lot of quilting and sewing for my grandchildren. Also, traveling with my husband, Bob, to see our sons. All 3 of them now live in Texas and Louisiana. Mardelle "Mardy" Moody Dhaemers, Q-Cities: Am now retired and loving it! Since we have kids in Houston, San Antonio, and So. California, we do a lot of traveling. During the reunion, we will be in Hawaii. We are taking all the family, including grandchildren (14 in all). I will be sorry to miss seeing you all at the 45th, but hey... Where would you rather be? Henry Morehouse, Q-Cities: I retired in August of 2002. Wife, Nancy, is still working at the Putnam Museum/IMAX Theater. Two married daughters, two grandchildren, Pierce (8) and Carly (3). Martha Moul Wiebers, Gibson City, IL: Retired English and German teacher in 1995. For the past nine years, employed by the same school district, but as an elementary school teachers' aide...What an eye-opener! Married in 1999 to a wonderful man. Together we have 4 children, 6 grandchildren. Phil Nies, Hayward, WI: Involved in local politics. Loves sailing his boat and spending time on the lake. Enjoys when the grandchildren come. Faye Ogden Taber, Q-Cities: Contract Specialist working in chemical defense equipment for TACOM-RI at the Rock Island Arsenal. Judy Piggott Zuniga, Victoria, TX: My husband retired 2 years ago and we usually spend half of the year in Estes Park, CO, escaping the south Texas heat. We have 4 grown children, 4 "children"-in-laws, and by the time of the reunion, we will have 7 grandchildren. I know a lot of people visit Estes Park. Call me! I'm a good tour guide! (Find their telephone number in the 45th reunion booklet, or contact Larry Stone lstone521@mchsi.com or Vicki Swanson Wassenhove vwazz@hotmail.com for Judy's no.) Sharon Randall Gaffney, Beloit, WI: I live on a farm of 120 acres and have 20 pet cows and other pets that come and go. We love to travel! Our latest big adventure was driving through Mexico to Belize. We have 15 grandchildren, ages one to seventeen. My main interests are the "Big No's", Politics and Religion, especially referring to Pro-Life issues. Phyllis Raymond Beachler, Q-Cities: Still working, soon to retire. Interests are golf and charity work. Don Raymond, Q-Cities: Retired and enjoy life. Glad to wake up every day! Janet Reeves Duncan, Geneseo, IL: My husband, Webb, and I have six children and ten grandchildren with the eleventh due in late June 2004. We live in Geneseo. Both my husband and I are retired from John Deere Harvester. We love to play golf and tennis. We have a winter home in Mesa AZ, where we spend six months in the sunshine. Richard L. Smith, Summerfield, FL: Playing golf and traveling. Carol Spahn Lange, Q-Cities: I have six grandchildren now. The 18-year-old graduated this past June. The youngest is 1 year. My daughter and grandson keep me very busy with his activities. I am very active in church, and also being a worker in the Nauvoo Temple in Nauvoo, IL , with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wayne Stout, Illinois City, IL: Mary Prester-Stout and I have been married five years this July 2004. We have three grandchildren. We moved to the country where we keep a big house and garden. We enjoy our family events and holidays and we are active in our church. I still keep busy with retired fire fighters on a local and state level. Mary is a "Red Hatter" and keeps busy around the house. Shirley Street Reed, Q-Cities: I am currently employed full-time at my own business, Hair Expressions, in Milan, IL (24 years). My husband and I like to travel on cruise ships! Alan Tebbe, Q-Cities: Retired 1998. Summer cabin in Mercer WI. Main interest is still duck hunting. Now I can travel north to south to pursue the sport as never before. Married 30 years to wife, Joyce. Two granddaughters. Georgia Thomas Laird, Q-Cities: Retired in 1992. Bob and I alternate time between Florida and the Quad-Cities. Jerry Thompson, Port Byron, IL: Retired state employee and International Harvester Co. Travel a lot. Lake home in Northern Minnesota. Gardening. Woodworking. Larry Tschappat, Q-Cities: Learning to walk after a 5-year time-out! Judith Verdegem Bartlett, Q-Cities: My husband retired. We moved to a house by the woods and enjoy watching a variety of birds and animals come to our back yard. I keep busy with crafts and enjoy computer games and church activities. Janice Walters Hale, Palm Harbor, FL: In 2003 we moved to Florida to escape the snow and cold in Illinois. My interest in growing orchids and oil painting keep me busy. I still sew for designers, making custom window treatments. We have 10 grandchildren. Doris Wells Clark, Belmont, MI: Six grandchildren. Still working. Meier Corporate. (From editor: Hope the spelling is correct on the company. It wasn't clear to me.) JoAnn Whitmore, Q-Cities: (See note about JoAnn's work with children at the very bottom of this page.) I'm back to riding bike trails in my retirement. I also raise, train and show Bedlington Terrier dogs. I love to travel and have visited 18 foreign countries. Evelyn Wight Morrissey, Vernon, TX: Retired. Six grandchildren. Daughters married to a Presbyterian minister and an attorney. I taught art 26 years. My husband is semi-retired, working half-days at our local newspaper. I substitute teach upper grades. My main interests are my children and grandchildren. I still have my 1965 Mustang Convertible I purchased new. It has won many awards in car shows. |
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| 9/8/04, Kathy
Gartelos Siokos is a teacher close to retirement: I am teaching English at West High School in Davenport, IA. I have been at it for 35 years. I plan to retire in June 2006. Teaching has been good to me. I have greatly enjoyed working with young people and will probably miss how they have kept me feeling young! My husband, Gordon, took the plunge last September (2003) and is enjoying the freedom retirement brings. We look forward to frolicking together, Lord willing, for some time to come. Our son, Jim is a special education
teacher at Sudlow Intermediate School in Davenport. He
enjoys movie making and fast pitch softball in his spare
time. Our daughter, Ann, is a lab technician with Metro
Lab. She is married to Corry Spies who is a reading
teacher at Walcott Intermediate School in Walcott, IA.
They have been blessed with three beautiful children.
Hannah is almost 4, Catherine is almost 2 and M ichael is
just 5 months. That, of course, makes us grandparents.
What joy they have brought us! |
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| 7/6/04,
"Hello to All" from Roger Lee Loveless: I was the fat kid who was always in trouble so much so that I got to spend an extra year at great Rocky. I don't know many of you personally, but some of the names do sound familiar. After graduating from Rocky, the United States Marine Corps was lucky to get me and me them. The first reunion took place when I was home on leave, so I was able to attend. No one recognized me since I had lost so much weight in the Marines, but I enjoyed myself and enjoyed seeing everyone. My wife, Dorothy, and I have been married 40 years this October. We have two daughters and one adopted son. Our son and his family live in Washington. Our daughters live here in Wendell Idaho where we live. We have two grandsons and three granddaughters and soon will be great grandparents. We lived in Orange County, California for thirty-four years, where I was a California Highway Patrolman on motors. I retired due to injuries from a motorcycle accident. Then I worked for Northrop and retired. We now live on a small Idaho ranch with some cattle, pigmy goats, ducks and chickens. It's a far cry from the busy city life, but we really do love it here. It has not been possible for us to attend any more of the reunions, but I have been there in spirit. After the last reunion, I was contacted by a gentleman whose last name was Shepard. (We were still living in Calif at the time.) I knew him as "Shep". We were not at home and my daughter took the message and his number. I am sorry to say that the number got lost and I feel very bad that I wasn't able to contact him. So if you are out there, please contact me again, either by phone or e-mail. (Shep or anyone wishing to contact Roger, contact Vicki Wassenhove vwazz@hotmail.com Larry Stone lstone521@mchsi.com for his information. Our web site no longer posts email addresses.) We regret we will not be able to attend the reunion again this year, but I will be thinking about all of you. I will look forward to seeing some pictures of the events on the web site or any others that classmates can send. Will close for now and hope to hear from some of you.... Especially you, "Shep". God bless, Roger Lee Loveless |
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| 6/15/04,
"What fun" says Dani Edstrom about our class site: I finally got on the web site and what a thrill to read from so many classmates! I don't have a lot to tell about and, like some of you, my memory hasn't kicked in yet. Briefly, after high school I moved to Oak Park to join my mother and sister who had moved the previous year. After graduating from Wright Jr. College, Chicago, I earned a BS in Speech Pathology from Northern Illinois University. My greatest thrill in college was to earn an A+ on a term paper in English. I wanted so badly to send it to Ms. Hankins who could never give me anything above a C. My husband, Brent, is from Sterling, IL and we met at NIU. This month we celebrated 40 years. We've lived in Florida (yea Seminoles!) where Brent got his Ph.D. We spent about 3 years in Georgia and Virginia before settling in Auburn, AL. Having once said I would live anywhere but Wyoming (too cold and sparse) or Alabama (George Wallace country)..I came reluctantly to Alabama. But, this is a gorgeous state with mountains, plains, white sand gulf beaches, and more rivers than most other states. Auburn is a gem of a town and it was a wonderful place for our two sons to grow up. The schools remind me of ours in Rock Island...we were so lucky to have the schools we had. Our sons are grown and one is a high school Spanish teacher and coaches football and baseball. He lives nearby and we see him often. Our other son is a graphic artist in Jackson, MS. We have one grandchild, 18 mos. She has led me to a new interest: smocking. Sewing, reading, genealogy, traveling, and canoeing are my other hobbies. A little volunteer work for church also fills my time. Brent retired from Auburn University in 1997, but I am still working full time with the Office of Alumni Affairs. Because fall is busy for our office, we won't be able to be at the reunion. The 60th birthday party occured while we were visiting our families and we had a wonderful time. It was great to see and visit with classmates from Kindergarten through High School! Judy Kjellstrand brought fabulous mementos! I have a 3rd grade photo of Miss Hutchinson's class that I will send. Have a great reunion and I'll look forward to the 50th! - Dani (Danielle Edstrom) Halverson |
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| 6/2/04,
Update News from Raelene
(Koester) Snyder:
We lived in Davenport, IA after getting married Oct. 10, '59, for 10 yrs. In May of 1969 we moved to Terre Haute, IN for 10 yrs. and then moved to Chattanooga, TN in 1979 and lived here ever since. Our moves were transfers with the American Water, CO. We are both retired now and camp and travel with our 5th wheel camper. We have also been to Europe 3 times and been on several cruises, too. Can't wait to see
everyone at the reunion. I welcome anyone to e-mail
me .... |
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| 5/15/04,
Diane Althoff Love sent
a note from Naples...or was it Maine? When my husband retired in 2000 we decided to do something new. So after 25 years in Connecticut we sold our house and now spend 7 months a year in Naples, FL and 5 months in Lincolnville Beach, ME. It's a long drive on I-95 but worth it when we get to either end! We have two sons and 3 grandchildren, 4, 2, and 1 and one more due in July. My kids got a late start! I have many happy memories of RIHS...mostly dances and slumber parties. I guess that says alot about my study habits! Diane |
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| 5/6/04,
Some news from Sharon
Greenwood Griffith: Chuck and I are retired and still working on our log home in the mountains of Georgia. I'm an RN volunteer with the local Red Cross DAT (Disaster Action Team). We have two daughters who have blessed us with 4 grandchildren, 3 girls and a boy, ranging in ages from 8 months to 5 yrs. We started late......... Sharon |
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| 4/19/04,
A hello and update from
Larry McMillan: As I always tell people I'm meeting for the first time, It has been my privilege to be married to my wife, Vicki and work for the same company, both over 43 years now. We have three married children and nine grandchildren. We recently moved back to Peoria, IL to be close to four of our grandcildren and two of our children. Notice the order. Am planning to retire soon but hope to start a new career doing fulltime/partime Christian service and spend extra time visiting our five grandchildren in Caifornia. Larry |
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| 4/18/04,
Scott Ellingson recalls
a negligee and detention hall from his high school days: Wow 45 years!! Seems only 43 or 44 years since I was sitting in detention hall at good old “Rocky”. Lots of high school memories come to mind... The one that really is a stand out for me was when our junior year English teacher, Miss Linda Shawver (very small, very nervous and also very nice) announced that she was getting married. If I remember correctly, Karen Hulsted and Janice Greer were the ringleaders who decided we should get her a wedding gift. They took up a collection, purchased the gift and presented it to Miss Shawver. She opened it in class and pulled out a very black, very sheer negligee. The class cheered. Miss Shawver turned very red! Remember this was 1958. As you know things were very different then, but she was a good sport and thanked everyone for the “gift”. Also remember Wednesday dances in the basement of the Rock Island Police Station and Saturday night dances at the YMCA with the wonderful ladies that played the records and chaperoned on their own time. Looking forward to the 45th. Scottie |
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| 4/2/04,
Sharon sent these short
updates from reunion questionnaires: David Liedtke, Atlantic Beach, FL: Sr. VP of Aon Risk Services, Jacksonville, FL. Avid Jaguar and Florida State fan. Play lots of golf and suntanning on the beach. Bonnie Huffman Murphy, Pearland, TX: Moved to new house, retired, divorced. Marsha Conn, Seattle, WA: One of my favorite memories of R.I. is the food that I can't get in Seattle: pork tenderloin sandwiches, Jim's Ribs, catfish (Captain's Corner) and Maid-rites. Any way we can include this in the events? Maybe a "Taste of Rock Island"? I am currently experiencing a great lifestyle! Traveling (Cuba, Turkey, Greece, New York, New Orleans, Mexico, Rock Island, to mention a few, Teaching art on a part-time basis, artist-in-residence in schools. Taking advantage of Seattle's art scene. Having fun! Rachel Kellberg Clarke, Springfield, IL: I continue to enjoy my work as a Security Therapy aide for a state mental health residential facility, working with forensic patients. I look forward to retiring, probably at the end of this year, when I complete 35 years of service. I plan on doing lots of traveling and sightseeing around the USA. Sam Dusenberry, Rock Island, IL: Retired from Teamsters in 1997. I now teach truck driving at Scott Community College. I have 9 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. I like to travel when I have time. I love Rocky sports and the Cubs and Bears. See you at the reunion. Henry Thomas, Rock Island, IL: My wife passed away two years ago. I like to travel and also enjoy watching sports, mostly R.I. teams. Ron Taber, Rock Island, IL: I retired as an Illinois Circuit Court judge in July 2001 and promptly became addicted to golf and motorcycles! I now work part-time as a mediator for civil lawsuits. I'm married to Nancy and we have 6 children and 2 grand kids. Bradley Mott, Rock Island, IL: Retired. Love to travel here and abroad. Fishing, motorcycle trips. Interests photography, computers and family. Jerry Viernow, Milan, IL: Employed at TACOM-RI. Enjoying his seven grandchildren. Married 41 years to Janice. Turkey hunting, remodeling his home and driving his new Silverado truck. Gerald Mc Carthy, Moline, IL: Traveling and fishing. Helen Alloway Mc Carthy, Moline, IL: Traveling, sewing and gardening. James Ludwig, Taylor Ridge, IL: Married to Terri. Have been retired since 1992. Live on 5 acres, raise field trial beagles. Travel, fish and enjoy life. Kenneth G. Handley, Milan, IL: Retired from Aloca, Riverdale in 2001 after 39 years. Four grandchildren. Barry Clough, Greensboro, GA: Retired from Caterpillar, Inc. in December 2001. Now living at Reynold's Plantation, where we play golf every day (4 courses) and enjoy having our family visit (3 children and 8 grandchildren). Gerald Weiner, South Euclid, OH: Retired from Kent State University after teaching Spanish for 37 years. Still teach there part-time. Interests are stained glass projects, traveling and reading. Recently became a grandfather for the first time. ****Is your update missing? Our return address was incomplete on the reunion flyer. (There was no "Milan, IL 61264" on Sharon's address) . If you didn't notice this before returning the questionnaire, we may not have received your information. Check with Vicki at vwazz@hotmail.com before resending it. Thanks.) |
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| 3/28/04,
A note from JanTolson
Grow to all former
classmates: Having retired last May from community college counseling AND moving the same week into a brand new home, I have kept busy decorating and re-arranging. Six years ago I married Don Grow and am now grandmom to two wonderful grandsons who live nearby. Don and I enjoy our new neighbors, are active in the community association, and cruise a couple times a year. We enjoy the freedom of time that retirement brings after 40 plus years of work as I hope all of you are beginning to experience. Yahoo! We look forward very much to attending our 45th reunion with my former (not old) classmates! Jan |
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| 3/25/04,
Jim Sullivan's update
from the reunion questionnaire: I retired 5 years ago from Tool & Die Making at the Rock Island Arsenal. I then taught vocational machine shop for 1 year through UTHS at the RIA, junior and senior high school boys. I finished restoring a 1909 Oakland purchased in 1968. Gardening, travel, and five grandchildren (one more due in Aug) keep us busy. (Jim's spouse is Stephanie A. Foulk, a 1961 RIHS graduate and they are planning to attend the reunion.) |
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| 3/24/04,
Karen Johnson Jenkins
sends greetings from Georgia: My husband, Ron, is from Newnan, GA and is a graduate of Newnan High School. We will be at this location the rest of our lives - when we first saw it, we were both drawn to it as though it was where we were supposed to be! I am now retired after 35 years as a Flight Attendant at Delta Air Lines during which time I traveled Domestically and Internationally. I had a wonderful time seeing the world and meeting and helping people of all nationalities. I now live on a mountain top near a small community northwest of Atlanta, GA with my husband, Ron, and five pets. I work part time with Ron in his Real Estate Firm doing research and whatever is needed on the computer and at the courthouse. Since I spent so much of my life traveling; it is wonderful being at home full time with my family. I enjoy anything having to do with our home such as yard work, home repair, caring for our pets, decorating, gardening - all the things I never had the time to really get in to. I have taken up swimming and swim a couple of times a day since we have a pool in the back yard. In addition, I have a great fascination with computers and learning how they run from the inside out. I can spend hours searching out problems and fixing them while thoroughly enjoy it. Our first home computer ran on tapes; the computer field would have been my calling had they been around in our era. We will not be able to attend the reunion, so we thank those of you who put our web site together. Karen |
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| 3/17/04,
Our Mary Morello? (from Linda
Levin Lester): I played bridge recently for the first time in about 25 years and mentioned to one of the group that I'd learned to play as a high school senior, taught by my World History teacher, Mary Morello. Any of you remember her? My librarian curiosity made me poke around on the internet to see if I could find anything about her. A quick google search turned up far more than I ever expected including a 1995 Chicago Tribune article about a Mary Morello that I'm pretty certain is the RIHS Mary Morello. I mentioned the story to Sheila Andich Barid, Bryna's cousin, who was two years behind us in school. She, too, had Morello for history and remembered that Morello wanted to go to Kenya. Go to Kenya she did and then some. Through another online search, I found a Mary Morello living in the Chicago area. I'm going to drop her a note. Maybe I'll hear that this ardent outspoken foe of censorship, mother of Tom Morello who was/is guitarist in Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (no, I'm not with it enough to know anything about those bands), and the founder of Parents for Rock and Rap might remember her days at Rocky. Linda Web address for the Chicago Tribune
article: |
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| 3/15/04, from
Kathie Richards Zell: Wow....I'm
sitting here trying to get my mind around the fact that
it has actually been 45 years since graduating from
ROCKY. (My friends and family find it amusing that
my high school was called Rocky High..."Was John
Denver a classmate?") Upon graduation from RIHS I set off for Ottawa University in Kansas. As a freshman I began dating Bill (Zell) who was a senior.....sooo when he graduated that year I left school; we got married (It will be 43 years on April 8) thus ending my formal education. We have 3 children: Stephanie (38) lives 10 minutes away and has 3 kids; Mark (36) lives 5 minutes away and has 1 child; and Kristi (30) lives 1hr.+ away and has 1 child. You can see that I get to spend a lot of time with my grandkiddos. When our youngest child was in 2nd grade I went back to work as a realtor assistant where I remained for 16 years. I loved my job but I love retirement even more! I can't imagine how I ever had time to work!! My life is very full with many church responsibilities and activities--(7 years ago we, along with 4 other couples, started a church, which is now a congregation of over 600. We have been busy!) Besides spending time with kids, grandkids and friends, I am in 2 bridge groups and 2 bunko groups. Each Spring I work a couple of months at a nursery (greenhouse)--I love it but 2 months is enough. Our very best times, however, are spent at our condo on The Lake of the Ozarks!!! We also are (since 1983) season ticket holders and ardent fans of the Kansas City Royals. I should mention that my husband is still working. Bill is a stockbroker with UBS (formerly Paine Webber) with no immediate plans for retirement. Memories of high school? I can't believe how vivid the memories are! Why is it that dancing is the first thing that comes to mind and studying the last? Hmmmm. I so enjoyed reading the e-mails on the message site, especially Sharon Schmact's. We are thinking that we will try to make the reunion this year. Kathie |
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| 3/15/04,
Tom Roets sent this alumni
update: I retired from Deere & Co. as Director of Worldwide Accounting (Ag. Division) in June of 2000 after 37 years of service. My wife Joan and I moved to Naples Florida in September of 2001 where we are now full time residents. We live in a country club community that provides golf, tennis, water aerobics and other recreational activities to keep us quite busy. I also volunteer at Church as the Chairman of the Finance committee and I also am a Habitat for Humanity volunteer. My wife and I are currently mentors for a Columbian family who soon will get a house. We are in the process of teaching them English. Florida and retirement are a great combination. Tom |
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| 3/11/04, Don
Freese finds it hard to believe 45 years have passed!
I left Rock Island right after graduation for the US Naval Academy. I graduated in 1963 and spent the next year in flight training at Pensacola, FL and Meridian, MS. I met my wife, Sherry in Pensacola and we were married in 1964. I spent the next three years on the USS New DD 818 as Dash and ASW Officer and had two Mediterranean cruises before I left Active Duty June 8, 1967 the day the USS Liberty was attacked and my classmate Steve Toth was killed. I joined the Naval Reserve and spent 26 years drilling all over the eastern US before retiring in 1993. I worked in the corporate world until 1990, primarily for Universal Instruments in Binghamton, NY. Sherry and I have two children, Marc 32, a USMCR Major currently recalled to Active Duty with US Central Command in Tampa. He was in Qatar during the ground war in Iraq. Our daughter, Michelle 29, is married to Captain Jason Star USMC. Their first child, Jackson Paul Star was born in 2002 and they're expecting our second grandson in April, 2004. Jason recently returned from a deployment to Okinawa, Korea and the Philippines and will be leaving active duty in July 2004. In 1991, I realized a long held dream to go to law school. I am licensed to practice law in Ohio and Kentucky after graduating in 1994. I had obtained a US patent and had been responsible for the patent program at Universal Instruments and thought patent law would be a good field to carry me to and through retirement. An opportunity to move to Florida came up in 1998 to work for Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg. We now enjoy living on St. Pete Beach, semi-retired since 2001 and spending time fishing, golfing and playing duplicate bridge. We also travel a lot, most recently to visit my 98 year old Mom who lives in Rock Island at Friendship Manor. I wonder how many of our classmate's parents are living? I am blessed to have one who is in good health considering her age and is as sharp as a tack! Sherry and I are looking forward to the reunion! Don |
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| 3/1/04,
Greetings to Friends and Classmates from Diane Larson
Gelaude: My life has been horribly busy lately caring for my mother and running my business. I imagine a lot of you are in the same situation caring for an elderly parent. My mom, Georgia (Larson) Carlson, has been in the hospital almost 6 weeks now. For a while she was not expected to live, but she has done this amazing turn around now which I truly believe is thanks to everyone's prayers. I've enjoyed reading all the RIHS messages here. I'm sorry to say my years at Rocky are kind of a blur. Maybe it's due to my cluttery senior brain. I really have no memorable high school memories to share. I guess I was too busy dating my future husband Don. Life has been good and after 43 years we are still in love. We have 6 wonderful children & 11 grandchildren. We live on a farm south of Orion. After high school I had a year of Nurses Training and later EMT training. I worked for over 30 years in pediatrician offices. When I turned 50, I went to school & became a travel agent. I still do a medical mission to Haiti with the Quad City Friends of the People of Haiti Group. I was all set to go again this year when my Mom got sick. With all of the trouble in Haiti now, my family was very grateful I didn't go. Our group of 9 people did return safe & sound, thank God, and treated over 3,000 patients while there. The travel business has really worked out well for me now that the kids are all grown. I've traveled all over the world. I worked for a couple of agencies first, then later formed my own business, Blue Horizon Travel & Yacht Charters. I am home based. My business number is 800-939-4334 and my web site is www.bluehorizon.net. I plan a lot of tours, cruises, air/hotel packages for individuals & groups. One of the unique things I do is arranging for private crewed yacht charters in the Virgin Islands. These relaxing charters are truly no more expensive than a cruise on the big ships or an all-inclusive resort in the Virgin Islands. I am so sorry to miss the 45th reunion. I'd already advertised our Scotland/Ireland Tour (Oct 2-16) when I found out reunion dates. I will be thinking of you. Keep posting those messages. Best Regards, Diane Larson Gelaude |
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| 2/7/04, Sharon
Schmacht Jarodsky's
latest news: It all started in 2002 when I had many questions. I kept asking myself...Should I? Should I wait? Will I become bored? If I decide yes, where? and When? Well, my radio alarm went off for the last time on April 23rd, 2003 and my questions just kind of all became answered. You guessed it, I retired and decided on Pleasanton, TX as my new home, so I would be closer to my brother and sister. My little podunk town, as I refer to it, or my little garden spot of America, has two grocery stores, a Wal Mart, a movie theatre and a tiny townsquare and is located about thirty miles south of San Antonio. I've become quite the little quilter and even entered two projects in the Atascosa County Fair and won two blue ribbons. I'm tell'n you, I've just settled in pretty good in my new wonderful free life of retirement. Free to do just whatever I want and whenever I want to and loving every minute of it. I've taken up gardening, both flower and vegetables, and am enjoying it immensely. I've also become quite good at trapping gophers. Seventeen mounds in my newly laid sod, so I decided to become the great white gopher trapper and caught three of the little varmints. I also, volunteer two mornings a week at the hospital in Jourdanton, TX, about four miles from Pleasanton and help out in the Radiology department and assist in the emergency room when needed. I also volunteer time at my church. Someone said I should join the Senior Circle and my first thought was that's for the seniors then suddenly dawned on me that I'm one of them so decided to join and having such fun. We're taking a trip to Mexico next month and I'm very excited about it. I so enjoy baking, making candy, and making my own sausage, canning salsa, jams and pickles, but soon found there is just one drawback with it all, I'm running out of freezer space and people to eat it. You know, I am so busy I really don't know how I had enough time to work. I am so enjoying this wonderful free new life of mine and hope to see ya'll at the reunion. Life is grand! Sharon |
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| 2/7/04, Hello to classmates from Stan Brown: I want to send my "greetings" to my fellow classmates from old Rocky High School. Likewise, I have two topics to address in this greeting. First, I have to thank those responsible for making this web page a forum for our classmates. What a neat idea...a place where we can greet old friends from wherever we find ourselves at this time of our lives. Second, I would like to say that after high school I graduated from Augustana College with a social work degree and found my first job as a YMCA secretary in Southern California. While there, I married my college sweetheart and we have been married some 40 years and have two adult sons. While in Southern California, I joined the USAF (to avoid the draft) and trained as a navigator. I navigated cargo (C-141 & C-130s), reconnaissance (EC-130), weather research (WC-135B & VC-118) and research & development aircraft (EC-135) aircraft in a variety of different jobs during my USAF career, both active and reserve duty. Yes, I would do it all again. Leaving the USAF for a bigger challenge, I worked for Bendix in marketing before returning to Government Service (Procurement for the US Army). Then one day, the Government made an offer I could not refuse and I retired in 1996. Yes, I was going to find another job, but some how that just never happened. Now, the wife and I are living a very nice retirement enjoying traveling, volunteering, working with computers, her quilting and my wood working hobbies. Stan |
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| 2/6/04, more
thoughts from Joyce Petersen: I think we were so lucky to have had the teachers we did. Not a day goes by that I'm not grateful for the education I received in Rock Island schools. I never felt unprepared to tackle college course work. When I was teaching grammar, I often told the story of contests in junior year English over which team could diagram a sentence the quickest. We'd beg for long, long sentences. My students at WIU groaned; today sentence diagramming is thought useless. Of course, many of my students couldn't write a grammatically correct sentence either! Thank you Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Gibbons, Miss Lavender for making a lot of my choices in life possible. Mostly, I think I'm just proud of all the things our classmates accomplished for themselves and their communities. It's a pretty amazing group of people. Then I wonder, what have I done? What do I plan to do? Thanks to my teachers, I developed a love for the written word. I'm taking a stab at writing now that I'm retired. A novel. Maybe several. The odds are against getting published, but I'm old enough now to know it's the trying, not the completing, that keeps life interesting. Joyce |
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| 2/6/04, Fond
memories for us from Judy Bright Borrowdale: (It took a while to get
Judy's first message (2/3/04), but she now admits,
"Actually, this was kind of fun - It gives us a
reason for reminiscing about the good old days.") Time, progress, circumstances, and events alter much. I can remember those high school years as a good period in my life with the assemblies, the daily home room announcements by Charley-O ; the fun of warming our cold bodies at the bonfires on cold fall nights at Homecoming, creating "the best" float, wearing mums, and rooting for our favorites for King and Queen. I can remember sitting on the hard hallway floor waiting in line for the tickets to the regional game and can still feel the excitement of football and basketball tournaments with the exhilaration of the last minute win over Moline, East Moline, and Alleman High schools, and the tears that flowed with the agony of defeat as we sang the R.I.H.S. song and chanted "we're from Rocky and couldn't be prouder" in unison with the cheerleaders. My memories also include Home Ec where we made aprons and tried to learn to cook and then swapped with the boys in shop where we made a wooden memo pad. Strolling Rocky's halls singing Christmas carols with the glee club; cheering with the Girl's Athletic Association and Pep Club at games; collecting autographs of stars like Pat Boone, the Four Lads, Faron Young, and Sonny James at the Autorama (I still have them); the drama club plays where we were stunned by Karen Hulstedt's "oh damn" in Auntie Mame and mesmerized by Judith Katz' Anastasia; gym classes with archery (which I loved) modern dance (which I hated) and those Friday dance lessons (which the boys hated). There were super fun times with political demos for Adlai and Estes; the annual SnoBall, SATs; getting out of class to watch the World series in the auditorium; talent shows (still have photos); earning our school letters and pins: buying our class rings; being accepted into the National Honor Society; those mornings after the all night "slumber party"; shopping for that perfect prom dress with all those crinolines; and collecting our friends' autographs in our year books (still have those, too). Who would have imagined
the technical, political, social, and global changes that
taken place since we were in High School! A
"keyboard was a piano"; a "crash" was
what our parents worried about after we got our license;
"cut and paste" was done with scissors and
glue; a "byte" was created by an insect; and we
got weather from the weatherman on TV,
which was black and white and took up a lot of room.
Judy
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| 2/6/04, from
Hinda Halpern Cole, who recently left the Midwest: After living almost exclusively in the midwest and for the last 25 years specifically in Champaign, IL, My husband and I wanted to have a different living experience and moved to Seattle in 2001. We had explored various sites on our travels to identify a place in which to move. We selected Seattle because of weather, (the rain reputation is exaggerated and doesn't really matter to me anyway), beauty, opportunities to do stuff, and the overall urban environment. I wasn't working at the time of our move and my husband works for himself as a consulting engineer and had the mobility. Somewhat perplexing, however, is the style of government in Washington and public policy in Seattle. Every issue is discussed ad nauseum and when referenda and legislation does pass, there is no money to pay for projects. Funding sources are misjudged. One of my favorites is the saga of a projected light rail system, a portion of which is to run from downtown to a few miles short of the airport. Why? No money to go all the way to the airport. I'm not sure if people are supposed to walk the last few miles with luggage or what?" Hinda |
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| 2/3/04, from
Judy Bright Borrowdale in NM: 45 years have passed since we graduated from Rocky High - Wow!! I never anticipated leaving the Quad Cities after high school or that I would end up in Albuquerque, NM (which really is in the US). But after graduating high school and attending Augustana for two years, I moved to New Mexico where I married (now 40 years) and worked 28 years in the insurance industry as a state licensed agent and office manager. At the age of 49, I made a career move to a national research and development laboratory as an administrative assistant with a high-level clearance, where I still work, but am looking forward to retirement in 2 years (after a 15-year career). Judy |
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| 1/30/04, from
Vicki Swanson Wassenhove: Hi Everyone, Now that I'm retired, and after decades of going along for the ride and letting others do the work, I have finally started to help on the class reunion committee. I agree that it's "more fun than work" as Larry Stone says on the class web page. I've especially had a good time corresponding with classmates while updating addresses for our 45th (say it isn't so!) reunion. Seems like we still have lots in common after all these years and we enjoy touching base with one another. E-mail makes it almost effortless, of course. This idea of starting a class message board was intended to involve more classmates in these exchanges. What else am I doing? I'm always busy
with something, and I haven't had time to miss teaching
art in the Sherrard school district. I especially love
gardening and creating computer graphics and web pages.
No horses now, but I'm an AKC tracking dog judge and
interested in K-9 search and rescue. After retiring, I
also started to play a little golf with my dad and
quickly discovered its fascination. |
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| 1/26/04, from
Larry Stone: Wow, 2004 already! The years have sure flown by. For the most part, they have been good to me. I have great memories of playing softball, coaching all 6 of my kids' teams, driving stock cars, flying airplanes, and witnessing the most incredible growth of technology in history. I am retired from a 42 year career at Moline Consumers Co. Today I play golf, operate a part time computer consulting business, and bang out bad ragtime on the ebony grand piano I always wanted. These activities and 13 grandkids (at last count) keep me busy. I help with planning for the class reunions and hope to see a big turnout at the 45th in October. See you there. Larry |
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1/23/04, Here is an update from Linda Levin Lester, recently retired and loving it!: Greetings! After graduating from Ohio State and working as an adoption and child custody caseworker in Chicago for 7 years, I took a short time off to be a full time mom. I then did graduate work at U of Michigan (what a turncoat I was) and became a college librarian in Ohio. I came to Charlottesville and the library at the U of Virginia in 1980, joining the ranks of retirees last year. I'm now volunteering at
the local Free Clinic, doing some substitute driving for
Meals on Wheels, reading to preschoolers, and
coordinating a book group. Gardening, birding, and
travel are all fun activities for me. I've made
frequent trips to Atlanta where my daughter and her
family live (I have one young granddaughter), and last
year I hiked down the South Kaibab trail at Grand Canyon
and saw lots of bald eagles in January on the Davenport
side of the Mississippi. You other out of towners
should brave the late winter RI weather and come see
those eagles. They sure weren't around when we were
young and hanging out at Credit Island. |
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| 1/23/041/23/04,
from Joyce Petersen, now living in Hawaii: Making contact again with Vicki Swanson, Kathy Edler, and Linda Levin via e-mail has been the best way to start off 2004. They’ve opened my "memory file" and I’m recalling classrooms, plays, teachers, clothing, music, and most importantly, people. I’ve been marveling at the thread of life experience that got me from there to here and connected it all. It was impossible to even imagine when I was at Audubon and read a comic book about a volcano, that I’d ever see flowing lava. No way. Not a kid from 30th St. But, on my 61st birthday, I knelt within 2 feet of it at Kileuea on the Big Island. I didn’t linger long - lava’s 2100 degrees! Awesome. The lava for certain, but that I did see it, even more so. I’d like to hear what others have seen or done that they never imagined they would. Did we know when we listened to 45s in Van Goors that we were the rock & roll generation? A bunch of us saw Bill Haley and the Comets at Wharton Field House. That really impresses my grandson! And NOBODY makes ice cream like the families of two of our classmates, Pam Pietcher and Art Larson, did. I always hoped Mrs. Pietcher would wait on me because she made the best extra thick chocolate malts I’ve ever tasted. Mr. Larson offered at least 50 exotic sundae concoctions to say nothing of those hand-made chocolates! Remember how good it smelled to walk into those places? I had my first pizza, on 20th St., when the only topping was cheese! You can’t find a good pizza on this island! Remember bowls of french fries at the Dutch Inn. Vanilla phosphates at Schneider’s fountain. Did you ever have one of those grilled Danish rolls for breakfast at Rocky? A quarter? Can anyone share a good food story? Joyce |
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| Classmates, Do
you have a personal or business web site?
Send us the URL and we will list it here: Diane Larson Gelaude Blue Horizon Travel and Yacht Charters
JoAnn Whitmore Coyne Center School Theme Gardens
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Hello everyone...Glad to see so
many are going to the 45th reunion. We are going,
too. I have been married to my wonderful husband
for 45 yrs. We have 4 children---1 girl and 3
boys. We have 9 grandchildren---5 girls and 4
boys. And we also have 2 great-grandchildren, which
are boys but we have 1 in the oven and will be here Dec.
20. 
Raelene (ask 
