June has arrived, Classmates!
Willis All-Class Get-together
Ron Gabriel (class of '54) has proposed an informal all-class meet and greet in September and he is trying to contact as many WHS attendees as possible. I volunteered the www.willis61.com home page for current information and registration. If you know anyone who doesn't have email or computer access, please let them know. By all means, take the time to read Ron's musings. These little snippets of one man's recollections will have you nodding your head and chuckling. Check back often. New ones are added frequently.
News from the Northwest
Sally Jo Scott took some time off.
Scottie and I took a quick weekend cruise from Vancouver, BC to Seattle. We were motorcoached to Vancouver, embarked onto ship and had a very relaxing two night cruise. Always enjoy the shows, comedy specials, too much food, and especially the time to nap. I will be coming to Ohio September 15th to spend the week with my aunt. Hope to see the "Delaware Girls."
We always enjoy the great "pumpkin" practice evacuation!
News from Arizona
You may or may not find these interesting. Some photos of our first trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This trip was probably around the turn of the century...makes it sound like a really long time ago. We hope to return later this month, assuming Kay's cancer treatments don't prevent the trip. No hiking this go around.
On May 9th, he sent this terrific photo.
I took this family photo a couple of months ago as a 90th birthday present for my mother. Guess you could call it our "family tree." I send so many older pics that I thought you might want to see what we look like today.
From left: son-in-law Greg Collins, grandson Marrec Collins, daughter Heather Collins, grandson Caden Collins, bride Kay Jackson, me, daughter-in-law Nikki Jackson holding granddaughter Gabriella Jackson, son Shawn Jackson, and grandson Reichen Jackson.
On May 28, this sad note arrived.
Kay lost her five year long battle with ovarian cancer last Sunday. She passed here at home with her family by her side. We were together for 47 years and married for 42. She truly was an incredible person who touched and inspired many people, including her doctors, during her prolonged illness. I will miss her terribly.
The weekend before Kay passed we went to our cabin. She wanted to be sure to see it one last time just in case the new treatment failed. We had read that there was a pair of nesting bald eagles at Woods Canyon Lake, so the entire family went, hoping to see them. The trip back to the lake was very painful for her as the road is extremely rough. The high altitude made it difficult for her to breathe and she could not walk too far, so we were unable to get back to the area for viewing the eagles. As always, she did not complain. We sat up a chair for her not far from the parking lot so that she could watch the grandchildren fish and play. We were there only a few minutes when we looked through the clearing in the trees above to see a bald eagle directly overhead. It circled Kay a couple of times then started to climb in the sky. It soared until it was completely out of sight. We watched and watched, but did not see it return. At the time we thought that it was pretty cool. Now we read a lot more into it.
We are so sorry for your loss, Dennis. Please accept our heartfelt condolences.
Another passing
Karen Oller George reported the death of Mike Beto, the Willis Jr. High football coach from 1960-69. Some may remember him. His obituary was posted in the Gazette on May 5.
Video of the month
Don and Shirley Piper Robinson's 11-year-old granddaughter Salena is a student at Willis Intermediate School. She is a percussionist and she performed in the school show on May 8. The video, posted on YouTube, is 5:13 minutes long. Be sure to see the solo at 3:15. This girl is good!! And I think it is safe to say that her grandparents are mighty proud. Thanks for sharing, Shirley.
June birthdays
Sharon Stearns Hunter
Roger Ross
Sally Jo Scott Scott (I love saying that!)
John Rapp
These birthdays were listed in the class directory. If I have overlooked anyone, please let me know.