Bill Reimers, 1968

“I want a divorce.”

A relatively short sentence that takes only a second to speak, but whose effects last a lifetime. I was forty-seven when my wife made that statement and it was one of those moments in time, in our lives, we remember perfectly, and usually with a sense of dread and discomfort.”

So begins a book called Icicles in the Park by Burbank High ’68 classmate Bill Reimers who tells us he is another published author! And these days, you can get his book on Amazon or even immediately, as a Kindle download.

Here’s what Bill wrote as a summary of the book:

This is the story of the journey my 8 year-old daughter and I traveled as a result of the unexpected break-up of our family. It is filled with heart break and heart warming experiences we went through during the most difficult divorce process. It is my hope that the readers of our story will learn and benefit from our experiences and have a much smoother process during their divorce.

Bill Reimers’ book is available on Amazon and Kindle.

Topics which are covered include:

Chapter 1. Divorce: A seven-letter word with four letter word effects

Chapter 2: Getting through the first months

Chapter 3: Help from an unexpected source

Chapter 4: A bit of history

Chapter 5: Icicles in the Park

Chapter 6: The power of love and mall shopping

Chapter 7: Settling in

Chapter 8: Two steps forward; one step backward

Chapter 9: Some major do’s in the divorce process

Chapter 10: Major don’ts in the divorce process

Chapter 11: What an incredible journey this has been

Chapter 12: Lindsay and I now

If you click here, you will be able to read previews of each chapter. The book is 155 pages long and has been published by Waterfront Press.

And if you’d like to see what Bill has been up to since high school, you can go back and read my other posts: Fishing for salmon, instead of veins; and Without apology. Congratulations, Bill, on your latest accomplishment!

Hey, classmates — do write in and tell us your news! I see a lot of your pictures on FaceBook, but I won’t re-publish without your permission. The easiest way to send me news is to email me.

Beth Kelly, 1968

It was because of my last post about Bill Reimers first book, Icicles in the Park, that prompted Sally Bartley Moss to let me know that another of our Burbank High 1968 classmates is a published author — Elizabeth Kelly Stephenson whom we remember as Beth Kelly!

I quickly found her book on Amazon, which describes her work as “A riveting, brilliantly written debut memoir, The Trouble with Truth is a story of hope and transformation, of family and forgiveness.”

Beth Kelly Stephenson’s book is available on Amazon.

Beth Kelly feels trapped in a continuous cycle of destructive relationships. First there’s Roland, the handsome ski instructor who turns out to be a liar and a drunk, fully capable of threatening Beth with a gun to prevent her from leaving him.

Breaking free from Roland after she makes a failed suicide attempt, Beth meets tight-lipped Sam, who is, sadly, Roland redux. Meanwhile, Roland still calls whenever he needs money, twisting Beth’s emotions for his own gain.

Beth seems doomed to continue making self-destructive choices, both in her relationships and career, until renowned therapist and author Jean C. Jenson (Reclaiming Your Life) changes everything. Jenson helps Beth see the world truthfully, a painful process but ultimately one that liberates Beth. As Jean notes, “The truth will set you free. But first it will make you miserable.”

Beth Kelly Stephenson today

According to the author page, “Elizabeth Kelly Stephenson was born in Santa Monica, California, but escaped the smog of Southern California at age twenty-eight to marry her ski instructor after a whirlwind courtship. The marriage predictably didn’t pan out, but the blue skies of Idaho’s Wood River Valley had a hold on her. She stayed on there for fifteen years, working as Executive Director of the Crisis Hotline, a twenty-four hour crisis line, where she dealt daily with issues of domestic violence, child abuse, and mental illness, themes that drive her memoir, The Trouble with Truth. Elizabeth now lives with her second husband in Bend, Oregon, in a house with a big front porch, three entitled cats, two poodles, and two honorary poodles. She is fast at work on her second book, a novel, Liz Bits — a story about what happens when a single mom’s father comes to live with her after he is paroled from prison after twenty years.”

Latest reviews of Beth’s book

I absolutely loved reading some of the reviews of Beth’s book, and especially appreciated that you can read previews of the text by clicking here. Her conversational writing style is immediately engaging, and draws you into the story.

I was able to make contact with Beth who tells me that after being in Idaho for fifteen years, she and her second husband briefly moved to the San Luis Obispo, CA area  and stayed four years. While in California she absolutely loved her job as a tour guide at Hearst Castle and learned that she loved to tell stories and involve her visitors with the wonder of the place. But they missed the Northwest and moved to Oregon in 2009 where her husband has ten grandchildren.

She hopes to publish her second book, a novel called Liz Bits, within a year.

Congratulations, Beth, on your accomplishments as an author!

Laura Ziskin

Of all the Burbank High 1968 graduates, perhaps our classmate Laura Ziskin was the most famous and known outside of our class. I have written about her before — if you click these links:  “A celebrity in our class” and “Speaking from the grave“, you’ll read all about her star-studded productions of the Academy Awards (2002 and 2007), and movies such as Pretty Woman, What about Bob, As Good as it Gets, and Spider-Man. Her last film was The Butler,  and she died on June 12, 2011 of breast cancer.

Stand Up to Cancer has raised more than $261 million for cancer research.

Of her many accomplishments, though, the one Laura would probably be most proud, was the co-founding of Stand Up to Cancer, a charitable organization of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, which aims to raise funds for cancer research through online and television specials. It was started in the fall of 2007 by women who had been affected by cancer and aims to raise awareness that everyone is connected by cancer, either directly or by family relative. The American Cancer Society statistics they quote are one out of every two men and one out of every three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Sobering, isn’t it?

Laura Ziskin was one of Hollywood’s most successful film producers.

Look through the Memorial List of just our Burbank High 1968 classmates and see the names of those who have died of cancer: Dawn Bennett, Max Byers, Cathy Carlson, Ron Dandy, Patti Dobson, Rich Franco, Martha Garrett, Roger Golnick, Mark Grogan, Jackie Handley, Kay Hoadley, Sean Largey, Raymond Lewis, Julie Ann Livingston, Bob Northrop, Nancy Pierce, Steve Potter, Patrick Reynish, Janis Shovald, John Thomas, Kathi Wagner, and Laura Ziskin. 

And just last night, I sat down to read the latest Time magazine, and on the last page was an interview with television anchor Katie Couric. Right away, the first question to her was “How did the nonprofit you co-founded, Stand Up to Cancer, get involved with the PBS series premiering March 30?” and she answered:

Cancer has been life-shattering for me. My husband died of colon cancer in 1998. My sister died of pancreatic cancer three years later. Laura Ziskin, one of my co-founders, died of breast cancer. She’d read an advance copy of The Emperor of all Maladies and immediately said, “We have to turn this into a documentary.”

Isn’t it amazing, that almost four years after her death, her name would still be brought up for her accomplishments?

From time to time, everyone is touched by the fragility of life, that is, the sudden death of someone who was supposed to live a long and happy life. Just a couple of days ago, the tech world was stunned by the death of SurveyMonkey CEO, David Goldberg, age 47, who died while on a family vacation. In the news today, the autopsy is showing that he apparently had a heart arrhythmia, and his death may not have wholly been the result of head trauma after his fall from a treadmill. Still, his family and colleagues are shocked at his sudden demise. The unexpected death leaves survivors with a tremendous sense of loss, and especially, the missed opportunity to say ‘goodbye.’

A Celebration of Life for Clayton Crossen will be held on Saturday, May 9th at Mount Shasta City Park.

Our Burbank High ’68 classmate, Roger Guggenheimer, is grieving, following the sudden loss of his son, Clayton. In a Facebook post he wrote:

“For those who have not heard or may not know, we lost our 20 year old Clayton yesterday. He was in a terrible car crash, which took him from us way before his time. He was a beautiful, gentle, and kind soul. May  he rest in peace.”

The loss of a child, no matter what age, is absolutely devastating. I know firsthand — my first child died two hours after birth — our grief was unimaginable and we were inconsolable. There is a website called GriefHaven, which is a support group for parents whose children have died. The author writes: We are parents who are traveling this unwanted path of grieving the loss of our children. None of us want to be here. Whether your child was with you for fifteen minutes or 50 years, the end result is the same. Your beloved child is gone, and now you are left to pick up the pieces and go on.  

You are invited to write messages of condolence and comfort to Roger in the Comments section below.

Yesterday classmate Steve Raine wrote to me, “As we experience more and more the passing of our classmates, I want to suggest that we invite people to share their own ‘Obits’ now, while they/we are still here. No one can share our lives, our lives’ preciousness, and our deepest values, joys and loves better than we, ourselves, can. Plus, it might help us to more intently realize the reality of our mortality, and maybe strive to give a few more hugs, and smell the roses a bit more.”

When I was asked to write this blog by the BHS’68 Reunion Committee three years ago, it was my hope that I would reach out to every single classmate, and “tell your story.” Especially as we all pass or are about to pass that magic age of 65 this year, our own immortality is staring us in the face. How would you like to be remembered? What do you want on your epitaph? You can use the Contact Us form above, or simply write to me here. I especially would appreciate hearing from you if you have also lost a child. Our hearts are with you, and with Roger.

Kathy Au Crosier and Barbara Weitbrecht had not seen each other in 47 years!

Barbara Weitbrecht, 1968

I am presently in the Washington, D.C. area and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit with a member of our Burbank High Class of 1968: Barbara Weitbrecht, who works at the Smithsonian as a database programmer. We have known each other since kindergarten days at Emerson School, and figured that we have not seen each other since high school days — that’s 47 years!

Barbara attended the University of California at San Francisco and majored in marine biology. After she obtained her master’s degree, she got a job at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. In 1988 she took the job at the Smithsonian, and twenty-seven years later, she’s still there in what she calls her “dream job,” where she works in the National Air and Space Museum. She loves museums, and takes advantage of the many special exhibitions.

I met Barbara at the entrance to the museum.

I found these fascinating facts about the museum (from their website):

• The Museum is the largest of the Smithsonian’s 19 museums and its Center for Earth and Planetary studies is one of the Institution’s nine research centers.
• More than eight million people a year visit the Museum’s two locations, making it the most visited museum in the country. Since it opened in 1976, the Museum has welcomed 311 million visitors.
• The Museum’s collection encompasses some 60,000 objects ranging in size from Saturn V rockets to jetliners to gliders to space helmets to microchips. Fully one-third of the Museum’s aircraft and spacecraft are one-of-a-kind or associated with a major milestone.
• More than 12,000 cubic feet of documents recording the history, science, and technology of flight are housed in the Museum’s Archives. The facility also holds the most complete collection of aviation and space images — more than 1.75 million photographs and 14,000 film and video titles.

Barbara is about halfway through on writing a novel about alternative realities. She published Ten Dragons, available from Amazon, which she describes:

This is a book about dragons.

Working at the Smithsonian is a perfect job for Barbara.

The subtitle, “a chapbook,” is often applied to small, hand-crafted, self-published volumes of poetry. Like a poetry chapbook, this book is short — barely 33 manuscript pages. And, like poems, the ten chapters are self-contained texts, united by a progression of ideas. Despite a shared character, the wyrm-slayer Sir William, they are not meant to form a single story.

Some chapters, notably “Dark” and “Egg”, are evocative fragments; others are traditional stories, with a beginning, middle and end. The settings range from an imagined Medieval society to modern times. The dragons range from the literal to the symbolic.

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Both of us marveled at how we have been able to connect with classmates through the Internet and especially through Facebook. Both of us also wondered how it was that some of our classmates remembered what we had written or said even from junior high days! And unfortunately, the memories are starting to fade.

Still it is important to reconnect with one another, especially in this year when most of us have or will turn 65. I can’t promise that I can visit with every member of our class but perhaps you can write how you celebrated your birthday this year?

Seems like only yesterday, the Class of 1968 was standing on the stage of the Starlight Bowl, looking forward to a bright future.

In 2015, many in the Burbank High Class of 1968 will turn 65 and be eligible for Medicare! I know some of you have shared your 65th birthday pictures on Facebook, and it would be really interesting to find out how you celebrated. Did you:

1. Go skydiving and jump out of an airplane?
2. Go on a cruise?
3. Have a party with a lot of guests?
4. Go out to dinner at a special restaurant?
5. Splurge on buying something expensive for yourself?
6. Get a facelift?

Donna Canzoneri Wray was lucky to spend her big birthday at Kutna Hora an hour drive outside of Prague.  She writes, “We visited the Ossuary decorated with 40,000 bones of victims of the plague of 1500 next to the little cemetary, walked through the old square adjacent to St. Barbara’s, enjoyed a gorgeous long view of the valley, saw many bridge statues, and ate a typical Czech lunch. We were on a 44 day trip in 9 countries. We sailed across the Atlantic on a Celebrity ship and took our first river cruise down the Danube River on AMA. Our eldest daughter, Jaisha, on a 2 year assignment working at the U.S. embassy in London, met us in Italy for 5 days. We stayed in Munich with our exchange student from 20 years ago, and met friends in Budapest and Paris. We feel privileged to travel as we do. We have no elderly parents left, no grandchildren, and no pets, so no reason not to travel.”

Thank you so much for writing, Donna! Now how about it, Class of 1968, tell us you celebrated turning 65! Tell us your dreams, how you are going to spend your retirement — or maybe you are grateful for those few nights without getting up to go to the bathroom!

Maybe you are never planning to retire?!

Chris Cullen, 1968

That’s what our Burbank High classmate Christine Cullen Bartlett said about turning 65 last year. Her daughter treated her and her Tri Delta friends to lunch at her favorite Mexican Restaurant, La Villa Kitchen, in San Dimas, CA. Chris writes, “We had a great time! 65 has been an odd age…it’s ‘the next box.’ In my head I feel only 28! LOL. ”

Chris Cullen Bartlett and her daughter Amy

Chris grew up with us, from Thomas Jefferson Elementary, to John Muir Junior High, and finally to Burbank High — but when I looked for her picture in the Ceralbus, I couldn’t find it. That’s because her family moved to Sacramento in her senior year and she graduated from Mira Loma High School. So even though she is technically one of the “X” graduates, she gets included in all the BHS class correspondence.

Chris with daughter Amy and son Mathew Bartlett.

She loved studying art at Cal State Northridge (drawing, painting, printmaking and woodworking) but it never became a career for her. She didn’t want it to become something that she “had” to do. So in past years she used her artistic ability to design patches for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts (sadly, no longer available). She enjoyed knowing that her designs could be worn by scouts everywhere.

Wooden folk art by Chris Cullen Bartlett

For several years she created and painted wood folk art and it became a small business. At the same time, she started cutting out wood patterns for other crafters. Chris says, “My children were little and this could all be done out of my garage. It was nice being a stay-at-home mom while they were young.”

These days, Chris crochets all the time, saying “there’s always one more person that I want to make an afghan for. Every November, I crochet a USA flag afghan for my church’s Christmas boutique raffle. I made a flag for Steve Hunt, class of ’68, and a very proud Army Veteran.

Here are just a few samples of Chris’ artwork. As people commented, “Such an impressive body of work and so diverse, Chris! Love it! . . . How nice! Very talented! . . . You’ve got a wonderful gift. . . Your art is a gift from the Lord. . . I’ve always been so impressed with your talent.”

The Class of 67 and Friends Reunion, August 1, 2015. Click to enlarge.

(L-R) Jodi Tillotson Huddleston, Sallie Shelton Thomas, Teri Hill Clark, Patti “Trish” Molloy Vosper, and Nancy Frisch Silverman. Don’t they look GREAT!

Before and after pictures — don’t you love them? I think that in the case of our class members, the “After” pictures definitely look better! This past weekend, there was a reunion of the Burbank High Class of 1967 plus friends at the DeBell’s Canyon Grill, and many of the Class of 1968 decided to join them. From the guest list, a good many were from the Class of 1968 and included: Christine Cullen Bartlett, Tom Bennett, Annette Dinolfo Bennett, Bob Fabrizio, Dennis Gray, Teri Hill Clark, Nancy Frisch Silverman, Teri McComas Mrasak, Jodi Tillotson Huddleston, Michael Katzman, Sallie Shelton Thomas, Johnnie Marie Solomon-Thorsch, and Patti “Trish” Molloy Vosper (hope I didn’t leave anyone out!)

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go, but I certainly enjoyed seeing the pictures people posted on Facebook. If you remember from my post about Teri Hill Clark (“Joy and tragedy through 47 years”), her three bridesmaids were all from the Class of 68, and 45 years later, they recreated the pose from the wedding as shown below. Teri wrote: Thank you to Cathy Emmett Palmer and Jim Grasse for spearheading the Class of 67 reunion, including “Plus Friends” … in addition to providing a great opportunity to gather and reminisce, especially for my hubby, Jerry Clark, you also brought together my bridesmaids (Class of 68) for a photo op retake from our wedding 45 years ago on August 15th, not to mention revisiting Burbank after having been gone for over 40 years! Your time and energy has a tremendous ripple effect!!!

Teri Hill Clark’s wedding 45 years ago: (L-R) Patti Molloy, Nancy Frisch, Teri Hill (bride), and Teri McComas.

At DeBell last weekend: (L-R) Patti “Trish” Molloy Vosper, Nancy Frisch Silverman, Teri Hill Clark, and Teri McComas Mrasak. Unfortunately the flower girl, Jill Wessel Benz, couldn’t make it.

Hey, anybody else from the Class of ’68 want to share pictures of this reunion? Send them to me at burbankhigh1968@gmail.com.

Organizers of the Burbank High Class of ’67 annual mini-reunion last weekend heard from a former BHS teacher, Carol Gregory, now Dr. Carol LeBlanc, who has made a number of career shifts. She wrote to Cathy Emmett Palmer ’67: “Dear Cathy, I would like you to remember me to the class at the reunion. Please give them my love and best thoughts for their continued success in life. As I celebrate my 75th birthday, I remember the heady days as a new teacher and how much I truly loved working with such wonderful students, not much younger than me. Have a great time and if anyone is interested in contacting me have them go to PiecefullMind.com – my web site to see what I have been up to. Love, Dr. Carol”

I went to her website called PieceFullMind in which she shares her life story, poetry, photos, and essays, “to integrate and inform both sides of your brain with practical, emotional, and spiritual activities, options and ideas for a more balanced life.”

Here’s an excerpt from her autobiography, called “The Autobiography of a Recovering Grasshopper … or how I Embraced the Ant”:

Carol Gregory, former BHS teacher (1968 Ceralbus)

“I embraced the modern dance world, loved its creativity. I also choreographed major musicals for BHS, Music Man, Oklahoma, Hello Dolly, Brigadoon; we rivaled Beverly Hills and Hollywood High with our productions.

I worked in the office as a secretary all the three years, and also taught part time as I worked on my Masters. I lived at home, never thought about saving anything. Just made money to pay for car, gas, books and clothes. Got married June 21, 1962. Got a job teaching at Burbank High School, September 1964. Salary was $11,375 for 10 months work. Taught for 18 years, with one year off traveling the country with my second husband, 5 years younger. I worked summer school until prop 13 closed extra activities in schools in California.”

When she hurt her knee skiing at Mammoth, she decided to try chiropractic rather than have surgery, and in 1982, began her study at Cleveland Chiropractic College.

Carol Gregory, from the 1967 Ceralbus

“I started by charging $20 dollars a visit, check or cash, no insurance except Medicare. It has worked for me. I slowly built my practice up to over 150 patient visits a week, when on May 9, 2007, I was in a serious car accident that almost killed me, coded when I got to trauma center, was on a ventilator for 6 weeks, one of my best friends flew down from Nevada, found substitute DC’s and my brother took care of finances.”

You can read her complete autobiography here.

Dr. Carol (center) with Jeanne Barron Aikman ’67

She even mentions another BHS P.E. teacher, Mrs. Renee McCall — remember her? “My friends, Renee and Glenn McCall had a home in Sechelt, BC north of Vancouver. I have been going up there since 1979 when they built it. It has been my second home, I love it. They left me the house in 2005 when Renee died. I thought I might be spending more time up there but I realized after the accident, I deeply wanted to continue my chiropractic practice. I sold the house and have a nest egg in savings in Canada. My friend bailed me out of financial challenges, when I used my credit cards excessively. I have a history of not making savings a part of my regular life.”

Has anyone else heard from any other Burbank High teachers? Sadly, I’m guessing most of them are gone by now.

Betsey Nash, August 2015

Betsey Nash was one of the real leaders of our class.

As many of us in the Burbank High Class of 1968 have or will turn 65 this year, it means that many of us are beginning our retirement, the “R” word. In fact, SmartMoney magazine held a competition to rename this next chapter in our lives, and some of the suggestions among the 4,000 submissions were: American Idle, Seventh Inning Stretch, and Near Death Experience. The top 10 terms were Aspirement, End-joy-ment, Entirement, GEN R, Life 2.0, Re-creation, Redefinement, Reinspirement, Reinventment and Rewirement.  The winner was Life 2.0.

Our classmate, Betsey Nash has just joined the club, and she gave us permission to share her retirement celebration with the class. Here is a sampling of some of the comments she received:

Great! Now what’cha gonna do for an encore? Whatever it will be, live well and enjoy!

Oh what a happy look on your face!

Now what? Retirement won’t slow your spirit down. Congrats!

ENJOY your newfound freedom!

Love the photo & crown! Cheers to you! Congratulations on your retirement. Love you!!

Generous. Kind. Heartfelt. Slightly inappropriate. Unexpected. Brave. Intelligent. Spot On. These are the words to describe my dear friend, mentor and colleague, Betsey Nash, who officially retires from “working for the man” at 5:00 p.m. today!  I know I’m not alone in my appreciation of her contribution to the mentoring and development of business women (and men) on the Central Coast and beyond. I know this because people tell me all the time about how Betsey supported them, helped them, referred them, gave them feedback.

Congratulations Betsey!! You have made the kind of impact that is lasting and good; you have inspired, mentored, made us laugh and lead with grace. You have earned retirement and I know you’ll make the most of it with Marci. 

Even our classmate, Steve Raine, couldn’t believe that Betsey has retired and wrote this:

OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION
ATTN: Ms. Betsey Nash

This is to inform you that we have invalidated your retirement. You are too valuable, too remarkable, and way too much fun. Being outrageously generous, we might triple your vacation allotment (but don’t hold your breath). However, Retire? Not a chance, Baby…! BTW—you’re scheduled to bring treats for everyone this Friday!

I understand that Betsey will be helping out the local Food Bank with HR in her “retirement,” aka Life 2.0, meaning BETTER and MUCH IMPROVED!

Congratulations, Betsey! And as someone commented on Facebook: You are the cutest retired girl EVER!

(P.S. Any other BHS grads who wish to share news of their retirement? Email details and photos to me, Kathy Au Crosier.)

I’m right behind you, Betsey!

Robin Neklia, 1968

Don Smith, 1968

Don and Robin Neklia Smith finally made it to the prom in 2015!

Our Burbank High 1968 classmates, Robin Neklia and Don Smith, finally got to the prom — 47 years late! Robin says when they were seniors, “I so hoped that Don would ask me to our prom. Well, that didn’t work so this past April we went to the school prom that we both work at here (in Georgia). We finally made it to the prom together 47 years later!”

They have been married for 42 years and were blessed with three boys, Mike, Christopher and Sean. Mike just turned 38 and Robin says “that’s what makes me feel old because otherwise I don’t feel any older than I did in high school!” Mike and his wife, Angel, have three children and live with them in Guyton, GA (near Savannah). Tragically, their middle son, Christopher took his own life in 2003, but left them with the “wonderful gift of his son, Tyler.” Their youngest son, Sean, lives in Atlanta with his significant other.

Robin and Don Smith were married 42 years ago.

Don and Robin have 9 acres of land with three horses, one donkey, six dogs and numerous cats — a real menagerie! Robin’s mom moved back to the area and turned 90 last March. She is in great health and continues to drive to the grocery store.

The Smiths lived in Southern California until 1988, then Don took a job in Oregon with a paper company. They enjoyed their time in Oregon very much except for the rain nearly every day. In 1990 Don transferred to a company in Birmingham, AL, promising Robin it didn’t rain there every day. They spent four wonderful years in Birmingham, meeting lots of great people and becoming Southern! Robin says they “drop the ‘g’ on any ‘ing’ word” and learned to say, “y’all, all y’all (plural) and “fixin’!”

In 1994, Don was asked to help open an office in Savannah, GA, so they moved yet again and have been there ever since. Don had retired but was bored, so Robin got him the maintenance job at the high school where she works as the bookkeeper. They are both hoping that this will be their last year doing this full time, although they might look for something part-time. I guess that they are turning 65 like everyone else in our class!

Robin says, “I’m so glad that there is the BHS blog and Facebook page, Don and I enjoy looking and reading about everyone. If any of you come to visit Savannah, which is a beautiful city, let us know!” She says that she is on Facebook.

Thanks so much for writing, Robin!

Part of the Smith’s country home.

The Smith family.

The Wrays at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

We’ve learned that a number of our Burbank High Class of ’68 grads have recently celebrated 40+ years of marriage — congratulations to all who have reached this milestone!

Donna Canzoneri Wray and John Wray.

Donna Canzoneri Wray and husband, John Wray, both BHS’68 grads,  are celebrating their 43rd anniversary this weekend in San Diego at their favorite hotel on Shelter Island, The Bay Club Hotel and Marina. They have a room on the harbor, and “watch ships, sail boats, and planes coming and going all day. . . The weather sure beats the heat here in La Crescenta.” Donna retired from teaching 5 years ago and many friends and family traveled to The Bay Club for her retirement party. “This hotel room has been our home away from home for 12 years, but we have been vacationing in San Diego since 1971. Our girls now 33 and 27 and still single, learned to ride bikes and water ski on Mission Bay where my mom and stepdad kept their AirStream trailer every summer. Lots of fine family memories there. My sister and her sons live there now after my mom set up such a lasting tradition.”

Donna Canzoneri Wray on her 65th birthday.

Johnston Wray, 1968

Donna Canzoneri, 1968

Donna says that she “is delighted to stay in La Crescenta, and John agrees to live here as long as I am willing to travel whenever possible. I like everything about this place, our church, our friends, running into people I know, and even testing for the Glendale Schools’ Gifted Program. John stays busy refereeing basketball and doing a fire education program for 5th graders for the Glendale Fire Department.

Donna spent her 65th birthday at Kutna Hora, an hour drive outside of Prague. They visited the Ossuary decorated with 40,000 bones of victims of the plague of 1500, walked through the old square adjacent to St. Barbara’s, enjoyed a gorgeous long view of the valley, saw many bridge statues, and ate a typical Czech lunch.

John and Donna Canzoneri Wray on their recent European trip.

The Wrays were in 9 countries in 44 days this past spring. They sailed across the Atlantic on a Celebrity ship and took their first river cruise down the Danube River. Their eldest daughter, Jaisha, who is on a two year assignment working at the the U.S. embassy in London and they all met in Italy for five days. Unfortunately, their younger daughter, Karleen, who works at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA as a Child Life Specialist, couldn’t get away to join the rest of the family. They stayed with a former exchange student from 20 years ago in Munich, and ended up in Paris where they met British friends.

She says, “We feel blessed and privileged to be healthy and able to enjoy this life of retirement. Being able to choose what you do or don’t do every single day is a true gift!” She adds, “We have no elderly parents left, no grandchildren, and no pets, so [there’s] no reason not to travel! The reunion committee is already planning our 50th reunion, and we hope everyone is planning to attend!”

Steve and Mary Raine

Steve Raine and his wife, Mary, also celebrated 43 years of marriage on July 15th. Steve says “Mary worked at Security Bank on the corner of Olive and the Golden Mall. When we went to get our marriage license, the clerk recognized her, and said, “Oh! If you’d been here 10 minutes earlier, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood just got a marriage license!”

Steve and Mary Raine; photo taken “a few years ago!”

[July 15th is the same day my husband, Carl Crosier, and I were wedded in 1977, and we had 37 years together before he succumbed to pancreatic cancer nearly a year ago.]

Steve and Mary Raine’s wedding day with BHS classmates Cindy Marshall ’69, Jim Sheffield ’68, and Steve Irey ’68. Click to enlarge.

Steve says that “On the day of this photograph, I think we both thought our parents might not have given our marriage six months. However…we had been dating for two years: some of it half a country apart, some of it half a world apart, and much of it 100 miles apart. . . After just a few years, I think they figured we were ‘keepers’.

Steve Raine, 1968

He also writes that when they met, Mary told him she was a terrible athlete, and always the last picked for teams in P.E. But when she beat him by 187 strokes at miniature golf at the Sherman Oaks Castle, he knew she was either very wrong, or had been training with a US Olympic Team.

Steve and Mary Raine are both ordained Presbyterian pastors (Presbyterian Church in the USA), and members of the San Joaquin Presbytery, in central California. They are both graduates of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Mary is the solo pastor of Coalinga First Presbyterian Church, and Steve is a Presbytery minister-at-large. Steve also serves on the City Council of Coalinga. They have four daughters, a foster son and six grandchildren, shown in the photo below. “When the Bride was 15, she asked me if her boyfriend (JJ, on the far left) could come live with us. (She wasn’t even allowed to date until 16.) My answer was something like, “three bedrooms already occupied by six people leaves zero space for a boyfriend or anybody else. And you don’t need higher math to figure that out.” Well… Would you believe he came to live with us, and off we went into the interesting realm of foster parenthood. (expletives deleted) This photo was taken on the ‘wedding boat’ in the Newport Beach harbor on a beautiful day…!”

The Raine family.

Of the photo above, Steve describes himself as a”broken down Dad from too many women in his life!” He says that his wife Mary “deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian award in the United States. She has earned it. Should that not be forthcoming, I will gladly present her with the Lifetime Achievement Award for being the highlight and the delight of my life.”

Tonia Szilagyi Mapston and husband, Darrell Mapston at Niagara Falls, Canada, Niagara River Whirlpool, May 2015.

Toni Szilagyi, 1968

Tonia Szilagyi Mapston and her husband, Darrell Mapston, just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. They met at Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR in 1968 when she was a freshman and he was a junior. She was dating his fraternity brother and roommate, and Toni and Darrell started dating the following school year. In three weeks, they were engaged in October 1969 and were married on June 20, 1970.

She says a bunch of BHS kids were in their wedding party, including Joyce Mulder Ferguson, Janene Verge Ferguson, Carole Freeman Edelhauser, Suzanne Schweitzer, Corinne Bugbee — all from the Class of 1968, and Alan Mulder from the Class of 1967. She was married at her childhood church, Luther Memorial in Burbank. Toni remembered that Esther Matica BHS’68 caught the bouquet!

Esther Matica caught the bouquet!

Other BHS classmates at the wedding included Crilly Butler, Janet Robbins, James Edelhauser, Tina Anderson, Cynthia Miller, Mary Morris, Bev Blais, Debbie Martino, John Ferguson, Lynne Giese Anderberg, Kathy Southwick, Jane Giese, Teri Hill Clark, Jerry Clark, Kenda Vaughan, Sue Paquette, Sally Paquette, George Parsons and Meredith Wegner! (Toni sent so many great pictures of the wedding that I’m going to put them in another post.) The reception was at Pickwick Royal Crest Room, and the newlyweds honeymooned at Las Brisas in Acapulco.

Toni hasn’t changed a bit since high school! Here she is on her 65th birthday brunch at her daughter’s house in Iowa.

The Mapstons also have four daughters, born in 1974, 1978, 1980 and 1982 — all are college grads, all married and all have children! —eight grandchildren, four of each, ranging from five months to 14 years. They took a huge road trip this year to celebrate Toni’s 65th birthday in May and their 45th wedding anniversary in June. They were gone for 60 days through 19 states and 5 Eastern Canada provinces!

Beautiful bride, Tonia Szilagyi

When I told Toni that Luther Memorial no longer exists (it became a Korean congregation), she said she had lots of memories there, including baptism, confirmation and wedding. Her confirmation class had BHS kids in it too — Lark Ziegler, Linda Hausman, Cathy Carlson and Bruce Bierman.

For other classmates who have been married forty or more years, we’ve heard from Robin Neklia Smith and Don Smith (“Made it to the Prom“)—42 years; Teri Hill Clark and Jerry Clark — 45 years (“Joy and tragedy through 47 years“), Bonnie Moody Rapp and Dave Rapp — 45 years (“Five generations in one family”); and Sue Parker Easley and John Easley — 46 years in September! (“Married for Life”).

Anyone else in our class in this elite club? Please write! Use the Contact form above.

Our BHS’68 classmate, Tonia Szilagyi Mapston, whom I sent on a chase to find her wedding pictures of 45 years ago, apologized that her photos had faded. Not to worry, I told her, pictures may fade, but there’s always Photoshop! So many BHS kids were in her wedding, I thought it would be fun for everyone to enjoy.

(L-R) Cousin Susan, Carole Freeman Edelhauser, Suzanne Schweitzer, Joyce Mulder Ferguson, Tonia Szilagyi, Cousin Raquel, Corinne Bugbee, Cousin Linda, Janene Verge Ferguson. Click to enlarge.

CHALLENGE! Say, if you are in any of these pictures below, please write and give us an update on what you’re doing these days! Click the Contact Us tab above. You can also send pictures to burbankhigh1968@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!

I recently found a handy website which creates a map based on your data. Without compromising anyone’s privacy, I simply entered the zip codes of all the Burbank High Class of 1968 graduates, and look what I got!

A map of the Class of 1968 now. (Click to enlarge, then you can click any of the red dots for further detail.)

We are now located all over the map, with the bulk of the class still in California. We are spread apart from Alaska to Florida, and from Hawaii to New York! If you want to see the details, click the map above, and then you can click any red dot representing a geographic area. For example, I live in Hawaii, and I found out there are nine of us here, two of us on O‘ahu, four in Mau‘i, one on the Big Island, one on Lana‘i, and one on Kaua‘i! This means we could do a mini-reunion of BHS’68 grads anytime!

What’s interesting is that there are 15 BHS’68 grads in the Denver area, 5 in Las Vegas, and 5 in Philadelphia. And would you believe 65 grads still live in Burbank, California! That’s amazing!

Barbara Weitbrecht, 1968

This past summer, I met up with classmate Barbara Weitbrecht in Washington, DC where she works at the Smithsonian (see my post A Dream job) and we figured it had been 47 years since we saw each other last.

Crilly Butler

And not too long ago, our classmates Crilly Butler and Steven Lester had a mini-reunion, and although they took a picture of themselves, they were too shy to publicize it (even though it was posted on Facebook!) Crilly wrote: Steven D. Lester, recently retired, went on a road trip from his home in Seattle to various places of interest around California. One of those was a stop in Davis to visit his classmate Crilly Butler. Though not having actually seen each other in 47 years, it was a wonderful reunion, including brunch on the patio and a late sushi lunch. The conversation was lively and covered 47 years worth of catching up and more. It was wonderful, and hopefully will happen again, preferably before another 47 years pass, since both will be long dead by then.

All of this is just a reminder that the 50th Reunion is approaching, and we don’t want anyone to be left out. If you move or change your email address, please send us the updated info at the Contact Us tab above. Most likely, the 50th Reunion will take place in late summer or early fall 2018. And if you want to be more involved, volunteers are always welcome! Just email us using the Contact Us tab.

Tonia Szilagyi Mapston mourns the loss of her husband.

to BHS’68 classmate Tonia Szilagyi Mapston as she mourns the death of her husband of 45 years, Darrell Mapston. Not long ago we wrote about her wedding with many Burbank High classmates in it (see “A BHS wedding – 45 years ago“).

I didn’t ever meet Tonia’s husband, but by all the Facebook comments, he must have been a remarkable person. Some samples:

Tonia and family, I am very sorry for your loss. Your Husband/Father will be missed. I feel lucky to have had Mr. Mapston not only a teacher and a coach, but also later as a friend. The most memorable duck hunting trips I have ever had were with him. They were so much fun because of his humor. My children have heard those stories many times. I never dreamed he could be so at ease after ruling with such an iron fist in the classroom. If more teachers were like him, this world would be a better place.

Hugs to you Tonia! So saddened to hear about Darrell. He was such a special person in my life. Praying for strength for you and comfort.

I lay here with sleep alluding me, silent tears streaming down my face as I snuggle with my Carter remembering my blessings but yet profoundly sad that my life will no longer have my Dad physically in it. I am deeply grateful for the 2 days shy of 41 years I got to spend with my Dad as my coach, teacher, mentor, protector, biggest fan and most importantly my Daddy!! I know the days and weeks and months ahead will be difficult to say the least and I know I will most definitely need help and support to get through this. Thank you all for showering us with your love, prayers and support. We are humbled by the outpouring of love! Dad truly touched many lives and made such an impact on those who knew him! But of course he saw it so differently! You all were the ones who impacted his life and made it so much better!! Thank you will never be enough!! Thank you for allowing me to grieve openly! I am a sharer (if you hadn’t noticed). I know I need the support of a village to keep me strong. You all will truly never know the depth of My love and gratitude for each and everyone of you for being on this journey with me and my family. The memories you have shared with all of us about our Dad bring me great comfort. Thank you for sharing! God blessings on all of you! (By daughter Danielle Mapston Heissel)

You may write your condolence messages to Tonia in the Comments section below.

Larry Marak is the latest classmate to retire.

Larry Marak posted this picture on Facebook and said, “I’m about to join the rest of our class in retirement next Thursday, Dec 17th. Retirement isn’t the end of a career, it’s the beginning of an adventure.” After working at Burbank Water and Power for five decades, Larry leaves  public service with a vast collection of memories. Can you imagine what his fellow employees are going to feel when Larry isn’t there anymore? The sky is going to fall in! He certainly will be missed by his co-workers, but is only on the cusp of new adventures.

As many of us in the Class of 1968 are turning 65 and starting a new chapter in our lives with retirement adventures, we all have a story to tell. Send us your retirement photos and announcements to me at burbankhigh1968@gmail.com and I’ll happily post them.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 16,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Time and time again, we have reconnected with people we haven’t talked to in years — thanks to the wonder of the Internet and social media. It so happens that two of our “X” graduates have found this blog lately and have contacted us. One of them is Brett Wilhelm, who was kind enough to send along some missing elementary school photos (Emerson and Jefferson). I’ll tell his story first.

Look at this picture which Brett sent of Mrs. Gedda’s fourth grade class in 1959-60.

Grade 4, Mrs. Gedda’s class. Brett is standing right next to me (I’m the one in the pigtails!)

Here’s what Brett looked like in his senior year.

I remembered the name Brett Wilhelm, but when I went looking for him in the Ceralbus, his picture wasn’t there. According to Brett, he completed his senior year of high school in South Carolina but returned to earn a B.S. in Business Administration at USC. He worked for several years in the family’s physical therapy equipment manufacturing business which originated in Burbank and later relocated to Temecula. After that business was acquired by a publicly traded firm he started a home medical supply store in Temecula and later opened a second location in Fallbrook.

Brett with his wife, Jan

Brett married his best friend Jan in 1987. Since 1995 they and their German Shepherds have enjoyed living in a very scenic area on Whidbey Island just north of Seattle. In Washington state Brett spent his business time managing commercial real estate.

Brett discovered he was politically libertarian in 1990 and until 2008 most of his volunteer efforts were in support of Libertarian Party candidates. Since 2008, when the Supreme Court upheld the Top-Two primary in Washington state, his volunteer efforts have been in support of libertarian Republican candidates who advocate individual liberty, free markets and peace.

Norma Metcalf, wife of the late Congressman Jack Metcalf of Langley, ticks off a few points in favor of Newt Gingrich at Saturday’s Republican caucus on South Whidbey. Behind her at right is Brett Wilhelm, Island County Republican Party Chairman. — image credit: Jim Larsen / South Whidbey Record (Published March 8, 2012).

I did a Google search on Brett and found this picture of him in the South Whidbey Record. Brett said he is wearing the brown V-neck sweater in the newspaper photo.

He wrote, “As the 2011-12 Island County Republican Party Chairman, it was my responsibility to rent locations for the Party’s pooled precinct caucuses. One of those locations was South Whidbey High School where this photo was taken. 

Brett said that he was a few minutes early for an appointment with the school principal to reserve the venue. While he waited in the outer office, another man entered and told the secretary he was there to pick up an envelope for “Zook.” Brett looked up and instantly knew the man had to be related to our classmate, Mike Zook. He was! It was Mike’s brother, Doug Zook BHS’61, who also lives on Whidbey Island. Brett has known Mike Zook since they were both in Mrs. Greene’s 3rd grade class at Emerson. He says, “Now Mike and I have reconnected thanks to meeting his brother by happenstance over 1,000 miles north of Burbank!”

And luckily, Brett happened upon this blog and we are now reconnected!

I’ll tell Steve Bowers‘ story in the next post.

This was the intriguing title of an email message I received recently. “Saw the 68’ Burbank blog and looked you up from Emerson Elementary … Have no idea if you remember me at all … but in the 5^th grade you were something special!!  (We moved to Alabama between 5^th and 6^th grade .. .there are a few people I remember from Emerson … John Mancini / Carol Aiken / Linda Rodewald …)”

Mrs. Morrow’s 5th grade class at Emerson.

The message was from Steve Bowers, one of our “X” graduates (went to school with us but graduated elsewhere).

This is a recent picture of Steve Bowers.

I still wasn’t sure who he was until he said that he mentioned that “we had class together with Gedda in the 4^th grade and Morrow in the 5^th … Saw the photos on the Burbank Class of 68 page … We sat out the dance classes together …” Then I remembered him, although I still didn’t remember what he looked like until Steve told me he was the only one with glasses in the front row.

Steve said that his family moved from Burbank to Decatur, Alabama when he was in the 6^th grade and he graduated from Austin High School in Decatur in 1968 … (he was born in 1949 in Athens, Alabama and his family for several generations had lived in North Alabama, so moving to Decatur was in a sense “going back home.”)

Pam and Steve Bowers

He got to West Tennessee after high school by attending Freed-Hardeman University and entered radio in 1976 and has worked media in West TN (Radio, Newspaper, Television) ever since.  For the past 22 years he has worked with News-Talk 101.5 FM in Jackson.  He has also worked in Media and Governmental relations with the Jackson Energy Authority and in that role hosts and produces shows for EPlusTV6 in Jackson, TN.

I found these online quotes about Steve: “Steve is a great guy, very professional on air. . . He is my hero! . . . Steve would give you the shirt off his back. He is a super nice, thoughtful, caring person. One of the nicest people I have ever met.”

Steve married his wife Pam in 1998 and their son Clayton was born in 2003. That means that he is the father of a young teenager! Steve is a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, TN where they installed a large pipe organ in 2001 by the Schantz Organ Company. Hmmm, maybe I’ll have to make a trip to go see it!

So good to hear from you, Steve!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 16,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.