In Memoriam ~ Highlights A-G

DAN ALBAN – Brother Ken sent several news articles to help me summarize Dan’s life. The following is a compilation of those stories. Danny was born in Salinas, KS and grew up in Long Beach. After high school, he completed undergraduate and law school at the University of Arizona, before moving to Ketchum ID in 1971. He worked as a law clerk, and later for the Sun Valley Company (where he earned good tips more for being cute and funny, than for his busboy skills) and was the all-night desk clerk at the Lodge and the Inn. Shortly after opening his law practice, he was appointed and sworn in as Blaine County Magistrate in 1975. Soon after, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He wed the love of his life, Susie, in 1976, beginning a happy 31-year marriage. A very handsome man, he had the privilege of being named “Mr. June” in the 1984 Men of Sun Valley calendar.

During his 17+ years of judicial service, he heard 64,930 cases and retired in 1993 due to his progressive health problems. Many, many people were married by Dan; his favorite cases were marriages and adoptions. Divorces and child custody cases weighed heavily on his soul. He lived over half of his life on Aspen Grove Lane. He thanked Susie every day for the gourmet food she prepared for him and in general, her TLC. Their son Matthew died tragically in 2004. Danny told his wife and son daily how much he loved them. Although a quadriplegic for years, he thoroughly enjoyed movies, plays, fine dining, poker games, plus the occasional road trips to Las Vegas or the Oregon coast. His wheelchair was a frequent sight at benefit dinners and other events.

Dan’s amazing life here on earth ended October 7 of 2007 when he died in Susie’s arms. He had made it through his 62nd birthday mid-September, and the MS Walk on a blustery Saturday, September 29. He rallied for the occasion and Susie walked alongside his wheelchair, holding his oxygen bottle. His death devastated the community. Besides his wife, he is survived by brothers Ken and Steve, and extended family.


Among the words used to describe him in the various news items were: witty, unconditionally loving, courageous, intelligent, humble, never complaining, positive, kind – and, if space here permitted, more. The Fall, 2008 Ketchum MS Walk was a tribute to his memory. A picture of Dan in his robes hangs in the courtroom named for him in Hailey, Idaho.

SUZANNE BAILEY – Thank you to her sister Pam Bailey Doest (Class of ‘61) for the following: Suzy, our younger sister Roneale and I grew up between the 9-hole golf course and the Marine Stadium, where we woke to the sound of boat races every Saturday. We loved flying kites with Dad in the open field and rolling down the green hills of the golf course before coming home for dinner, playing hide and seek, or kick the can and playing in the tree house. These memories flood my mind of the days gone by and reflected in the life of my sister Suzy throughout the years, as she never veered too far from home.

In 1967, Suzy married Chuck Youngberg (class of ‘62) and in 1972 they had a son, Matt. She was active in his school, and President of the PTA. Through the years, the family enjoyed their boat going camping at the Kings River where they enjoyed water skiing. Suzy got her teaching credential and taught middle school science for 10 years. After Chuck died in 1992, Suzy attended a grief support group and made friends there. While out with the girls “cowboy dancing” she met Rick Schaffer (class of '65), and eventually remarried in1995. She kept herself busy with home remodeling, traveling, and along with her lifelong friend Joanne (Bauchet) Keenan, completed an ancestry project.

Suzy Bailey Schaffer passed away in August of 2012 from cancer, which she fought bravely. A memorial was held on her birthday, 9/23/12, at Bailey Park in Huntington Beach. Suzy always experienced great peace looking out over the ocean so a bench in her memory was purchased and placed on the bluff at 13th and PCH. It is hoped that you will come and meditate on the view of the ocean as well. Perhaps you will bring a friend, to “divide your sorrows, and multiply your joy.” Suzy was a caring and a giving person often putting others first. Her passing has had a profound effect on me. Her hobbies of gardening and needlepoint were a favorite pastime and we will always remember her soft voice and loving smile.

After Lane graduated from high school he decided to take a few classes at Long Beach City College. Shortly thereafter, he was drafted into the army. Lane proudly served his country and spent one tour in Vietnam. Thankfully, he made it home safely. When Lane arrived home from his tour, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He worked at US Steel and a couple of other companies before he came to the conclusion that all he wanted to do was fish. Lane decided to become a commercial fisherman and worked out of San Pedro Harbor. He fished his heart out for years. He loved to bring home fresh fish and abalone to his mother and sisters. His two nephews especially loved it when Uncle Lane brought home abalone. Lane’s life was unfortunately cut short in 1988 when he passed away by drowning at the young age of 47.

Sandy was born in December, 1944 in San Francisco and raised in Long Beach. She came to San Diego County in the early 1980s. She worked for a number of area newspapers as a freelance writer, including the Fallbrook Enterprise, Vista Press and the Blade-Tribune. She wrote about women’s issues, human interest and even police stories. But one day when she was visiting the Carlsbad library, wandering through the stacks of books, she said to herself “This would be a nice place to work.” She inquired and found that there was an opening, applied and was hired and began her career as a part-time audiovisual librarian. “I was like an adolescent who finally found out what she wanted to do,” she recalled.

During her marriage to Don Puccio, she and her husband adopted a baby daughter, Wendy. While she was married, Sandy was a freelance writer and penned articles for Woman’s World, as well as for North County newspapers. She began her library career in 1991 in Carlsbad, where she was a circulation clerk. She stayed at the Carlsbad library until December of 1996, when she accepted the position as Branch Operations Manager at the old Valley Center Branch which was located in the Old Town Centre. At the time she told The Roadrunner, “This is the realization of a dream. I’ve always wanted to work in a small, rural library.”

In 2006 she received her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State. With that degree, she became a librarian at Valley Center Branch and was soon promoted to Manager. She loved her work and was devoted to her job. According to her brother, when she moved here, she had finally found her calling, the place that she never wanted to leave. She is survived by her husband, Joaquin, daughter Wendy, mother Ruth, and brother Robert.

SHARON BECKETT – Info shared by husband “Stretch” Grant. "Sharon (aka Sherry) graduated from CSULB in the Home Economics Dept and worked for the Gas Company for a few years as a Home Economist. She later worked at CSULB on staff in the Home Economics Dept., which I think later changed to Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences. Her last few years at CSULB she worked on staff in the main library.”

Her daughter, Jennifer Wyatt, added: “Sherry was an amazing wife, mother, and friend. She cherished everyone in her life and everyone who knew her felt special just knowing her. She loved life and wanted to live for all the things she still had to look forward to. She unfortunately died before her time from breast cancer at age 56. She was beautiful inside and out. As her daughter I feel so fortunate to have had her as my Mom. I always knew I was loved and was her world. We were extremely close. She didn't get to see me walk down the aisle, meet my husband, or meet her grandchildren. She wished all of this for me and I continue to try and make her proud. My first born (Taylor) was born on her birthday which is so close to my heart. She even has my Mom's sweet spirit. I miss her everyday of my life.”

When she passed in 2002, our classmate Helen Creed Barrios recalled: “A lifelong friend, who shared many happy memories of our youth, our marriages, our children and our daily lives long after high school ended. To her friends she was an inspiration and courage, both intertwined. To some she was Sharon, and to others, Sherry, but to all of us who knew her, she will be remembered in our hearts as a special friend never to be forgotten.”

PHYLENE BOSTON – many thanks to her daughter, Deanna Natale, and close friends Billie and Evelyn Goehrig for help with this story. Phylene met her lifelong sweetheart, George Foote, in school and they remained inseparable throughout her life. She was diagnosed with MS shortly after their first child, John, was born and was unable to hold her baby for several months. In spite of the doctor’s orders to have no more children, she went on to have Deanna and Jim. She spent most of her adult life in a wheelchair, a frustrating situation for someone so very active and athletic. She did, however, turn her disabilities into abilities, and even taught violin at the local elementary school while living with MS.

Phylene is remembered as having a huge heart, a determined spirit, seldom crying or complaining, outspoken, honest, and with a great sense of humor. She loved the color purple (her bedroom was always purple) and even toward the end while hospitalized, asked that her nails be painted that color. She loved her soap operas and oversaw the taping of several of them simultaneously on different VCRs. Her bucket list included visiting every state in the USA, and with George’s help, she was able to accomplish that. She even had a salt and pepper shaker from every state to prove it. She loved to travel; her last trip before she passed away was to Albuquerque, NM for the balloon Fiesta to take a ride in a hot air balloon.

No tribute to Phylene would be complete without the fact that she and George would do anything to help a friend, taking someone who was down on their luck into their home and helping them get back on their feet. When Evelyn’s son Eddy married, he paid tribute to the Footes at his reception, citing them as a shining example of Christian love. They simply took care of each other, and those they loved. Phylene Boston Foote died in January of 2004, on her 58th birthday, in Lakewood.

CAROLE BRENNAN - Thanks to her little sister, June Brennan Craig, for sharing this information on her life. Carole lived in Long Beach her whole life. After Wilson, she attended both LB City College and LB State, where she earned degrees in Sociology/Criminology. She postponed marriage to her high school sweetheart, much to his dismay, in order to complete her education. He married and moved back east, obtained a law degree, and eventually divorced and returned to Southern California where he resumed his pursuit of Carole. They did eventually marry in the early 70s, but that lasted a very short time. She had no children of her own, but loved kids very much and was often known to babysit for her friends. A later work romance resulted in a very long engagement and a very large engagement ring! .... but eventually ended.

Carole worked for McDonnell Douglas/Boeing for about 38 years, most of them as Head of Security Investigations. When she celebrated 35 years of service, a huge bash was thrown in her honor. Professionally, she had risen thru the ranks quickly and by the late 60s, she was assigned a very prestigious job overseeing security in the Board Rooms. This entailed greeting and screening international visitors, a job that required great intelligence, charm and diplomacy. At one point she was the Social Director charged with entertaining a group of Chinese diplomats and engineers in her home. She made many friends during her years at Douglas/Boeing, friends who stayed in touch with her during and after her time there. She eventually could no longer work due to emphysema and various other health issues and after a few leaves of absence, had to retire.

Always a sports enthusiast, her #1 love was tennis – and she took lessons from Billie Jean King! In later years, her respiratory problems ended her tennis game, but she also loved to bowl, golf, and shoot pool. Many times she took her sister June to pool halls and bowling alleys, teaching her how to play. She loved animals and music. She was very, very funny and I (Jeri) remember her as a graceful, tall clown who got me in trouble in more than one shared class at Wilson or Jefferson.

Carole died in April of 2002 at the age of 57. In summary, June wants Carole’s friends to know that even though Carole was single for most of her life and lived alone, she was anything but a loner. She collected friends throughout her life, some from school, from work, from bowling leagues ....and when she passed, her mailbox was full of cards and notes and the messages on her cell phone spoke of many invitations and plans ... evidence of a friend who was much in demand even later in life. June is grateful for the opportunity to help Carole’s classmates remember and honor her life.

CLIFF BRISTER – offered by his daughter, Sheri. Cliff had a lifelong interest in, and talent for, mechanics. He loved working on cars and motorcycles. In the mid-60s he married Bonnie Hamann and in 1969, Sheri was born. The marriage ended but for some time he remained in Long Beach, and stayed close to his mom’s home. Also during this time he had a long-time relationship with Barbara Turpee.

The last 25 years of his life were spent with Linda Manafort. He moved to Coarsegold, north of Fresno, and his focus became customized, artistic painting of motorcycles. He truly enjoyed his country life, but came back to the area often, always spending Fathers’ Day and birthdays with Sheri. His passion was the ocean ... he (and his brother, Richard) would do anything they could to get out in the water. “They’d probably launch an old bathtub if no boat was available.” Along with his love of the ocean came a passion for seafood, and his favorite place to be was Parker’s Lighthouse in the Long Beach Marina. The refreshments of choice were a shrimp cocktail and a Corona.

Cliff Brister died March 28, 2005 in Coarsegold. He was just 59 years old. In late March Sheri, as she has every year, will salute his memory with a trip to Long Beach to have that shrimp cocktail and Corona.

DONNA BROOKS – passed away in San Jose at the age of 58 in 2004. The following information was sent by her daughter, Keri: Donna went on to graduate with honors from Long Beach State University in California. She was an Archeology major and was active in the French Club, the Synchronized Swimming Team and her Sorority. She met my Dad, Geoff Robinson, at a dance at the Naval Station in Long Beach, CA. My Dad was a Lieutenant in the Navy. They later married in May of 1968.

They had a daughter before me in 1970 who sadly passed away of sudden infant death syndrome. Her name was Michelle Louise Robinson. I was born in August 1971 (Caroline Suzanne Robinson) and my younger sister, Emilie Katherine Robinson Zeri was born in October of 1973. My mother began her professional career in 1976 and rose to work as Facilities Manager for several Hi Tech companies in Silicon Valley as well as some large corporations including Circle K and Mervyn's, and then the Santa Clara County Office of Education before she started a shipping/copying/printing business with Emilie in Spring of 2002.

Around 1997 she began investing in real estate, owning several homes in the South Bay Area and one up near Yosemite, CA. My mother was a wise business person who also had a passion and talent for home decorating and remodeling so the two of these melded perfectly together with the homes she owned.

One of the peak experiences in John’s life came right after graduation from Wilson, when he traveled to Trondheim, Norway to spend nearly a year living with the family of his former AFS exchange student, Embret Sandbakken. The two had great adventures, including celebrating “russ,” the traditional two wild weeks in May, when graduating high school students wore distinctive red caps and caroused around the town and countryside piled into old jalopies they had revived and painted red – their pranks and public disturbances benevolently overlooked. Together they enjoyed cross-country skiing, working on various construction projects with friends and family, and sailing on the fjords. They purchased Vespa motor scooters and even made their way across the North Sea to scoot around England.

Upon his return from Norway, John enrolled at Long Beach City College and graduated in 1966, then transferred to San Jose State College. In 1968, he was joined by his young bride, Maggie Chandler for his final semester. Immediately after graduation, 1969, John was accepted into the flight training program at the Naval Air Station, in Pensacola, Florida. Upon completion of his training, in Corpus Christi, Texas, he was assigned to a squadron at North Island, Coronado and was deployed to the West Pacific, where he flew submarine reconnaissance from the deck of the USS Ticonderoga in Grumman S-2 aircraft. After separating from the Navy, he worked as a flight instructor at Newport Skyways, out of Orange County Airport.

Early in 1975 he established his own flight school, Burtle Aviation, in a WWII Quonset hut out at the old Meadowlark Airport, in Huntington Beach. He was in his element sharing his joy and quiet expertise in flying. Sadly, on January 18, 1976 – Super Bowl Sunday – a mid-air collision over Orange County Airport ended his life and the lives of two other young men. John’s legacy continues through his son, Benjamin Chandler Burtle, a firefighter/paramedic (wife Jennifer Bray), his daughter, Dr. Sally Ann Burtle (husband Jason Beccaris), and his four grandchildren, Avery and Ian Burtle and Zane and Jude Beccaris, who together carry forward John’s peaceful nature, natural curiosity, love of challenge and adventure, and his zest for life.

TERRILL CAMPBELL – Thank you to his mom, Beth and lifelong friend Wendy Archer for sharing the following. After graduation, Terry spent two years at USC studying architecture then attended CSULB where he got a degree in Sociology. He married in 1966 and had two sons, Scott and Brett. He worked for several years for Orange County Planning Department.

In 1976 he moved to the Sacramento area, remarried and partnered in raising Sue’s two children, Joel and Lilly. He and Sue were both educators in Waldorf schools. In the late 80’s they relocated to rural Sonora, CA where they lived on 3 acres with chickens & horses, fulfilling his lifelong dream of living on a farm. Terry returned to school, earned a teaching credential and MA from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, then became a Special Ed teacher at Summerville High School.

Two lifelong passions Terry had were working with his hands and helping youth. He loved his students and was dedicated to finding ways of teaching and learning that would reach each individual. He had a great interest in computer technology and loved using computers to individualize lessons. His own struggles with dyslexia created strong empathy with his students with learning challenges. He was dedicated to project-based learning and always got his students involved in projects to help the community. One project was raising salmon fry each year to release into the rivers. Another was to build children’s playhouses for Habitat for Humanity. He was very close to implementing the installation of a weather station in the area to provide more accurate reports and predictions than those from existing stations in urban locations.

Meditation had long been an important part of Terry’s life. In 1974 he created a word to label his ever developing philosophy: Loshalegro. Loving, sharing, learning, growing. He was writing a book and attempting to patent a computer process to share his ideas with others. He died in Sonora in 2007, at the age of 62 after complications from heart surgery. His principal commented: “He’s one of the nicest people you’d ever find. We’re going to miss him tremendously!”

DOUGLAS CHAPMAN - Thanks to his mother, Corinne, for sending the obituary used to write this story. (Taken from The Bellingham WA Herald, August of 1998). Well-known Bellingham art dealer Douglas Chapman, who encouraged new artists and created spaces for artworks to be publicly displayed, died Monday at the age of 53 in a Seattle hospital. Linda Gardner, curator of the current art exhibit at the gallery that Chapman and his former wife, Lucia La Rocca opened, said Chapman collected art from an intuitive feeling. "He was a simple guy who didn't know anything about art collecting except that he liked doing it."

In 1988, Chapman and then-wife La Rocca opened the Lucia Douglas Gallery in their home and also arranged art showings in temporary, rented quarters around Bellingham. About 1993, he designed and built a permanent gallery. "He created this beautiful space in a very big-city way" said Gardner, his gallery assistant. "He gave something to Bellingham that wasn't here." Chapman worked on the board of Allied Arts, on the Bellingham Arts Commission and the Mayor's Art Board while promoting many Northwest artists. His big contribution was that he reached into the art community and found artists who had not been shown before. He showed and promoted their work, believed in them and brought them to the public.

Over nearly three decades, Douglas was a fish buyer, adventurer and merchant seaman. He was trained in fire fighting, control of hazardous material spills and captaining ships. He worked on the first ship bringing relief to refugees in Biafra, skippered tenderboats and worked on tug boats and oil tankers, as well as on Puget Sound oil-spill recovery vessels. While captaining the Snow Goose on an annual trip for artists to Alaska, he collapsed, but insisted he was fine. His friend Ann Friedman added: "He just went to his bunk, and that was the beginning of the end for him. He came back to Bellingham and went straight to the hospital." At the time he died, he was preparing to work on the production of a John Sayles movie in Alaska.

NANCY CHRISTENSEN – In 1965, Nancy married Frank Conatser (class of ‘62) and they lived in Belmont Shore and East Long Beach. In March of 1968, they were blessed with beautiful twins – Karen and Christopher. Many of her friends from school cherish happy memories of Nancy. She was beautiful, graceful, kind, and very silly. Her parents’ bakery was a popular place to visit. My own good memories of Nancy in the mid-60’s include her babysitting my firstborn son while I attended business school. She and Molly Turner took turns watching Bobby (A 60’s version of job-sharing).

For the purposes of this tribute, however, I approached just one person --a central figure in Nancy’s life. From Spain, her daughter Karen Christensen shared these scattered glimpses from her perspective as a toddler: “I remember loving my mother with all my heart...I have certain memories, like a picture book...her playing legos with us and building a house, coloring in coloring books together, Chris and I sneaking into bed with her in the morning and warming our feet next to her legs. Her giving us our bath. I remember her drinking a large glass of cold water each morning...and her crying after her car spun around on a rainy day, looking back at us to see if we were O.K. I remember her taking me to the doctor after I cut my finger trying to cut an orange for Chris and me. I remember Chris utterly falling apart if he didn´t see her for more than 10 minutes.” These memories, like Nancy’s life, were cut tragically short. Nancy was just 26 years old when she died at Long Beach Community Hospital in October of 1972.

Karen added that she deeply appreciates the work being done to keep alive the memories of those who shared time together, back in the days when things weren’t so complicated.

She was devoted to her family and friends and had a strong spiritual faith. She had two grandsons, Mathew & Michael. Even though she was in California and they were in Wyoming, she still made sure they knew she loved them. She was a wonderful grandma and the boys loved her very much. In 1988 Jack (John Epson) & Julie were married. They went on many trips together in their camper and enjoyed each other’s company. Within just a few years Julie’s health began failing. Jack stood by her side until her passing on August 6, 2005. My mom did so much in her lifetime. She touched so many lives and accomplished so much that this short summary of the person she was, does not do her justice. She was so much more than what is written here. She is deeply loved and is deeply missed.

CANDY COX – Thanks to a few of Candy’s closest friends who contributed to this. Candy grew up in Naples and attended Rogers & Wilson. After high school, she went to beauty school, and it was in this field that she met and married Tom Waters. They first lived in Belmont Shore, and remained in the Long Beach area. Both Tom and Candy were very skilled beauticians and enjoyed success in this business.

Maurene Toppen recalled that Candy enjoyed styling hair and makeup from an early age and was always “impeccably put together.” She loved to dance and did it well, and had a terrific sense of humor with the ability to laugh at herself – a wonderful and special trait in anyone. Kathy Mashburn’s favorite memory: the countless tricks she and Candy played on each other through the years. Diana Kirkner Eshleman also remarked on Candy’s dry wit, but emphasized her kindness, her sensitivity and caring for others. She also was an accomplished seamstress and made her own clothes.

To further illustrate Candy’s TLC, Judy Wilson Jones recalled that when she and Lloyd were both working and their kids were pre-schoolers, Candy babysat them for six months. At that time she was a stay-at-home mom and had hair clients coming to her home. She had her hands full but did not want to accept money for the child care; she felt that was “stupid, because we had been friends for so long.” This resulted in several spirited Lloyd vs Candy go-rounds, and of course Lloyd ultimately prevailed.

Sadly, Candy died at the age of 46 in 1991. She left three children – Tommy, Ami and Heather. She is remembered with love by many.

NANCY CROWDER – contributed by her daughter, Stacy Simpson. After Wilson she married her high school sweetheart, Terry Thurber, and had a son. After that marriage ended she married my father, a Navy man, and had two girls. She eventually divorced again and raised three kids by herself while working. She was very active in our church, sang in the choir, was in the musicals that were put on at the church. Her passions were her pets. She loved her dogs and raised Cocker Spaniels and Great Danes. She enjoyed crafts as well. Nancy moved to Indiana in 1995, Our mom enjoyed living in the country and ( what we called.) stalking the Amish people. She was fascinated by their culture.

Nancy Crowder Todd passed away in 2004 at the age of 58 due to complications of breast cancer. She lived in Anderson, IN at the time. She has 8 grandkids; 3 girls and 5 boys. I wear my pink ribbon at all times in memory of her. She is the one who showed me and taught me courage, strength and caring. She always was putting other people first, even up to her last days. By watching her I saw the world has enough evil, unhappy people and I was not going to be one of them. I smile at strangers instead of frown, I will help someone that I see is in need no matter where I am....it throws people off when you do that because so many people are just not friendly anymore.

She is missed so very much, but my sister and I both see her silly character come out in our kids a lot. Not a day goes by I don't think about her and wish I had one more day with her......she is the reason I am the woman I am today. Ever since her passing, I do not take life so seriously, I do not take life for granted and I am not afraid to do something outside the box. I have learned life is too short to wait to do something I want to do. You do not get any do overs in this life so I try to tell people to DO it now...don't wait for "the right time" and if no one wants to do it with you, do it anyway, do not let someone slow you down from enjoying this life you are given. Thanks again for remembering her.

SUSIE DAVIDSON – Her husband Kelly Remling sent an obituary from the Colorado Springs Gazette, with the following information. Susan Lee Davidson Remling passed away peacefully in her home in February of 2009, surrounded by family and friends, after a courageous 10-year battle with breast cancer.

Kelly wanted to mention that he first met Susan when she moved into the apartment next to his. He used borrowing ice cubes as an excuse to meet her, and of course then had to empty the ice trays to make it look legit. She received her B.A. from Scripps College, and Master’s Degree in Social Work from UC Berkeley.

Susan spent the last 20 years as partner/therapist at Marriage and Family Treatment Center helping children and their families lead a better life. She loved spending time with her family and friends, getting to know her children’s friends, cuddling with her dogs, golfing, walking on the beach, listening to jazz, reading books, traveling, cooking, planting flowers, watching her favorite TV shows, taking long hot baths, playing Sudoku, and helping children have a happier life.

Susan made our world a better place, and will be greatly missed by many. She is survived by her husband Kelly, her beloved children Scott, Leila and Margaret, sister Katie, dog Bogey, and many others.

JOHN DUGDALE - was born and raised in Long Beach. During school, he held down a number of jobs and because he was employed, missed out on a lot of extracurricular and after-school activities. But 40 years later, when this website was born, he started to make up for lost time by thoroughly enjoying the interaction of former schoolmates through the site. He was quite simply ourwebsite’s Number One Fan, frequently posting messages on the Message Board and submitting pictures and stories for various sections. After his passing, our original Webmistress (Margie Lassiter MacConnell) dedicated our Christmas version to John’s memory. Here is what we know about his life.

After graduation, John joined the Navy Seabee’s, and his six years of service beginning in 1966 included two tours of VietNam. He was decorated twice, by General Westmoreland and General Abrams, and received an honorable discharge in 1972. For a time, John was a gold-miner, and his habit of carrying a little wad of sourdough starter earned him a permanent nickname of Sourdough John. (The term “Sourdough” to describe a miner dates back to the California Gold Rush.) He later became a general contractor, designing and developing many buildings, bridges and other structures. He lived in Griffin, GA on a spread he called the Johnderosa, and was very active in local politics and his church. He was one of six founding members who started the Ringgold Baptist Church in Griffin, purchasing the land and buildings and lovingly watching the congregation grow.

John spoke often about the 50th reunion and was working hard to overcome enough of his health problems -- many of which were service-related --to be there. In the year prior to his passing, he had a surprise visit from old friend and classmate, Silvia Valera Gardner (who traveled with her daughter 3,000 miles to sample his Southern hospitality for a few days.) John was a terrific story-teller, and by the time Silvia’s plane was taxiing down the runway to take them back home, he was on his “puter” reporting in to the website with pictures and glowing narrative, such as “I haven’t enjoyed anything this much in I don’t know when” and “she came all this way to see Little Ole Me” and finally, “It took 46 years, but I finally got my ‘date’ with the Homecoming Queen.” This experience likely pushed into a distant ‘second place’ his one-time date with ‘Hart to Hart’ actress Stefanie Powers. (Yes, he could spin a tale!)

John passed away very suddenly in June of 2010, while getting ready for a doctor appointment. He left children, grandchildren, his beloved sister Judy, extended family and a huge number of friends and admirers.

JULIE EDWARDS passed away in 2007 in Los Angeles, age 62. Donna Combs Dominguez was able to share that Julie was an RN, and had worked her way up to a very responsible Department Head position at Martin Luther King Hospital in LA. No other information is available. Bill Tobin recalled: " Julie and I met in the first days of our sophomore year. Those days, with all the junior highs being melded into one, were days with classes filled with strangers, kids in upper classes, and a lot of nervousness. Julie and I had been paired by our homeroom teacher to do a project. We exchanged telephone numbers and began what turned out to be a strong and binding relationship. We shared our fears, our hopes, our dreams in countless hours on the telephone. Julie got me through my sophomore year and I hope I helped her as well. We never did have that final telephone conversation... to say goodbye. You'll always be in my heart and in my memories, Julie!”

DAVID ELLITHORPE, information shared by his wife, Mawg. David was the second son of Philip and Esther Ellithorpe, two musical geniuses. Philip was the vocal director for WWHS for years and Esther could play every imaginable string instrument. For a time, Philip coached (in their garage) a young Jose Feliciano, as well as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. David grew up in an environment of perfection, and the pursuit of excellence in all endeavors.

David attended LBCC briefly before joining the Army. He served during the VietNam era, but did not see combat. He graduated from the College of the Redwoods with a degree in World Geography, a fine foundation for his chosen career in shipping. While in college there he met Ansel Adams, and became a skilled photographer. David’s charming personality and natural sales ability brought him great success while working for US Lines, SeaLand, Kerr Steamship Agency, American President Lines and finally, NYK. His marriage to Kathleen Harney brought a son,Tyler, who died in a tragic 1984 accident at the age of 14. They relocated to Southern California, but he eventually was divorced and returned to the Bay area. In 1978 he met Mawg in San Francisco; with a SeaLand transfer to a Regional Sales Manager position, they relocated to the Seattle area in 1980 and married in 1981. They bought a small farm (raising chickens, although Mawg states that chickens ‘pretty much raise themselves.’) A friend gifted them with 5 geese for their wedding! For a time, son Tyler lived with them and attended school there.

Mawg states that David had numerous interests and skills, and would be fascinated with any new experience for about three months. He was at times a scuba-diving instructor, he learned celestial navigation, and once interrupted his shipping career to learn how to drive an 18-wheeler, (and drove briefly for Coca-Cola.) He then bought his own rig which he brought to the farm and parked there. At one point, earlier in life, his father’s connection to Disney (Philip composed Disneyland’s Grand March) landed David the role of Winnie the Pooh, and he traveled to Japan in that capacity! But his passion was boats – sailboats. As far back as high school, he had worked on boats, scrubbing teak decks and general maintenance.

When he met Mawg he was planning to be retired by the age of 35, and bought his first sailboat in 1980– a Cal-31 (31 feet) and was never without a sailboat from that moment on. In the fall of 1995, he was now 50 and ready to retire in just five months, and planning an extended sailing adventure on the boat of his dreams –- a custom built 52 foot yacht -– to pull out of the San Francisco Harbor “and turn left” with the immediate goal of spending the next winter in the Sea of Cortez. In preparation for that trip he had just passed a complete physical. He became ill on board his boat, and was rushed into surgery. Like his father, he was a Renaissance Man. Like his father, he died at the age of 50 of a massive heart attack.

SHARON FOX – Sharon Fox Lambaiso died in Walport, OR in a car accident in January of 1996. She was 51. Efforts to contact her family were unsuccessful.

ELIZABETH “JOAN” GARBER – contributed by her daughter, Karen Lee. After Wilson, Joan worked as a waitress at Alphy’s and then Norm’s Restaurants. She met her husband, Vernon Rice, at a hangout near the Traffic Circle where people congregated after racing their cars around the circle. They married on her 18th birthday, and had two daughters – Terri (Long) and Karen.

They moved from Long Beach to Garden Grove and eventually settled in Cypress, where Joan was an administrator at a retirement home. When she and Vernon retired they moved to Corona and finally to Homeland, near Hemet. She passed away in 2000 at the age of 60, and is survived by her husband, daughters, two grandsons now age 26 and 28, and a great granddaughter she did not get to meet.

BOB GLADDEN – Thank you to Sandy Glass Luecke (class of ‘64) for putting us in touch with her nephew, Bob’s son. Mylon Gladden, a career helicopter pilot serving in the Army, shared: I will try to recap my Dad's life as best as I can...During Viet Nam he got as far away from his mailbox as possible by living on the beach in Hawaii with a bunch of surfers in an abandoned house or something like that. They made ends meet by doing odd jobs for an old Japanese plumber named Kobataki who had a single gold capped tooth. There were a few stories about those times. After that got old he gave up and tried to join the Air Force where he was promptly disqualified for medical reasons, flat feet I think. Oh,well.

At some point after that he was living in Atlanta with his two half brothers Mike and Dallas. His nickname was "the beard" because he was sporting a big one. (Sandy recalls in high school he was for some reason known as “Duck.” Maybe those flat feet?) He was sitting in the park one day in 1970 enjoying some rolled up mother nature when my mother happened by looking for just the right guy to bring home who would tick off her father. My Dad was that man, thank God, (or I wouldn't be here). They were married and divorced within a year and a half-ish. I went back to California with him as a toddler for a little while but ended up back with my mother in Florida. He then moved to Florida to be near me and stayed there after that.

My dad was always good with his hands. He made his living building things. Before I was in high school he started working on airplanes and ended up doing airframe and sheet metal work on cargo planes for a couple of companies. He got to travel for his job and spent time in Kenya, Alaska, and Papua New Guinea.

Dad was many things; rough around the edges, intelligent, quiet, patient, loving, handy, funny, and more. Not long after attending my wedding he passed away in July, 1994 in Lake City, FL --just shy of turning 50. He got to meet our daughter at a year old, but sadly not our son who we named Dylin Robert Gladden in his honor. I miss him dearly and think of him often. Thank you.

CHERYL GOLDSMITH – Cheryl Goldsmith Hill passed away in the Sacramento area in 2006, at the age of 60. Her family has not responded to requests for more information.