Janet (Jan) Hitzner (Fries)

Yes he is.

Nancy Whiteman (Hoover)

Yes he is!!!

Linda Bristow (Elias)

It seems as though this first month of 2023 has flown by!

Linda

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Cheryl Wombacher Welch died January 29, 2022.  Her obituary was in today's Pantagraph.  I was very sad to read this. I always liked her although, I didn't know her very well.  I wish I had attended the reunions when she was going so I could have gotten to know her better than I did. 

She had many stuggles with her health so now she can rest in peace and be with her late husband, Paul. 

Prayers given for her family.

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Thank you for letting us know that Wombacher passed away.  We have been waiting with the knowledge that it was just a matter of time.  I also pray that she can rest in peace.  May the Good Lord Bless her son and daughter.

Linda

David Brock

Will keep the Wambacher/Welch families in prayer as they grieve and move on..

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

The loss of Cheryl is very sad. Several years ago, Jack Habich and I spent the night as guests in her home following a class reunion. The next morning we woke up to a faboulous breakfast which she served on the enclosed patio of her house. She was wonderful. Years later, reports that she was having memory issues began to circulate. Diane Gardner, one of her closest friends, and I went with Marv to visit her in a nursing home. It was both traumatizing and electrifying to see her. She was absolutely giddy and incourageable, but clearly not herself. For years, Cheri was almost incarcerated by her dimentia. She was a beauty who was one of five people on the BHS Homecoming Court in 1963. RIP Cheri. We will miss you and all your laughter.

Debra (Debbie) Fitzsimmons (Price)

REMEMBERING CHERI WITH LOTS OF LOVE! We shared a friendship that went far beyond BHS. Ron and I moved to Florida almost 53 years ago and I was able to see her every time I came back, even visited she and parents at their Florida condo several times. As most all of my family slowly relocated to Florida, my visits became less frequent but I have been able to attend some of our reunions. Cheri was always honest about taking memory medications. Thank you to all of you who were able to to visit her these past years, I wish I had been there too.  I do keep up with these postings and appreciate all the sharing! Lots of love, Debbie

Linda Bristow (Elias)

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Love ya, Linda

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

David Brock

Hopefully you all had a great Valentine Day yesterday.  Today we celebrated 2 big events.  Sandy drove to and from the doctor's office by herself.  That might seem insignificant to most of us, but after restricted activity for the past several mmonths, that was a big deal.  Second, I went to see my ear surgeon for examination and suture removal.  I had 2 cancers removed a couple of weeks ago.--passed with flying colors.  I am scheduled to see my regular for follow up in May.  2 Big Praise the Lords.  Thanks for all your prayers.

Linda Bristow (Elias)

David Brock:  So happy for you and Sandy!

I just saw that Raquel Welch died at the age of 82.

She was a friend of my friend Beverly who lives in Thousand Oaks.  On 2 occasions I was visiting my friend when Raquel came to her home.  She was delightful and believe it or not, she was very comfortable being among just us girls.  Raquel said the next time that Beverly came to El Paso, she was going to come over also.  That didn't work out for her.

Both Beverly and Raquel got a real kick out of my quest to learn to read, write, and speak Spanish.  They wanted to know why I was working so hard at it.  My answer was to enable me to speak to others who don't speak English, also for business, and also to make Spanish speaking people feel comfortable in my presence.  They both seemed to always remember that with a note in the Christmas cards to me. 

They found it hard to understand why an American would go out of her way to be able to communicate with hispanics.  Today at work, I speak Spanish at least 3/4 of each day.  Some of the people I work with ( I am the only American anglo, the rest are hispanic) find it hard to understand why it was important to me to speak Spanish without sounding like an American.  My answer is this: our own language is best understood when it sounds like the way we speak it.   I tried to do the same with French.  But living here, I have lost my French speaking because I practice Spanish every day.  However, I have met a lot of very dear friends who do not speak English.  I feel that my efforts to speak Spanish correctly have gained an ability for me to reach people beyond my own language.  I also practiced Mediation in both Spanish and English.

I hope Raquel rests in Heavenly Peace!

Linda

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

I can only speak for myself, but this website is about our Class of '64 members and what you are doing or have done. I truly appreciate the prayers being offered, but we are missing something more fundamental: What are YOU doing now? The silence on this website is audible (pun intended). Please, those who tune in here but don't respond, say something. In addition to our children, grandchildren and, for some, great-grandchildren, I would love to hear what YOU are doing at this stage of life or have done that would make me jealous. Go ahead and rub it in. Every one of you is or has been engaged in something. Tell us what it is. I would love to hear about your passions, dreams and experiences. Let's pick up the pace here and enliven this discussion. I have written a book in which the bottom line is, EVERY LIFE LIVED IS AN EPIC. I and many others would love to hear your stories. In this moment, silence is not golden.

Dennis Flachsbart

OK Mel, got me to post.  My wife and I have 2 children and 6 grand children living in Dallas

and Minneapolis.  My wife and I are enjoying life here in Scottsdale, AZ.

Nancy Whiteman (Hoover)

Mel,

   I read the message forum whenever it shows up and love hearing about things all classmates are doing. I am guilty of not responding however. I married Clark Hoover who is a few years younger than me. He went to BHS also. Between the two of us we have 4 grown children and 7 grandchildren. We live in the Kansas City, Mo. area.My husband has a motorcycle so we travel with friends alot. We love the Chiefs and Royals!! I still get in contact with Marty Ficili , Kathy Rockwell Mitchell and sometimes here from Mary Pat Hayes Zehr. My sister is living in Bloomington so when on our way to Indiana to see two of our kids we stop and see her. Hearing about all of you who are on here is fun and I love the pictures. Thank you for all you do!!

Ray Bledsoe

Ok Mel, Here you go.  There isn't much that I feel you all might be interested in but I really enjoy what you all post.  This is from our 5Oth in 2017.  Some of you folks from Second Pres. might remember Jen from our ISU days and those of you who knew my sister Effie can see the resemblence in our daughter Kim.  Kim is in Amarillo; Beth is in South Bend; Ray is in St. Louis and Kath is here in Reno.  The seven grandkids are scattered between the two coast.

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

Now you're talkin'. Dennis, Nancy and Ray got the hint. I'm starting to think everyone else is shy. But I know it's not so. I'm just trying to motivate everyone...it isn't that hard to post messages here. So, what are you waiting for? Ain't I a stinker? My excuse is that I just never quite grew up, but that hasn't kept me from getting old.

Jack Keefe

Thanks to Mel for his recent post. He seems to have jump-started an outpouring of notes from people we haven heard from lately. It was great to read all of them. Here's the latest from our house:

Janet and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary yesterday. We're planning a trip later this year but not until the weather is warmer.

We are expecting our first great-grandchild next month in Texas. So, whether it's for an anniverary trip or not, a journey to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro is in our future to greet the new arrival.

And my book, Echoes of Purple and Gold, continues to draw readers. We had a book signing yesterday in Normal, our third one since publication. The book is available on line from Page Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. 

Spring must be on its way. Tempratures here in Bloomington are forecast to be above average again in the coming week. Everyone stay well and enjoy!

Joan Pease (Clark)

I'm a semi-graduate of the BHS class of 1964. Our family moved to California at the start of our junior year, so I completed high school in Palm Springs. (A very different demographic than the one where I grew up!) I want to return one of these days, but 'these days' are flying by. I'm including a picture here that I shared some time ago; maybe some classmates will see themselves or a friend here. Jack Habich has a copy of this and said Steve Wilson took it. We were Franklin School students on a field trip to Springfield. I'm in the front row, holding my greasy lunch bag. The boy next to me is Denny Van Steenberg, whose family was killed in a tragic auto accident. I also recognize Anne Bailen (Barbie Reed's head behind her?), Fred Livings in the cowboy shirt, Vcki Rizzuto and Virginia Spry behind me. (It strikes me as funny that Steve had to leave the picture to take it, but we've got the bus driver included!) 

Enjoy a stroll down memory lane.

Ray Bledsoe

This is to keep Mel Happy.  Hopefully some of you are into Genealogy which I have been working on since 1956 and started with the Genealogy Merit Badge in the Boy Scouts.  The first photo is the fort built by my great-great-great-great-grandfather Anthony Bledsoe b.1733.  it is located on the Cumberland Wagon trail which he helped carve out of the wilderness.  The third photo is part of the interior of the fort now maintained by the Park Service and is Northeast of Nashville, Tennessee near Gallatin.  The fourth photo is of Anthony Bledsoe.  The fifth photo (out of order-sorry) is the log cabin where my father was born in 1907.  The sixth photo is of Bledsoe State Park in Bledsoe County, Tennessee which was established in 1973 after the Park Service took it over.  Bledsoe County was named after Anthony who was a favored son of the South.  The last photo (also out of order) is Anthony's gravemarker located in the family cemetery at the Fort.  I appologize if this is too lengthy but hopefully you history buffs will enjoy.

Dianne Shaffer (Troxel)

it's fun to keep in touch with you. I married David Uban when I was 22.  Had 2 children Cari and Bradley. Divorced after 20 years of marriage but stayed friends until he died 1 1/2 years ago. Married Roger Troxel 25 years ago at age 52 - he is 7 years younger than me. He is Terry Troxel's cousin. I worked at State Farm 22 years.  Retired. Roger retired from Fire Department (28 years) but plays bagpipes for fire Honor Guard, Celtic across Pipes & Drums and for American Legion. He played at David's funeral. He has 3 daughters (2 in Texas and 1 here) and 7 grandchildren and one great granddaughter born on my birthday 1 year ago. One grandson (20) is in Army in South Korea now.  We share my granddaughter Revin 17 who is at BHS and my son (50)  and his wife (38) have a 4 month old baby girl in Wilmington NC. Life is amazing. I lost my beautiful sister Jeanne Olofson last March.  I got our year books out and must say those are memories that I love.  By the way Joan, I am the little girl straight in back of Ann sitting alone on that ledge.  Denny was my boyfriend in 3rd grade. First death I ever had to deal with.  🥲 God Bless you all.

Regina (Sue) Petersen (Koppenhoefer)

I'll jump in too -  Steve and I live in a small town 70 miles north of Bloomington, and have 6 children and five grandchildren.  Jack, I really enjoyed your book and hope to have you sign it for me at our 60th.  Joan, I think that is Don Cravens to the right of Ann.  We went to the same church growing up.  Fred Livings started school with me at Bent, and I wondered where he went from there.  Ray, I enjoyed reading about your family history.  I am familiar with the Gallatin area.  Our daughter, Lisa, lives in Nashville, and maybe on one of our visits there we'll check out the park and cemetery.  I still spend a lot of my time quilting and have a few projects in the works right now.  This year we had family pictures taken.  I'll share a few --

Melvin (Mel) Theobald

OMG, you guys are so beautiful. Please send more. And thank you to all who have responded here. There are dozens more of you and we would all love to hear your stories. Still incouragible, but not to be taken lightly, your classmates still remember you. This is just the beginning. Anyone else? We're waiting!!!

Sandra Jeakins (Singletary Sizemore)

Mel, you really woke us up.  Thanks!  I don't have an interesting story to tell.  Most people would find my life boring.  But I enjoy staying home.  I play my piano, at least two times a week and read lots of books, mostly murder mysteries.  I play on the computer, Solitaire, mostly.  I do word search puzzles.  When it gets warmer, I will take some car rides in the country.  I watch TV and since I retired in 2016, I've really gotten into Football.  Neither one of my late husbands liked Football and my kids didn't either, so I just never learned to like it.   But I like College and NFL.  I also watch some Basketball.  I attend church and go to BIble Study  once a week.  There is a group of church members that meet for lunch once a month,  But if I don't have someone to eat with, I'll go by myself.  Ron Singletary, my first Husband, passed away 38 years ago this year just after our 21st wedding anniversary.  He was 38 when he died.  My second huband passed away almost 10 years ago.  We were married 23 years. So I've been doing the alone thing for awhile and since I'm an only child, it wasn't much of an adjustment.  Ron passed away a few days after we found out we were going to be Grandparents.  So he never got to see our six grandchildren from our two Sons, and five great-grandchildren. I'm close to my youngest Son, who lives almost behind me.  He is a big help to me and enjoys doing things for me.   My oldest Son lives in Eureka.  Once a month the three of us go out to eat together.

Sue: nice family pictures.

David Brock

Spring is coming and we have the seed catalogues out.  Sandy and I have been maried since '72.  We have 2 children Janice and Charles. 

Janice married later in life and inherited 3 mostly grown boys (1 in high school and 2 in college) at that time.   She just lives down the road about 10 minutes from us. The oldest is a pilot--flew for Glendale Air out of Phoenix for a while.  He is now back in flight school learning to fly 767s for freight--both US and international flights. The middle one works with Amazon in one the St. Louis distribution ceners.  The youngest is scheduled to graduate from St. Louis Univesity in May.  

Charles lives in Atlantic, Ia, about halfway between Des Moines and Omaha.  He is married and has 3 children.  The oldest, Parker, is 16.  He is an Eagle Scout, member of the Honor Society and very musically talented.  The middle one, Bella, is 14.  She is big into gymnastics, dance and music.  The youngest,  Hudson, is 12.  He is very mechanically inclined (what he can't build, he thinks up).  He also plays piano and oboe.  All the kids have shown rabbits and sheep as well as static displays at the County and State fairs.

Sandy and I are muddling through our daily routine, working in rehab and preparing for the life ahead.  We are looking forward to outside work when the weather breaks.  In the meantime  I am maintining the bee hives and equipment. and the seed starting boxes.  Jonquils are starting to pop up, and will be blooming before we know it.  Fishing trip to Bennett Spring planned in May.  Just taking life one day at a time.