Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow!

Someone said that a man never has to worry about hair styles. He gets one early and it’s good for life…till it’s all gone. Women, on the other hand spend a lifetime following the styles and worrying about how it looks, the color and roots, etc. until in many cases it thins out and calls for a wig.

Of course, men do change styles over time, as we think back to ducktails, mohawks, the flat top, the mullet, and shoulder length, a la 1960s when rebellion was in style.

As a case in point, following are some photos of Rodolfo Alvarez, or Rudy, as we knew him back in the day.

Digressing briefly, one of the pleasures of keeping our classmates connected is that I hear from so many of you. A joy over recent years has been emailing and exchanging photos with Rodolfo. I noted at one point his shaved head and that led to comparing photos over his career.

Here are photos at stops along the way, with some biographical notes. The comments in blue are from Rudy, in black from me.

1954 Monticello photo. Rudy says, “Well in the class photo I had GREY hair.”

Timeline:    Lorenzo De Zavala Public School #40, first through sixth grades; started age 7. (Rudy noted that Ruth Hernandez Stewart was a classmate there.)

Sidney Lanier Junior High School, 7th&9th grades, based on IQ double promoted skipped 8th grade.

Thomas Jefferson High School, 10th-12th grades, summer school at San Antonio Tech High School, thus graduated with TJHS Class of 1954, age 17, immediately enlisted US Marine Corps.

I mentioned Jaime Ornelas to Rudy, who said, “Jaime and I joined Marines at same time, without knowing in advance about each other’s intentions.  Upon arrival at US Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, we discovered each other in the same boot camp platoon.  Purely coincidental.”

Following the Marines,

San Francisco State University

Institute for American Universities, Aix-en-Provence France

University of Washington Seattle Washington, MA & PhD

Assistant Professor Yale University, 1966-72

Professor University of California, 1972-2002.  

In this photo, grey was already starting show up some time around 1970 at my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. But I certainly had hair then.  🤪

“My older daughter and I had a good laugh as I related to her your comparison of two “hair” photos (1954 TJHS yearbook & class reunion) as well as a third “hair” photo taken at my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Where upon she produced yet a fourth “hair” photo, herewith.  I do not recall when nor where this 4th was taken. However, I’m wearing “The Tie” gifted to me by Wooster School Danbury Connecticut, where I voluntarily assisted while on Yale faculty.  Evidently, hair was a bit more trimmed!”

Photo submitted with our class history published in 2015. I will reprint his submission at the end of this blog.

At dinner in Thailand in September 2018. This is the photo that kicked off this discussion of hair.

Photo 2019

The objective was to get out in front of, and beat to the punch, mother nature. [& cancel weekly trip to barber shop].  So, every morning when I would otherwise do a normal “shave,” I simply went further up and shaved everything topside as well.  Hmmmm! But it is there. Most folks have no idea that if I wouldn’t shave (top & bottom) for a couple of months I would look like a very hairy cave dwelling Neanderthal!

Professor ~ Emeritus Professor of Sociol ogy, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 1972 – present.
President, Pacific Sociological Association, 1996-97.

President’s Management Fellow, Office of the President, University of California, 1994-95.

President, Society for the Study of Social Problems, 1985-86.
President, American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, 1980 & 1981.
President, AKD International Academic

Honor Society in Sociology, 1976-79.
Founder & Director, Spanish Speaking Mental Health Research Center, UCLA, 1973-75.
Director, Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA, l972-74.
Visiting Lecturer, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 1970.
Trustee, Institute for American Universities, 1967- present.
Assistant Professor & Resident Fellow, Morse College, Yale University, 1966-72.

University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, MA 1964, PhD 1966.

San Francisco State University, BA 1961.

Institute for American Universities, Aix-en-Provence France, European Studies, 1960.

United States Marine Corps, 1954 – 1957 active duty; to 1962 USMC Reserve.
Texas National Guard, 1953 – 1954.

Blog 98 Remembering Rock

Rock Mogas
passed away May 22, 2017. An obituary was not published, but his daughter called me and we chatted about Rock. He was cremated and interred in Houston, where his daughter and family reside.

Rock was widowed earlier, and in the past several years, we have lunched together with a small group every several months. I did not know Rock at Jeff, though I knew who he was. Rock’s birth name was Rocky Joe Mogas. I asked him about his given name of Rocky Joe, but I fail to remember the story there. If anyone knows, please comment to this blog.

Here is what Rock provided for the class history published in 2015:

After graduating from Thomas Jefferson, I attended St. Mary’s University and graduated in1961 with a degree in Industrial Engineering.

In 1961 I went to work for Zachry Holdings (back then H. B. Zachry Construction Co.) working in the Industrial Division on power plant projects mainly in the International Division, with projects in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

I worked for Zachry for 45 years before retiring. I was married to Sally Higdon in 1962 for 51 years until her untimely passing in September 2012. I have a daughter, Tressa and one grandson, Anthony who is a great athlete at the age of 9 and is attending St. Michaels Catholic School in Houston where he lives with his mom.

Jefferson High School gave me a base to graduate from St. Mary’s University, which added to my most fortunate successful long career and long years of marriage.

Rock had a serious heart condition and a pacemaker. He drove regularly drove to Houston in his sporty Mercedes for his regular examinations. Here at home, he worked out three times weekly and was always on the prowl for a “girl friend.” Rock had a serious attack about 5-6 weeks earlier and did not get his strength back so recovery was not complete.

My comment as we note the passing of another classmate:
we have all reached the stage in life where we are fragile. Some have mobility issues, some are experiencing dementia from mild to total loss of cognitive ability, some are grieving the loss of a life-long mate, some are not cancer free, and some of us just experience the little inconveniences that let us know that our body has provided its best use already. For those of us who have a good degree of activity, we should all give thanks regularly. I do. I hope you all give thanks as well.

Till next time…

For The rest of the story

Here is a great story for you that is documented in the 1965 Monticello if any of you have access to it. I learned about this fun story when I was asked if my younger brother was involved in it. My brother’s name was Bob or Bobby, but he graduated in 1961 so is innocent. Here is the story.

On the night of the Junior/Senior prom, three Senate members managed to place a Lone Star quart bottle, “empty of course,” as related by one of the three. That picture of the bottle is in the yearbook, but not very clear, as telephoto lenses were not commonplace then. How they achieved the feat was not disclosed.

I was told that the then-sponsor of the Senate was a teacher named Lionel Gregory, who was a Jeff student during the ’40s and a teacher from 1958-1988. He is now 91. I called Mr. Gregory. He acknowledged the antic but claimed he does not remember who the culprits were. He thought one of them was short and slender. My suspicion is that he is still protecting the guilty, although the statute of limitations is long past. His memory was otherwise crisp and sharp, and we shared some good recollections of years gone by.

Now when I first went out to view the bricks laid around the flagpole at Jeff, I saw two bricks with Stutts names that were unknown to me. A few months ago, I found that these two, father and daughter, were distant cousins I never knew. That connection yielded two more cousins from the classes of 1965 and 1967, and one was named Bob or Bobby.

The rest of the story…I asked my new-found cousin, Bob, if he were the culprit. I will quote his reply.

“And, yes I will own up to the story – it was NOT me.  It was a Lone Star bottle, and there were, I believe, various members of Senate involved (ZZZ – class of ’65 who was not short, but slim and/or XXX – who was short and slim – both might know much more about the incident).  The incident did occur during the 1964-65 school year and is immortalized in that year’s yearbook.

My only involvement was Dave Bamberger and I attempted to retrieve the bottle when the contractors who’d been hired to do so told the administration is was too dangerous and would need a day or so to gather more equipment.  We did climb the exterior window bars of the library – walked across the tile roof to the cafeteria roof, crossed over the cafeteria roof to the far end where we could climb (with ropes) to the top of the second floor and, then to the top of the third floor (again a tiled roof) where we made our way to the least high side of the tower (assault on TJHS tower).  We did make our way into the dome’s interior, pulled the ladder up thru the trapdoor, then stood the ladder on the ledge of the window – at which time it was almost 90 degrees – straight up.  It was at that point both Dave and I concluded we were neither stupid nor drunk enough to climb up, lasso the pinnacle, crawl up and retrieve the bottle.

That was the sum total of my direct involvement with the bottle on the dome.”

If you click on the site above, there are some great photos of Jeff, and if you look closely at those which feature the dome, you will see an object at the top of the dome that is presumably the empty Lone Star bottle.

The rest of the rest of the story…from an anonymous source:

OK…. I confess.  It was the night of the Jr/Sr Prom….  It was XXX, YYY and myself….  XXX was the President of the Senate, YYY and I were members.  XXX is about 5’6″ so I’m sure that is who Mr. Gregory was referencing.

It was a Lone Star quart bottle and it was empty (of course;).  It is immortalized in the 1965 yearbook, but the picture is not that good (evidently they could get close enough?)

Thanks for bringing it up – fun to reminisce.

I hope you enjoyed learning about this escapade from the long-ago past.

Blog 97 Good News and Some Reflections

Good news!
This is a post with no new obituary. However, David Segura has done some research on our lost list, as has Kathy Lentz.
I just have not followed up but will when I get around to it. David, you may recall, is a Jeff Class of ’67 grad and is writing a history of the first fifty years of Jeff history.

Fiesta Past and Present~
I was reminiscing today with Edward Davis about Fiesta in years gone by. In my recollection from our Jeff days, Fiesta kicked off with a wreath-laying at the Alamo. That was on a Monday of the week in which April 21^st occurs. That night was the river parade with the introduction of King Antonio. The coronation of the Queen of the Order of the Alamo took place on Thursday night and the Battle of Flowers was on Friday afternoon, hot and sticky more times than not. Today the celebration lasts twelve or so days with hundreds of events scheduled. Now the Queen is crowned on Wednesday night to have a day to recover from the hangover of the after-party. And there are five or six queens for just about everything as well as two or three kings. And breaking with tradition, the Battle of Flowers parade now starts at 9AM to avoid some of the heat.

Are things so bad?
Several times recently, I have commented that given the state of the world today, I am happy that I will not be around in twenty years to see it. I suspect our previous generations have been saying that for at least the past hundred and fifty years. I read something yesterday that causes me to think that things are not really so bad. As one example, in 1990, more than a third of the world lived in extreme poverty, whereas today, about a tenth do. Diseases have been wiped out or greatly curtailed, although parents who were protected from childhood diseases through vaccinations now know better that science, exempting their children from shots, and some diseases are returning. At any rate, I have resolved to be more positive in outlook.

More photos.
The photos posted in the last blog shifted around from the layout that I sent, but you astute people probably figured out who was who. Here are some more.

Texas Myers & Jane Cobb
Betty Russell & Patsy Patterson

Ron & Dee Bridges
Mary Lou Davis & Stella Rodriguez

May is here!
Am off later this week to a wedding in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. See you again soon.

65 and counting:
Our august class of 1954 is observing our 65^th year since graduating with two lunches. The first was April 11^th and the second will be in early October.

So what is special about 1954 and 2019? Checking the Chinese zodiac, 1954 was the year of the Horse and 2019 is the year of the Pig. While the zodiac predicts for those born in 1954 and 2019, I am thinking maybe they apply to our special events as well.

The horse-1954—lucky and unlucky things. The zodiac says number 2, 3, and 7 are lucky as well as combination of those numbers. Unlucky are 1, 5, and 6. Lucky colors are green and yellow. Our class colors were green and bronze.

The pig—2019—Lucky numbers are 2, 5, and 8, so maybe 2 is double lucky to be in both years. Unlucky are 1 and 7, so maybe 1 is doubly bad to be in both years. Who wants to be number 1 anyway? Number 7 is perhaps bipolar.

There is a lot more to report about each sign, but enough for now.

The Lunch–Sixty-four classmates and friends lunched together, with repeated comments that it was the best gathering yet. Some of the regulars missed and were missed. But it was a treat to see Heinz Loth, who drove from Canada to visit twin sister, Helga, and to come to the lunch. It was also good to have Bobby Hunt
and Sylvia de la Garza
Cueva join us for the first time. Sue Settles
arrived all the way from Bulverde. Last time we heard from her, she was living in Arizona, but she confessed that she moved back last November.

David Segura, Jeff Class of ’67 joined us. David is writing a history of Jeff, covering the first fifty years, 1932-82, to be published later this year. David’s intent is to set the record straight about myths that have sprung up over the years. I mentioned a couple of those in the last blog. From David, I learned that Miss Brewer sponsored The Swastika Club in the early years. It was a girls’ group to manage the social affairs of the ROTC. I wonder who managed their other affairs. The name was changed in 1936, as Hitler rose to power.

Smiling faces from the lunch

Danny Sciaraffa Bobby Hunt Sue Elo Heinz & Marlene Loth

Another passing…

Charles W. Gabehart

November 4, 1935 – April 5, 2019

[Note: to leave a message for Gerry and family, go to https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/charles-gabehart-obituary?pid=192145260&page=2]

On Friday, April 5, 2019, Charles Wayne Gabehart of Natalia, loving husband and father of three sons, passed away at the age of 83 in San Antonio, Texas.

Wayne was born on November 4, 1935 in Alice, Texas to Wes and Alice Gabehart. He grew up in San Antonio and attended Thomas Jefferson High School where he met the love of his life in 9th grade, Gerry Guly, after asking to borrow a pencil which he never returned. On August 19, 1955 they were married (63 years this past year) and raised three sons, Charles, Tom and Bill.

He worked for Humble Oil (later renamed to Exxon) for 33 years starting off driving a truck delivering gas to service stations and worked his way up to a senior sales marketer. This resulted in moves from San Antonio to Kingsville, Corpus Christi, McAllen and finally to Austin before retiring in 1988. He enjoyed deer hunting and fishing with his sons and many friends, but his true talent was playing the piano. He never really learned to read music, so he learned to play by ear and became a master at it. Growing up and all through adulthood, friends would often ask him to play a good old country and western song for them, he would grin and act shy for a minute saying he really doesn’t know any but would quickly sit down and entertain them for hours. After moving to the Devine area, he was invited to join the band “Country Swing” and played with them for many joyful years, playing dance halls and for special events all across the area. He also enjoyed playing his keyboards for the residents of various nursing homes in San Antonio and around Medina County, he would play any request to brighten someone’s day. He was known by all to be a good man and even a better friend by always helping those in need and greeting everyone with a smile, hand shake and doing his best to place a smile on your face with his quick wit.

Wayne was preceded in death by his father Wes, his mother Alice, sister Joyce and eldest son Charles. He is survived by his wife Gerry, sons Tom and Bill, daughters-in-law Mary and Cheryl, granddaughters Kristen, Sarah and Caitlin, great-granddaughter Savannah, sister Doris Stahl and multiple nieces, nephews and cousins.

A service to celebrate his life will be held on Sunday, April 14th at Hurley Funeral Home in Devine at 3:00pm. Family and friends are all welcome. In lieu of flowers the family asks of those who would like can make a charitable donation to Alzheimer’s Texas at WWW.TXALZ.ORG or a charity of your choice in memory of Wayne.

Jeff History

Recently, I posted a website that lists our class history. The website belongs to David Segura, Jeff class of ’67, who lives in Houston. I had lunch with David last weekend, and we reminisced about our days at Jeff. David is writing a book on Jeff history for the first fifty years, 1932-1982. I saw portions of the book, and it looks like a stellar effort.

One of David’s aims is to correct myths that have taken hold over the years. For example, I have always heard that Jeff was built as part of the WPA project during the depression. However, David points out that when Jeff was completed in 1932, Herbert Hoover was still president and that FDR did not create the WPA until 1935 (if my faulty memory is correct.)

David also mentioned that Mrs. Taliaferro was an original co-sponsor of the Lassos, though that has been lost over time.

I invited David to our lunch on April 11^th, as he indicated he would like to chat with any of our classmates for tidbits of history. He is particularly interested about book burning in 1953, when a member of the class of ’53 organized rallies against books being pulled from our library.

Reminiscing…

When I mentioned FDR, I knew you would all know exactly whom I meant. But today, probably 98 out of 100 under the age of thirty would have no clue. And there were plenty of phrases back then that mean nothing to kids today. Someone recently sent along a list of such phrases. Do you remember, And when is the last time you heard jalopy, hunky-dory, carbon copy, broken record, or Carter’s Little Liver Pills? And when did you last see a phone booth?

Those days are gone! So are the days when new model cars were introduced, and every guy I knew could immediately tell the changes on the new models. Cars were so distinct that every brand was easily identified. And for the girls, I bet most could identify every heartthrob on the silver screen (remember that term?). I used to wonder whether my parents were beyond help when they could not identify the latest model car and the latest movie star. I have reached that point now, and I realize they were not beyond help. They just did not care, because it was not important.

Realizing…

I had never thought about it until just the other day. When we went to Jeff, it was still relatively just nineteen years old in 1951. Wow. Seems like it had been there forever. Now it is almost 88 years old.

And Regretting…

I had lunch with Lon Carpenter recently, and we agreed that we children of the fifties grew up in absolutely the best of times. Think about how simple and honest life was then. Hugging someone did not become a federal case. No one felt compelled to carry a hidden (or open) gun for self-protection. We were patriotic and loved our country. Honesty, loyalty, and truth were virtues, and most everyone went to church on Sunday, often twice depending on your family.

I have concluded that the ways our culture is changing, I am just as happy not to be around in thirty years. I truly think that will be a totally sterile society by that time. No one will do anything that might possibly offend someone else, and caution and suspicion will surround everyone we meet. So I don’t want to be around in thirty years, though ten would not be so bad.

And back to happy…

Our lunch is next week, April 11. We will have some faces we do not see too often. Heinz Loth will be in from Canada and Glen Wogstad will be down from Grapevine, to name a couple. The Pattersons and Connie Dyer will be over from Houston, the Sweets down from Georgetown, Billy Crocker, and the Whartons from College Station. Come along and join us. It’s not too late.

And Back to Sad…

I did not know Bill Miller well, though I do remember him. I had heard some years back that he was afflicted with memory issues and recently discovered an obituary. I was surprised that Bill was a minister, but maybe that just shows that I did not know him well at all.

William Miller Jr.

MILLER, JR., WILLIAM (BILL) L. Born January 11, 1936 passed away April 15, 2006 in Dallas at the age of 70. Bill was a Minister and a devoted Man of God. He had a passion for reading and studying the Bible. This passion was extended into his missionary work where he helped start churches throughout Texas, Louisiana and Mexico. He is survived by his beloved wife of 26 years, LaNell; children Brian Miller, Cindy Odom and Karen Jackuback; brother, John Miller; aunt, Barbara Miller; 7 grandchildren; 1 great grandchild; stepchildren Darin & Ryan Ferrier. He is preceded in death by his parents, William & Margaret Miller. A graveside ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2006 at 11:00 am at Restland Memorial Park in Dallas followed by a Memorial Service at the Fullness in Christ Church, 8895 Random Road, Fort Worth, TX at 3:00 pm.

 

I regret that I did not know Doris Roland at Jeff. Maybe some of her friends who have lost touch will remember her.

 

Doris Lucille Roland Roemer

 

Doris Lucille Roemer went to be with the Lord on September 26, 2015 at the age of 79. She is preceded in death by her husband, Charlie Roemer; parents, Grady and Lucille Roland; brother, Donald M. Roland, Sr. Doris is survived by her daughter, Darlene Burger and husband Willard; son, Randy Roemer and wife Charlotte; grandchildren, Justin and Jessica Burger, Jenna Maloy and husband Paul, Cole Roemer; great grandson, Aston Maloy; sister, Mary Mosier and husband Jim.
SERVICES
Visitation will be held from 7:00 – 9:00 PM on Friday, October 2, 2015 at Mission Park Funeral Chapels North. Chapel service will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 3, 2015 at Mission Burial Park North in the Mausoleum Chapel with interment to follow at Mission Burial Park North.

 

Looking back:
I just looked back at recent postings and feel compelled to apologize for the boring format of the blogs. I diligently write and try to be somewhat creative with graphics, color, and text variations in the draft mode. When published, the spatial aspects and the fonts are lost and a very blah output results. (IMHO—in my humble opinion—in abbreviated texting language.) This has not always been the case, for in the earliest days the formatting moved from draft to published blog intact. Maybe some of the musings are blah to begin with, but faithful readers are better judges.

Read the Class History On-line:
Since publishing the class history in 2015, the occasional request arrives asking for a copy or a reprint. Without foresight, extra copies were not printed and a reprint for a few copies would be exorbitant. You can now read it on the Internet, thanks to David Segura, Jeff class of ’67, who is publishing a book to be called “A History of San Antonio Thomas Jefferson High School – Through The Eyes of The Monticello Yearbooks.”
David came across the blog several years ago and has been following it. He has posted our class history on line at this link:

https://1drv.ms/f/s!Av2ZuW4OyBQktFWz1ykOr3wAv_T1

David also has posted a Facebook page compiling Jeff history and lore. That link is HTTPS://FACEBOOK.COM/TJHS.HISTORY Be sure to have a look here. In addition, David researched some of our lost list and sent some leads to follow up, which I intend to do during spare moments.

Shout outs:
Kathy Lentz Miller volunteered to do some research on lost classmates, in addition to the efforts by David Segura. Thank you, Kathy. I will follow up on those results, which are “in the mail” as I write.

Here is a couple of photos of Kathy on her 84^th birthday and on her 62^nd anniversary. Kathy and her husband live in Austin. Congratualations.

Condolences:

Recent research for lost classmates has several deaths and obituaries. Here are three:

Carol Ann Cron

 

Carol Curlee LUBBOCK-Carol Curlee, age 79, passed away on Friday, May 20, supported by her family and the loving care of nurses and aides at Carillon House memory care unit in Lubbock, Texas. Carol was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend to many; a cookbook author; and a tireless volunteer who was celebrated for her chicken soup ministry. She loved to swim, travel, attend Texas Tech games, play with children, play pop music, and throw a party. She had a gift for making everything fun.

Carol Ann Cron was born Aug. 18, 1936, in San Juan, Texas, the eldest of four children born to Ralph Nicolet and Katherine McDaniel Cron. She had a headful of curls that drew comparisons to child star Shirley Temple, and her irrepressible spirit manifested early. At age two she charmed her mother’s tea party guests by bringing them cups of water (from where, her mother wondered. The water source, once confirmed, was never disclosed to the guests). Later, Carol and her sister Charlotte donned pillow case capes and jumped off the shed, pretending to fly. They delighted in teasing their baby brother Bill and playing with families of dolls made from bottles of all shapes and sizes. Both of Carol’s parents worked outside of the home, which was relatively rare at that time, so she began cooking dinner for her family at age 12, launching a life-long passion for cooking, collecting recipes and nurturing others.

Her family moved from the Rio Grande Valley to San Antonio, and Carol attended Jefferson High School, where she was first lieutenant in the Girls’ Cadet Corps and served as president of Jaspers, a social club. After graduating in 1954, Carol worked at Security Finance Corporation and became active in the Corral Group at First Presbyterian Church. There, she met Bob Curlee, an engineer from Louisville, KY, serving at Fort Sam Houston. They married in 1956 and moved to Richardson, Texas, where Bob launched his 50-year career with Texas Instruments. Carol focused her efforts on church and family, raising four very lucky children. She was a room mother, scout leader, bedtime story reader, and enthusiastic planner of creatively themed parties.

The Curlees moved to Lubbock in 1973, and there Carol began to work outside of the home, first at Mae Murphee Elementary School and later, as a caterer. She wrote and published three cookbooks: Here -You Want Something to Eat?, A Casually Catered Affair, and The Mexican Collection. All three titles sold briskly, with the second going to 12 printings. Carol led the college group at Westminster Presbyterian Church, volunteered as a phone counselor at Contact Lubbock, cooked and led food drives for Ronald McDonald House, and cooked up a pot of her famous chicken soup for those with new babies, illness or heartache.

Bob and Carol have been residents of Carillon LifeCare Community since 2009. In later years, Carol’s mind clouded with dementia, but she was sustained by the steadfast love of Bob, leader of Team Carol until his death in March 2016, and family and friends. The family is deeply grateful to the Carillon staff, especially the nurses and aides in the memory care unit, for their loving support of Carol, Bob, and their loved ones.

Carol was preceded in death by her mother, Katherine and stepfather, Paul Lovdahl; her father, Ralph and stepmother, Thelma Cron; her baby brother, Lowell; and Bob, her beloved husband of 59 years. Survivors include son, Bob and his wife, Neva of Ruidoso, NM; daughter, Kaye and her husband, Will Ford of Lubbock; son, Bruce and his wife, Julann of Lubbock; daughter, Kendall and her husband, Chaim Goodman-Strauss of Fayetteville, AR; grandchildren, Kayla, Krista, Brianne, Neil, Zoe, and Eli; sister, Charlotte and her husband, Jerry Campbell of Houston, Texas; brother, Bill of San Antonio, Texas; beloved in-laws, Annie and Jim Krach of Duarte, CA; 11 nieces and nephews; and many friends.

She will be dearly missed. Memorials can be made to the Carillon Foundation (Alzheimer Care & Rediscovery Center Fund) at carillonlubbock.com or to Contact Lubbock at contactlubbock.com. A visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at Resthaven Funeral Home. Memorial services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, at Westminster Presbyterian Church. www.resthavenfuneralhome.com.

Published in The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on May 23, 2016

Robert Joseph Ondarza

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Robert “Bob” Joseph Ondarza Sr., 75, of Victoria, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011. He was born Feb. 20, 1936, in San Antonio, to the late Arnold Ondarza and Stella Gomez Ondarza. He was retired from General Tire and Wholesale Tire. He was a member of Our Lady of Victory Cathedral and Knights of Columbus. He was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan.

He is survived by his wife, Margarita “Margie” Villarreal Ondarza; daughters, Cindy Manzano (Robert) of Pearland, Suzanne Helm (James) of Victoria, and Celeste Reeder (Dereck) of Pearland; son, Robert J. Ondarza Jr. (Adrianne) of Austin; sisters, Lucinda Solis and Norma Heilman, both of San Antonio; brother, Arnold Ondarza III of Plano; and nine grandchildren.

Visitation will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, 2011, with a rosary to be recited at 7 p.m., at Artero Memorial Chapels. Visitation will resume from 9-10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011, at Our Lady of Victory Cathedral. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Robert J. Ondarza Jr., Jason Manzano, James Helm, Jacob Reeder, Ty Manzano, and Nicholas Reeder.

Honorary pallbearers are Natasha Helm, Brandon Reeder, Maia Ondarza, and Cassie Ondarza.

Joyce Ann Reichart Chism

October 22, 1935—March 17, 2012

Mrs. Joyce Ann Chism, 76, passed away on Saturday, March 17, 2012. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Chism. Mrs. Chism is survived by her sons, Robert Douglas “Doug” Chism, Todd Chism and wife Rosemary; granddaughter, Maggie Ann Chism; sister, Lola Spriggs and husband Forrest.

 

The visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 from 6:00 – 8:00 P.M. at Sunset North Funeral Home, 910 North Loop 1604 East. The graveside service and interment will be held on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 10:00 A.M. at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery.

 

If you so desire, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org. To view the complete obituary, please log on to www.sunsetnorthfuneralhome.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Class
(and a lot of class we had and still have): Has anyone recognized that 2019 is the 65^th year since our graduation in 1954? Wow! That is both impressive and scary at the same time. Rather than an all-out reunion weekend that we have observed in past years, we will acknowledge the occasion at our two lunches this year, on April 11^th and in October. The reunions of the past were hugely successful and memorable, but the work and time to organize and prepare are also huge, and the old-time committee members were just not into it this time around.

These past few weeks, I have been updating the class database. This is not an intense activity, but just a little internet research in moments of downtime.

Our official graduation class size was 432. We have more names than that in the data base because there are names of some classmates whom we knew but who moved away before graduation. Hence, the numbers below will exceed 432. By my count, we have an active list of 242, a deceased list of 160, 61 on the lost list, and 13 who have requested not to receive notifications.

Most of the lost list is female because we only have maiden names on file. My suspicion is that many have passed on to the next life. Today I mailed letters to 18 for whom we have no phone number or email address asking for an update. Probably a bunch of those will be returned as undeliverable. As people give up land lines for cell phones, as they move from a street address to a retirement or care facility, it becomes more difficult to trace them despite the ubiquitous info on the Internet. I have not resorted to paying for information to find people.

From the Email Bag:
Mike Esparza sent an update from Colorado after the notice was sent about the April lunch. Mike was one of our class artists, with cartoons appearing in the Declaration (which was the school newspaper if you have forgotten.)

I will NOT be joining you but I will be moving to an assisted living facility this year. My doctor recommended the move. It’s almost six years since my wife died and aging forces you to cut back on your activities.

  I’m in good health. I do need to take five eye drops a day for my glaucoma. Three drops of one medicine, two drops of another and one at bed time.

  My two daughters and I are beginning the search. My oldest daughter works with Western Union  and should be busy through the end of March. Youngest daughter lives in Broomfield, a 45-minute drive on a toll road.

  I walk with a cane because I twisted my left knee a few years ago. I forget how many sessions of physical therapy I’ve taken which didn’t help much.

  I did have to make a drastic adjustment to my eating routine. I had to learn how to cook for myself. My Mom fed me through high school, the Air Force provided meals until I met my wife. We were married 55 years.

  Keep up what you are doing,

  Mike

Gone but Not Forgotten
As part of the searches for lost classmates, I have found six obituaries, with probably more as I find time. Here is the first of them.

Claudia Carol Neuerburg Fine

Posted: Friday, October 13, 2017 2:10 pm

Claudia Carol Neuerburg Fine, 81, went to be with our Lord on September 16, 2017. She was born in Alma, Nebraska on July 31, 1936, attended school in Taylor, Nebraska then moved to San Antonio with her parents and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1954.

She attended The University of Texas in Austin then transferred and graduated as a Registered Nurse from the Baptist Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in San Antonio in 1957. She raised her three children in Kerrville and Austin. Her professional career in Kerrville included Nursing Supervisor and Head Nurse at Sid Peterson Hospital, Charge Nurse over the Surgical Unit at Kerrville Veteran’s Administration Hospital and Director of Nursing Services of Meadowview Care Center.

In Austin, her work included being the Charge Nurse in the Post Coronary Unit at St. David’s Community Hospital, Charge Nurse at Seton Medical Center over the Coronary Unit and later over the Chemotherapy Unit. Early in her career she also worked several summers as the Camp Nurse at Rio Vista Camp, Heart of the Hills Camp and Camp La Junta. She was an active member of the Eastern Star and past Worthy Matron, volunteered with the Salvation Army and performed volunteer work in schools during inoculation programs. Her heart and love for Nursing was well known and appreciated with multiple honors and she was the recipient of multiple expressions of love for her caring leadership. She also worked with many young boys as an active Cub Scout Den Mother.

She was a beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Her greatest love was for her Lord and for her Children.

Her survivors include her daughter, Kim Fine Harwell and husband Dennis Harwell, children Kristine Shafer and husband Drew Shafer, grandchildren Dillon and Kate Shafer; Brian Jones; Adell Harwell Grim and husband Evan Grim, grandchild Brooks; Sarah Harwell Kackstetter and husband Adam Kackstetter; son David Fine and wife Shelly Fine, grandchildren Valerie Fine Walls and husband Riley Walls , Michael Fine and Stephanie Fine; son Stephen Fine and wife Melissa Fine, grandchildren Tyler Fine, Austin Fine, McKenzie Fine, Graham Douglass, Grady Douglass and wife Sarah Douglass. She also has her sister, Colleen Pharr of Denver, Colorado and multiple nieces and great nephews.

The family would like to thank the staff for the wonderful care she received at Kindred Hospice Center in San Antonio. She will be buried at the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Kerrville at a private graveside ceremony with family.

If desired, donations in her honor may be made to Bulverde United Methodist Church at 28300 US Hwy 281 N, San Antonio, Texas, 78260 where she was a member or to Mufindi Orphans, at MufindiOrphans.org which she was supporting with prayers and love or to a charity that is close to your heart.

Another sad blog here, with reprinting the obituary of Tommy Turner. Tom and I were members of the Doolittle advisory at Jefferson, so we go back to 1951. Both of us were mid-termers, but Tom was a year ahead, so I did not know him at Mark Twain, but we ended up graduating from Jeff at the same time. Tom and I re-acquainted in 2002 and hace been in touch several times each year since then. Tom was gentle, caring, and capable. One of the good guys…never to be forgotten.

Tom E. Turner Jr.

    
TURNER, JR., Tom E. December 11, 1935 January 18, 2019 Tom E. Turner, Jr., husband, father of four and Chairman of TETCO, Inc., entered eternal rest January 18, 2019, at the age of 83, following a courageous battle with Glioblastoma. He passed away peacefully at home with his loving family by his side. Tom was born December 11, 1935 in Fort Worth, Texas to Mary and Tom Turner, Sr.

As a young boy, Tom, Jr. moved with his family to San Antonio where his father had sought and found employment in the midst of the Great Depression. By his teen years, Tom, Jr. was working alongside his father who, by that time, had successfully established his own company, Sigmor Shamrock Corporation. Together with his parents and younger brother, Fred, Tom worked to build the company into a national leader in the convenience store industry. By the time it was sold to Diamond Shamrock in 1983, the company consisted of 577 stores in 20 states.

Within 10 years of that sale, Turner and family re-entered the convenience store arena in the form of a partnership with Mobil Oil. The venture was branded TETCO Stores, a name that carried the initials of both father and son as well as the name of their company. In just over a decade, Tom Turner, Jr. oversaw the growth of TETCO Stores to the point that it, too, was sought out and purchased by a globally-recognized brand, 7-Eleven.

Until his passing, Turner remained active in the family business and served as Chairman of TETCO, Inc. which remains a privately-held company now including members of the family’s fourth generation among its ranks. During his early years working in the family business, Tom also attended and graduated from Jefferson High School and Trinity University.

On June 8, 1956, he married the love of his life, Billie Lee. Together they had four sons, T.J., Chris, Gary and Jon. In 1979, second-born son, Chris, was tragically killed in an accident his senior year of high school. Tom, as well as his family, never got over the loss. His family finds great comfort knowing that the two are now reunited in Heaven.

Tom will be most remembered for his deep love, loyalty and devotion to Billie, his wife of 62 years. During their marriage, Tom seldom spent time away from Billie Lee. When he had to travel for business, he did his best to take her with him. He was a dedicated father to his sons, encouraging them to play all sports, and loved attending their games. As a believer in the right and ability to defend oneself, Tom personally taught each of his boys the sport of boxing. His sons have said their father was a perfect role model, inspiring them to become the husbands and fathers they are today.

Family always came first no matter what. Tom’s most memorable times were the family’s annual trips to Pebble Beach and Walt Disney World for over 45 years. Everyone who knew Tom knew that golf, guns and classic cars were his passions. It was not unusual for his neighbors and employees to see him drive a different car each day of the week.

As a young man, Tom fell in love with the game of golf. A natural athlete, he was a scratch golfer and played every week for 50+ years. It was his passion for golf that led the family to establish and develop Sonterra Country Club in 1986.

Tom was a member of Sonterra Country Club, Oak Hills Country Club, The Petroleum Club and The Rotary Club of San Antonio. He was also a proud supporter of the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Scholarship Program, the San Antonio Police Department’s Blue Santa Program, Returning Heroes Home, Wounded Warriors and Shriner’s Hospital for Children. He served on numerous boards including The Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA), the founding Board of Governors for The Club at Sonterra, the International Foundation for Junior Golf (IFJG), Southern Texas PGA, the University of Texas Health Science Center, Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital and numerous banking institutions.

Tom was preceded in death by son, Christian Lee Turner; grandson and namesake Thomas Andrew Kendrick Turner; parents Tom and Mary Turner; and brother, Fred Turner. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Billie Lee; his sons, Tom “T.J.” Turner IV and wife, Christine, Gary Turner and wife, Celeste, Jon Turner and wife, Shannon; grandchildren, Kelly Angle and husband, Blake, Tommie Turner, Christian Turner, Sydney Turner and Blair Turner; as well as sister-in-law, Mary Jones and husband, Charles; sister-in-law, Wandita Ford Turner; nieces and nephews, Rick Turner, Richard Turner, Milissa Turner Goodgion, Melanie Turner Reitmeyer and Tom O. Turner; and numerous great-grandchildren, great-nieces and great-nephews.

The family would like to extend their gratitude to Dr. Christopher Bogaev and Dr. Lisa Fichtel for their care and compassion throughout Tom’s battle with cancer. A special thank you is extended to caregivers Chris Cruz, Jose Serafin, Luis Campos and Ernesto Regalado for their tireless hours and loving care given to Tom in his final months.

A celebration of life will be held Thursday, January 31st from 3:00-6:00p.m. at The Club at Sonterra with a special time of remembrance to begin at 4:30p.m. The family held a private service and burial.

Honorary pallbearers were Tom’s beloved sons, his cherished nieces and nephews and lifelong family friends, Carl Voelkel and Shirley Ahr. The family requests that memorial donations be made to The American Cancer Society, 8115 Datapoint Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229 or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105. You are invited to sign the Guestbook at www.porterloring.comArrangements with Porter Loring Mortuary North 2102 North Loop 1604 East San Antonio, TX 78232 (210) 495-8221

Next Up – A trip

Sometimes we do foolish things, and I plead guilty. Last September, we and another couple decided to go see the Northern Lights in Iceland. The best chances fall in the months of September till April. One of the darkest times falls between February 1^st and 8^th, so that is when we booked a flight. Now that the time has come to depart, day after tomorrow, I question the sanity of it all. Right now the temperature shows a high of 180 when we arrive on February 1^st. How dumb are we? In recent weeks, we have met a bunch of people who either have been or want to go. Those back say it is an incredible country. With short daylight hours, we will see as much as possible and perhaps report on some it on our return.

Till next time, then…

The Internet offers so much available data that we never would have thought of accessing even thirty years ago. With genealogic research available, I accessed familial information for my son to use in his application for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution. For travel information, reservations, and phone numbers, it is all there. That latter, phone numbers, is especially useful since the residential phone directory has disappeared and the eight-pound yellow page book has dwindled to about one or two pounds. I have not consulted the yellow pages for several years.

With Google or Bing or whatever the Mac offers, you can find most anything. (Trivia interruption: Bing is the Microsoft answer to Google. Do you know what Bing is the acronym for? Because It’s Not Google). So it occurred to me to just enter names of lost classmates rather than try to use various directories. I did this on a recent rainy afternoon. Sadly, I found five obituaries, which I will publish in the next several blogs. There are probably more. Most on our lost list are female for whom we have no married names.

Also, Tommy Turner passed away last Saturday. I will publish that obituary after it is published.

On a bright note, it is always a pleasure to hear from Jay Weidenfeld. Jay wrote after I asked for alternate contact info and I had sent him contact information for Homer Shanks’ widow. Jay wrote:

As for the request for an alternate contact address – well, Jack – you drive a hard bargain ( and they stopped producing those about the same time as Hudson Hornets). Unless the black helicopters have caught up with me and I’ve had to go into witless protection, my alternate contact would be Barbara, spouse of 55 years and companion of almost 60, whose mobile phone is 510 882-1639 and who’ll probably know my whereabouts and keep our PO box whether I’ve been permanently retired or just slipped my leash and wandered off.

No kids, as it happens. Rumor is that we had one, once, and left it on the bus. But that’s malicious gossip. You know how people will talk.

The last, remediated web posting looks fine. My salute to you for hanging in with Microsoft and getting the formatting miseries straight.

I may have mentioned it before, but I appreciate your posting the obits along with other, more cheerful info. Our demographic seems to have the mortality stats of a light infantry unit, so that’s what’s happening. In the meantime, don’t waste a minute!

The other day driving along and listening to the radio, rather than texting or talking, the recording was Party Doll. It made me think that when we were at Jeff, the hit singers and groups were people like Patti Page, Jo Stafford, Perry Como, Vic Damone, Dean Martin, the Four Aces, the Crewcuts, the Ames Brothers, etc. Who can recall others?

When I went to UT in September 1954, it seemed like another whole world of pop music was there—i.e. rock and roll. Party Doll
was big. So were songs like Good Golly, Miss Molly
and a host of others. Hearing Party Doll made me wonder if our entire class was behind the times or was it just me? Probably just me. I remember that Blackboard Jungle hit the theaters during final exams, and instead of cramming for the final, most of the people I knew took a few hours out to see the movie, which offered the hit song, Rock Around the Clock.
Any thought from any of you? Was our class behind the wave or just me?

I regret publishing something that should have a black border around it. So here is a little musing to close out this session.