Bios. N-Sm

Went to Penn, graduated with a BA in Chemistry (College for Women did NOT give a BS; my, how times have changed).

Married right after college to Glenn, a Chem E. major at Penn. Married now 36 years.

Went to U of Delaware for a Masters in Chemistry. After initially dabbling in two areas using analytical chemistry (Art Conservation - Winterthur Museum, analyzing Paul Revere Tankards - and Pharmaceuticals, in the Smith Kline and French Days), I ended up in industrial chemistry where I have been ever since. I am now a Product Manager at Quaker Chemical- a manufacturer of lubricants mainly for the Metalworking and Steel Industries. Lots of travel to scenic Detroit to see the Big Three automakers. I am in the typical crunch of middle management - downsizing occurs often and there is more work with fewer resources. I enjoy it, but I also put in a lot of extra time.

Husband had a long career at ARCO Chemical, taking an early retirement when the company was acquired. He now consults for the chemical industry as well as being active in Habitat for Humanity and our Church. We have lived in the Philadelphia area (mainly Bryn Mawr) almost the entire time except for a short 5 year stint with ARCO in Houston.

We have two wonderful children, through which we live somewhat vicariously. Both graduated from Yale.

Daughter Corinne (28) went to GW Law and is an attorney in Washington DC at a midsized firm (McKenna, Long and Aldridge) doing corporate litigation. She is married to her love, Mike, also from Yale, who worked on Capitol Hill for several years before recently becoming part of the lobbying world. No grandchildren yet.

Son Evan (24) had an especially wonderful college career in part because he was a member of the a cappella community, first with the Baker's Dozen and then with the Yale Whiffenpoofs, the senior a cappella men's group. A school year of numerous performances all over the country (from the Today show to the White House) culminated in a 90 day World Tour over the summer in 2005, where he visited 27 cities and gave over 60 concerts. He graduated with a double major in psychology and music; played on the Lacrosse team for two years before making the hard choice to concentrate on the musical end of things. With two nearly consecutive undergrads in New Haven, we went up I-95 to Connecticut more times than I can count during the last 10 years.

Evan is now working in the two-year program at Teach for America, teaching 6th grade in an Anacostia (SE Washington DC) charter school. So far, it is quite a challenge but hopefully will be very rewarding.

Other than work and daily family activities, which in truth have occupied most of my adult life, I enjoy cooking, the arts (theater, dance and art), walking and travel. We have taken many a family vacation to National Parks and have done enough international travel to whet our appetite for travel during retirement.

I am really enjoying all these bios. Thanks to Norris for passing them on and all the other efforts for the reunion.

Joseph A. Neurauter cuts a somewhat unusual figure for a chief procurement officer. He isn't a former accountant, or a business executive or even a consultant. He didn't navigate Washington's political machinery before arriving at the Housing and Urban Development Department in mid-August. Neurauter is a former Army trial and appellate judge and a retired colonel in the Judge Advocate General Corps. "We were looking for a good manager, because we have a young and diverse workforce," says A. Jo Baylor, Neurauter's predecessor at HUD.

During a distinguished military legal career Neurauter earned nearly a dozen awards and medals before retiring from the Army. In 1997, he presided over several of the high profile Aberdeen Proving Ground trials, in which five men were convicted of sexual misconduct or rape of female recruits at the Maryland facility in 1995 and 1996. His JAG career also exposed him to contract law. "I was lucky to be something of a generalist," says Neurauter.

After retiring from the Army in 1998, Neurauter spent three years working for the Pentagon as a civilian judicial adviser to the Army's Judge Advocate General.

Then it was on to the General Services Administration, where he was an acquisitions deputy and the agency's suspension and debarment official. In 2004, he investigated an information technology contract administered through the Interior Department that was used to supply the Army with civilian interrogators in Iraq.

HUD has had a chief procurement officer since 1998, but unlike the chief acquisition officer positions created government wide by Congress two years ago, the department's CPO is not a political appointment requiring Senate confirmation. The CPO title remains distinct from CAO, which belongs to multi-tasking HUD Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi.

Guess the name tells you something about what I have been up to for the last forty years!

After graduation, I went to Montgomery (JR) College, Takoma Park for Dental Assisting (AA degree). Was accepted at Penn State, U of MD, Elon College, etc. but didn't know what I wanted to be, so took the "short way" to a career! Spent 1968-1976 as a dental assistant in DC and Md. area. Met #1, Jim Seals (a Navy vet returning to school) at MJC. Married in 1970. Assisted Jim with MJC, Univ of MD, (education major-taught 4th grade in MONT CO 30 yrs)and two graduate degrees in education from George Washington University. First daughter, Alysa born in 1976. Second daughter, Kajsa born in 1981.

Alysa (married to a Harvard lawyer, currently an Air Force JAG), she went to the University of Florida (GO GATORS)with degree in Exercise Physiology. Then grad school at Nova Southeastern for a Masters in Occupational Therapy. Kajsa, went to the University of Florida (GO GATORS) and received the last BS degree in Occupational Therapy. Alysa, in San Antonio, Texas (after 2 yrs in Japan), and Kajsa (engaged to be married sometime) lives in Gainesville, FL.

When Alysa arrived (born in Washington, DC) lived near NIH off Old Georgetown Road, I decided to become a licensed family child care provider from 1976-1993, raising my own two and "oodles of babies to 12 year olds". Moved to Potomac, MD in 1979 (more room)1.5AC for kids and dogs. Divorce came in 1991 after 21 years. Along the way, I found time to volunteer at the Therapeutic and Recreational Riding Center in Lisbon/Glenelg Maryland (for 10 years, 1983-1993)! Loved horses as a kid, and my kids did too! I credit TRRC with my growth into the health care field. I taught riding lessons and was the "bridge" teacher from the hippo-therapist to regular riding classes (for kids and adults). My children and I became Special Olympics riding coaches and traveled with a team from TRRC. Returned to school in Maryland taking classes here and there. Started at Towson State University in Occupational Therapy, but ended up in Ocala, Florida in 1993 and finished in Physical Therapy. However, the move to Ocala, included a second husband, John Wagner, and a horse farm with a 500,00 gallon swimming pool for rehabilitation for injured horses (mostly racehorses and quarter horses). However, I did swim some greyhounds off the dog track and a Clydesdale that had a back injury. Also had stallions and broodmares, show horses-- dressage and jumpers, steeple chasers, and racehorses. Divorce came again in the year 2000 (after 9 years)! So, I started in Physical Therapy with horses and changed over to torturing "old" people daily in a skilled nursing facility in Ocala and now in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Kept the farm going by myself for awhile (2 paid workers too!). Met Mark David Russell through a mutual friend. He's from Kentucky originally, lived on a farm in Tennessee, and then Tampa, Florida. With Mark's assistance, fixed up the farm and sold it in 2004 and moved to St. Pete. I miss the farm (20 acres) and the horses, but it was a good move. Love the beach, and since Mark is a musician (plays anything with strings, keyboards, etc.) there are lots of places for him to "PLAY". He is a single act and I have become a more or less, professional roadie! I am also an "occasional" singer with the BAND! So, my days are filled with physical therapy, and my nights are filled with musical therapy!

I've reinvented myself several times so far! I have enjoyed my experiences, since each has led me to my present "LIFE". I have spent 36 of the last 40 years with 3 totally different and yet interesting men. I've raised my own two kids and MANY OTHERS. I've taught handicapped children and adults to ride horses and go to horse shows and be WINNERS in a way they never dreamed of. And now, I am a professional woman by day and hang out in bars at night! Who could ask for anything more?!

Bio. from Preston R. Padden email Preston.R.Padden@disney.com

Hi, my name is Preston Padden. I will not be able to attend the Walter Johnson reunion because I will be on a boat trip. But below is a bio. Thanks very much for all the effort that you are putting into this event.

B.S in Economics (aptly named) from University of Maryland in 1970. Law degree from George Washington University in 1973. Married Barbara Lynn Jones in 1973. Daughter Kelly was born in 1977. She now sells over-priced art to over privileged people in London. Daughter Jennifer was born in 1980. She is getting a Master's degree in Art Therapy and interns at an art therapy program for kids with cancer in Washington, D.C.. Son Joey was born in 1982 and is a mechanical Engineer in Boulder, Colorado. We lived in Gaithersburg, Bethesda and Potomac while the kids were growing up. Barbara and I now live in Oxford, Maryland across the Chesapeake where Barbara is active in several organizations struggling to save Maryland's Eastern Shore from overdevelopment.

I worked 12 years as a lawyer for Metromedia, Inc. In 1985 I became President of The Association Of Independent Television Stations (stations that were not ABC, CBS or NBC). In 1990 I went to work for Rupert Murdoch helping to start the Fox Network. In 1997 I became President of the ABC Television Network. I am now Executive VP, Worldwide Government Relations for The Walt Disney Company which gives me the chance to work on issues ranging from building a new theme park in Shanghai to fighting online piracy of Disney films.

I will miss the reunion because my Son and I will be somewhere along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway moving our boat to Florida for the Winter. But we will offer a toast in honor of the WJ Class of '66!

From classmate in 1966 to Commencement speaker to the 2010 class of WJ........here is a copy of Preston's speech from this week June, 2010 to the WJ graduating class:

Thank you Jaqui for that overly generous introduction. I want to begin by thanking Dr. Garran and the Senior Class Officers and Advisors for honoring me with the invitation to be your Commencement Speaker. I promise to be mindful that a great speech has a strong beginning, a strong ending AND as little time as possible between the two.

By all accounts, you are an amazing graduating class – just what we need to bring peace, prosperity and civility to our excessively polarized nation. You have thrived academically notwithstanding the massive reconstruction of the Walter Johnson physical plant. And you have carried on the great WJ tradition of community service by raising $29,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and winning the Pennies For Patients competition for the 5^th year in a row.

I have very fond memories of my 3 years at WJ. I am glad that the Spartan Brass Plaque is still the centerpiece of the school lobby. In my day there was a mild hazing tradition in which upper class men and women would bump the new students causing them to step on the plaque. Then the new students were given an opportunity to get on their hands and knees and polish the plaque as the older students watched and heckled. As a new student it was my misfortune to participate in this tradition. I was bumped onto the plaque. A Yearbook photographer happened to be there to capture the moment. And, for reasons STILL unclear to me to this day, I looked right up into the camera as my embarrassing harassment was being recorded for posterity. One of your Senior Class Advisors, Dan Kempner, has posted that picture on the WJ website. When you get a moment take a look. Seeing my totally geeky picture from 1964 and knowing that later life treated me very well should give you great confidence about what YOUR own destiny can be.

Our Principal in those days, Dr. Earl Shubert, was an avid photographer. He traveled throughout Maryland creating a world class photo essay of our State. He then collaborated with the WJ Band and Chorus to create a musical tribute to Maryland coordinated with slides of his photography. The program was so impressive that we were invited to perform at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Dr. Shubert was bursting with pride. My job was to project the slides. Unfortunately, I failed to make sure that our World’s Fair venue had blackout curtains on the windows. As you can guess, the room was flooded with daylight that completely washed out the slides. The Band was great and the Chorus was superb, but the audience never got to see Dr. Shubert’s wonderful photography. I’m not sure he ever forgave me.

My life since WJ has been filled with good fortune. I got picked up in a bar downtown by a beautiful young woman named Barbara. She NOW explains that she was desperate. We have been married almost 37 years and have 3 wonderful kids. I have been fortunate to work for and with some remarkable people at great media companies including Disney and Fox. At Disney we have an incredible collection of assets including Theme Parks, a Film Studio, the ABC Television Network, ESPN, Disney Channel, Cruise Ships, and Theatrical Productions. And with Mickey Mouse on our business cards we always know that meetings with people outside the Company will at least start off well.

My job this evening is to look back upon my career and identify some piece of advice to share with you – some piece of advice that will help you thrive and achieve beyond the walls of WJ. I spent a good deal of time thinking about what worked for me in my life, and what didn’t. I tried to analyze what had enabled the success of the people for whom I worked – people like Bob Iger, Michael Eisner and Rupert Murdoch. The answer became very clear. YOUR success will be determined NOT by what you look like, or what you know, or even who you know, but whether you bring to the task before you a “Can Do” attitude. By a “Can Do” attitude I mean a gentle and respectful relentlessness – a refusal to be deterred by any obstacle in your way - an absolute determination to find a path to your goal. It is this “Can Do” attitude that will enable you to achieve any task you are assigned and any goal that you set for yourself whether in business, academia, charitable work, public service or religious pursuits.

Let me give you an example. In the late 1980’s the Federal Communications Commission issued a Report concluding that it would not be possible to create a 4^th Broadcast Television Network in the United States – that we were forever stuck with only 3 Broadcast Networks - ABC, CBS and NBC. Beginning in 1990, a team of people with the “Can Do” attitude proved that Report wrong by successfully creating the Fox Broadcasting Network. I was in charge of Network Distribution and the job of our small staff was to convince local independent TV Stations in as many cities as possible to affiliate with our thoroughly unproven Network. The early going was unbelievably tough. Our Network blew through 100 Million Dollars and had nothing to show for it. We could not get even a slight blip in the ratings. The established networks ridiculed us. A daily barrage of press reports predicted our imminent demise. The financial executives at our parent Company threatened to cut off the money we needed to keep trying. But our team never wavered in our absolute determination to succeed. It wasn’t that we were smarter than the FCC and the people who were sure we would fail; we just refused to give up.

Ever so slowly, our ratings began to show a spark of life as viewers started tuning into programs like “Cops”, “The Simpsons”, “90210” and “Melrose Place”. And then in 1993, we wrested the Sunday NFL package from CBS finally establishing Fox as a real Network. Our NFL deal illustrates the power of the “Can Do” attitude. The NFL had been on CBS forever. CBS had local Affiliate Stations in every city. By contrast, there were 70 cities where there was no 4^th local TV Station to affiliate with us. We offered to pay the NFL substantially more than CBS had been paying. But CBS countered with the argument that the NFL would suffer a public relations nightmare if viewers in 70 cities lost access to NFL Sunday games. Mr. Murdoch brought me before the NFL Owners Committee and announced – without telling me in advance - that within 60 days my staff of 4 Network Distribution people and I would sign secondary affiliation agreements with an ABC, CBS or NBC station in every one of those 70 cities assuring that no viewers would lose access to NFL games.

It was a daunting task. To have any chance of succeeding I needed the help of my colleague Lana Corbi. Lana is the most gently relentless person I have ever met. She never raises her voice, she is unfailingly courteous but she always finds a way to achieve the task at hand. The problem was that Lana was scheduled to take 2 weeks off for a long planned storybook wedding in a castle in France and then a honeymoon. Upon hearing that we had only 60 days to sign up affiliates in 70 cities Lana immediately volunteered to postpone her wedding and hit the road to help sign up the Stations we needed. We met the deadline and the NFL was ours.

My message to you this evening is simple. You don’t need to be the smartest or the strongest or the best looking person in the room. If you approach life with a “Can Do” attitude, you will be successful – successful in business, in charitable work, in academia, in public service – even in your marriage and family relationships.

I thank you again for allowing me to be with you at this great commencement. And I offer this closing wish for each of you - that you enjoy the love and support of your families, that you have a lifetime of friends worthy of the true meaning of the word and that you achieve success in all that you do.

...................................

Bio from Daphne Paul ...married name (Perry)

For those of you who remember me( most likely not many) and for those of you who do not:

I was so not into High School. It was my outside life that attracted me back then. Could not get into the groove of life at school in those times, so I really missed out on a lot I suppose.. Now, I look back and wonder : How strange that somebody ( meaning me ) could be somewhere for so long and at the same time be totally absent from that place. That was my experience, and the experience on looking back on this has been very interesting.

I have 3 children( now 25, 28, and 36), and lived in Venezuela most of my adult life. My husband was a psychologist and recording artist who started the first self help seminars in Venezuela; Actually we were partners. Later we divorced and I worked as a teacher for 16 more years in Caracas. Had a beautiful life there, just loved it ! ..Later I married Brian who is from Curacao but of a Costa Rican father, although he is actually a British citizen. .He has one child Lisa who is 24 and she still lives in Venezuela. My oldest son, Willie is a Geek and has a popular online geek store with his girlfriend Jen, and they live together in Northern VA.My second oldest son Ramon lives here in NC, is a piano teacher at the University, and gives concerts of mostly Russian composers like Rachmaninoff. He is also married and his wife Olga is from Belarus .She just became Attorney General with the NC government. My daughter Jennifer is married to a Venezuelan/ American man who works for IBM .They live in Fort Lauderdale, and have 2 children. Jenny is a stay at home Mom, whose aspirations are to at some point, involve herself in politics. So my family is very international, which makes for a lot of paperwork!!!

Currently Brian and I are very much into meditation. We also do astrological charts, and we are writing about our experiences with the Dzogchen Tibetan practices. .

We have suffered a series of deaths of close family members( 5 to be precise) during the past few months and my mother's health is crumbling, so I am swamped and grieving. Brian lost both of his parents suddenly so we will be in Costa Rica for some time, and I will not be attending the reunion, but I send all of my best wishes, regards and hopes that the reunion will be as heart warming, fun, and interesting as you all aspire for it to be. May you all be blessed with happy times and memories , and sorry I won't get to know you better ,but with this situation it would be impossible to attend. Thanks for all of the work you have done and for the yearbook! Mine had been lost in a fire.

Daphne Paul, married name Perry

...................................................................

From: Pamela Paul married name Price added 9/25/2010

My email address is listed so if anyone is dying to contact me they can just send me an email. Thanks. email pamela27949@yahoo.com

................................................................

From: Klaus Pawlitzki

Great to see something's happening. My attempt to get in touch via Walter Johnson guestbook failed (I'm still the last post), so I thought nobody likes me (sob).

My e-mail address is on the list - pawlitkl@netcologne.de. Here's some more information for those who are interested:

I'm teaching English and Geographie at a school in Cologne, Germany (influenced by Tibbet and Phifer!!) and play in a bluesband http://www.boogiechillin.de/ to compensate whatever stress the job creates.( Job plus family: a nice wife, 3 daughters, aged 22, 24, 27, a dog aged 15) Maybe some of you remember The Extremes, we played an important event at Walter Johnson which I forgot, but I'll never forget:John Crippen( class of 67), Jerry Vanaker, Lee Ferguson, Bill Picon, Mark Pitzer - where are you??? Seeing that some of our boys are also still in the business, makes it quite exciting to get together again. (I didn't know that Ed Becker was a musician! Hope to hear from you!)

Living in Germany, as most Germans do, makes it a little bit difficult to get and keep in touch - but a reunion after 40 years should be an event for which a little effort can be made. Having read the Yearbook entries again, I'm dying to find out more about my friends of the class of 66.Thanks for the effort, Norris,

Kind regards, Klaus Pawlitzki

click on photo to enlarge

................................

Sunny Yates (Maiden name Linda Peltier)
3910 N. Blackhawk Road, Silver City, NM 88061
(575) 534-2121 (area code changed recently) (work)
(575) 313-2200 (cell)
syates@effenv.com

Update to my bio: My husband, Gary, passed away on July 4, 2008, after having been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April of that year. I'm grateful for the time we had together (22 years ) and added an "In Memoriam" page to our business web site in celebration of his partnership and some of the lessons he taught me. (www.effenv.com) I'm continuing to work as a management consultant, primarily with not-for-profit organizations, and the work is an ongoing source of satisfaction and inspiration. New Mexico is still "home" -- definitely living up to its moniker as "the Land of Enchantment"!

I'm attaching a photo...let me know if it works!

Best to everyone,

Sunny

..............................

I have really enjoyed reading everyone's bios. And thanks to the committee and the huge effort you are making.

High school has not been my favorite part of my life. Due to severe family dysfunction and consequently depression, life often looked fairly grim. But things changed once I escaped and went to college. I went to the University of Maryland, College Park. I moved on campus the second semester of Freshman year. I majored in Theater with a back-up in dance and English literature. Very 60's and not very useful. I spent much of the 4 years involved with the non-violent protest of the Vietnam war and being a hippie.

I graduated in the spring of 1970 after the University had been closed down for several weeks due to campus unrest. My parents were not thrilled with the fact that I appeared at graduation with a huge peace symbol on the back of my graduation gown.

I started meditating and doing yoga in late 1970. I've continued to the present time. Work was a series of jobs. I was an editorial assistant for 7 months. I worked for the state of Maryland as a home teacher for almost 5 years. Then a peculiar twist of fate occurred, and I started modeling professionally doing mostly runway but some print work. I did that for 4 years spending the last 9 months in New York. However the craziness and narcissism involved finally drove me out. I returned to Washington and became a travel agent. That lasted from 1981 - 1987. I managed an glass art gallery from '87 to '90. In 1990 I went back to school at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and earned an MSW in clinical social work. I worked at Fair Bridge Psychiatric facility from 1994 - 1996 earning my licensure hours. It is a long-term in-patient psychiatric hospital for adolescents. Needless to say I got quite an education there.

I then worked at Northern Virginia Family Services as a psychotherapist from 1997 - 2003. Now I am doing a limited private practice.

Meanwhile in 1975 I married my hippie boyfriend. We divorced a couple of years later. On December 21, 1983 I met my current husband in an ice storm on both of our ex-wedding anniversaries. His name is Bill White, and he is a PhD in biostatistics. He was at NIH at the time designing and implementing clinical trials for pharmaceuticals for indications in epilepsy and head trauma. Shortly afterward he went into the private sector and changed his focus to cardio-vascular indications. He worked for a Japanese pharmaceutical company until 1997. That same year, he started his own Clinical Research Organization specializing in cardio-vascular drugs, devices, and biologics. He has just sold it this past August. He will stay with the new company for 2 years.

We married in October 1985. His 16 year old son unexpectedly came to live with us about 8 weeks after we married. He stayed for 18 months then Bill's daughter moved in as she turned 16. This definitely added a certain level of drama to our first years of marriage. But we survived. Now we have 2 dogs and life is very quiet.

I have had a series of health issues, and I had 7 surgeries between 1998 and 2003. This included 4 back surgeries. Unfortunately I am an orthopedic disaster from one point of view but mostly out of pain. We have done a lot of traveling in the past 3 years and plan to continue. I see several clients and teach a meditation class each week. So life is good.

Above left with Jim Adair at the mini 2008 reunion Above right is a professional photo of this beautiful lady !!!

Greetings from New Jersey ...... From Walter Johnson, I entered Montgomery CC, transferred into Maryland University where I became involved in theater production and performance and continued my love of singing in the chorus. I married a man who was an officer in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. During that stint I was very active in base volunteer work and attended college classes at night.

The marriage ended and I returned to Bethesda . I worked, entered the executive secretarial program at The Washington School for Secretaries in DC, graduated with honors, and took a position as an executive secretary in the White House Press Office during the Nixon Administration, reporting to Press Secretary Ron Ziegler and Deputy Press Secretary Jerry Warren, working and traveling with the White House Press Corps. Completed my work on the Friday of the weekend that John Dean went to Camp David and the first Watergate story broke in the Washington Post.

Headed to Gainesville , Florida , to begin another segment of my life. I entered Santa Fe Community College completing my A.S. Degree. I then transferred to the University of Florida into the College of Journalism and Communication.

While working toward my degree, I worked as a radio and TV spot commercial writer and announcer and as an assistant to the Director of the TV station WUFT, writing T.V. Guide copy and promotion pieces.

I also produced and hosted a bi-weekly community service program on WUFT. I accepted and became the first female student to launch and execute this new program. The shows were taped live and it was great on-air experience.

I met my next husband at the University of Florida . I graduated with a B.S. in Journalism and Communication. He graduated with a B.S.S. in Electrical Engineering. I became an instant mother to his two young children (a boy and girl). He and a former engineering colleague started an engineering consulting business with offices in Atlanta , Georgia ; Houston , TX ; and Gainesville , FL. So, we moved to Houston ; and then we moved back to Gainesville .

I entered the University of Florida a second time to do post graduate work in the College of Architecture and Interior Design and loved it. My son was born. Now, with three children and a business to help run; I had to put the studies aside. My husband and I sold out our partnership and moved to Boca Raton , FL. A new chapter began for us. He became involved in the space and defense industry, designing electrical systems for the Space Shuttle program and for Trident missiles.

In Boca I worked in commercial real estate and mortgage banking—brought in business, closed the loans, and administered projects to completion—managed and supervised acquisition, development, and construction projects in South Florida and southern California (loans from $3 million to $30 million), which involved the build-out of large luxury residential tracks and the construction of office complexes, shopping centers, and apartment complexes.

I also was involved in church and community activities. Was very involved in the Boy Scouts. Before we moved from Boca to Winston-Salem , NC , I taught in one of the elementary schools and worked with children in grades one through five—those considered gifted as well as those coping with various challenges.

My husband’s next employment took us to Ridgewood , NJ . In 1996 he passed away. My son finished secondary school. I became involved in publishing, beginning first with Aviation International News and then Simon and Schuster, Pearson/Longman, and finally McGraw-Hill in Manhattan as Director of Marketing and Sales Services and Field Sales Manager for English as a Second Language. I received my M.B.A. in 2005 And, the journey continues.

It has been comforting for me to read submissions from classmates who considered themselves timid and invisible during the WJ Wonder Years. I was one, myself-just the opposite of a big fish in a small pond, I was mere plankton in the sea that was WJHS. I escaped to calmer waters after graduation. I attended Davis & Elkins College, a liberal arts college in Elkins, WV, on the western slopes of the Appalachians, and I learned how to become visible to the folks around me. The college had a student body of 700 (yes, a 4-year college that was smaller than my high school graduating class. It was wonderful!), and it's hard to disappear in such a setting. I graduated in '70 with a degree in English. (I concentrated in Literature; figure out how to get rich on that! Okay, to be honest, I concentrated more on folk music while I was in college, and haven't gotten rich on that, either.)

Jim Skidmore and I married in September of 1970. We met in October of 1966, when he was a student at Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, WV, 25 miles down the road. I tell people we went to different colleges together. Together we've raised a son, Daniel, now 25 and settled in Martinsburg, WV.

In 1972, after Jim's army obligation was complete-yes, it included Vietnam (he was taking x-rays in a MASH unit in Dongtam while I was busy protesting the war)-we moved to Philippi, WV, Jim's college town 25 miles down the road. Philippi has a population of about 2800, so I don't feel like plankton here, either. Philippi is the site of the first land engagement of the Civil War, June 3, 1861. The Confederate forces were commanded by Col. George Porterfield-not a direct ancestor, but almost certainly a cousin. Col. Porterfield led the Confederate retreat some 35 miles to Beverly [still Virginia at that point], where he was stripped of his commission. It's so exciting to have a connection with history! Jim and I live on the little farm we bought outside Philippi in 1977.

As I haven't been single-minded enough to pursue a profitable career, below is a sample of some of the ways I've kept myself happily occupied over the past 40 years:

§ Visited nursing homes and rehab centers with my two Therapy Dogs, Martha and Bryn (dogs retired in 2003);§ Studied ballet and performed with Ballet West Virginia in the 80's; § Raised chickens and sold eggs; § I ring with the Alderson-Broaddus College/Community Handbell Choir (since 1994); § Learned to play lever harp (sometimes referred to as Celtic harp); § I was an Aerobic Dance instructor for 9 years; § I'm active with my church (Philippi Mennonite Church); § I raise a garden every year; § In the 70's I teamed up with dulcimer builder Charles Maxson (Volga, WV), and together we released 2 LPs and a single on the Peaceable label; § Charles is gone now, but I continue to demonstrate and perform dulcimer music in educational settings, most notably the Blue & Gray Reunion, held annually in Philippi the first weekend in June; § Over the past 30 years I have taught more than 80 children and adults how to play the guitar. (Not long ago I ran across history teacher Diane Abelman's entry in my 1965 WJ yearbook: "To Karen, who should have paid more attention to history and less attention to her guitar.")

For some reason Miss Abelman doesn't appear in my personal WJ Teachers Hall of Fame, but these dear people do: Mrs. Johansson, Mr. Perialas, Mrs. Snowden, Mrs. E. Hall, and Mrs. Phifer, who was certainly most influential of all.

In reading through these biographies, I feel almost as though I am meeting distant cousins and discovering just how large my family really is. You have helped to create a community, Norris-thanks so much for making these stories available to us!

Dayspring Farm, Route 2, Box 313-B, Philippi, WV 26416, 304-457-2264, email jkskidmore@juno.com.

Thanks, Norris and Tom, for all your work on Reunion . I really enjoy the website and all the pictures of us way back when. I had to laugh when I saw my own yearbook picture. What happened to all those freckles and the flip? It would appear that they have been replaced by a bunch of wrinkles and a head of gray hair!

The gray hairs are all earned-I have been teaching and administrating at girls' schools since 1975. Currently I am Head of School at The Ellis School in Pittsburgh , a K-12 independent school for girls. (That's right-a Headmistress!) We don't stand around lecturing girls on their hemlines anymore, thank goodness. Ellis is a wonderful place for bright girls who love school and don't want anything to get in the way. They are a fun-loving, energetic, creative, hard-working, community-building bunch, and I love my job.

It really all began at WJ where I loved history and I loved teaching (though at that time I thought I would probably end up teaching Kindergarten!) At Smith College , I majored in history and then went on to George Washington University for my Ph.D. It took me ages to get it-I was married to my college sweetheart, had two children (19976, 1978), was teaching part-time and writing my dissertation. In the fall of 1975, I subbed at Cathedral School in D.C. and found my love of teaching high school girls.

We all followed my husband Richard to Philadelphia in 1984 when he became a partner in a law firm there. I taught history and became Head of Upper School at Springside School , also an independent school for girls. Chestnut Hill, our neighborhood in Philadelphia , was a great place for the kids to grow up, and we had 18 happy years there. In 2002, Richard followed me to Pittsburgh when I got my job at Ellis. As Head of School, I have less direct contact with students than before, but the job is so interesting-even when those anxious parents are on the other end of the email or the phone line!

These days, both my children are starting households of their own. My daughter, Elizabeth Simonne, is engaged to a great guy. They live about 20 minutes away, which is a blessing. She is a teacher, currently working on her certificate as a reading specialist. Tom, the younger of the two, is married and is the proud parent of our first grandchild, Quinn. He is absolutely the cutest grandbaby in the world (except for yours, whenever he or she comes along). Tom and Kate live in the Boston area where Tom works in investment management for The Boston Company.

I am sorry that I will not make it to Reunion . I can see from all the bios that we are the same as we always were-not too interested in rules and norms, creative and innovative, funny and interesting, never down for too long, doing so many good things for our families and other people. I wish you all the best, and I look forward to the 50^th. I'll be there with wrinkles, gray hair, and all! --Mary Pratt Grant

Mary H. Grant, Ph.D.Head of School The Ellis School 6425 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15206 412-661-5992

Here's a short bio: Two months after graduating from Denison Univ. with a BA in history, I got my dream job at the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), and am still there. After 36 years at SITES, I've changed responsibilities from tracking down lost shipments to developing Bicentennial exhibitions to managing publications. Now I'm Director of Strategic Communications, which includes policies and strategic planning in addition to publishing. Along the way, I attended GW part-time to get an MA in American Studies.

Met husband Garrett (a government lawyer) at Denison, and we married in 1971. We've lived on Chevy Chase Blvd. for 30 years, surrounded by wonderful neighbors. Sorry WJ sports fans, but I became a B-CC mom when our daughter was the field hockey goalie for its state champion team, and still follow the team's success. Jane, now age 27, just got married this spring to her Colby College beau. She's a development officer at NYU, getting an MA in arts management. Ben, age 29, attended Bethany College, lives with us, and works in Bethesda. His daughter (our granddaughter) Alexandra is 6.

I went to MJC for one year and decided that was not for me. My parents owned a Business Machine store which I had worked in for more than a few times until closing it in 1999. I got married in 1969 and had two children, Cory Mathew in March 1970 and Christopher George in June 1971. My husband left me after the birth of our second son and was back on my doorstep six months later. It wasn't meant to be so we split and he has since been married three more times.

Money, as I never understood, doesn't grow on trees so I worked for quite a few years in the micrographic field supervising the filming of all the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology cases as well as Senate and House documents. I met my second husband thru a CB radio club which I used driving down Canal Road to Arlington, VA to a job also in Micrographics and had a third child, Justin Wayne in 1979. Married Terry in 1984 and had a fourth child, Ashley Elizabeth. Worked in Bethesda for Congressional Information Services as Supervisor in the Data Input Dept. I suffered a TIA (stroke) due to a chiropractor manipulating my neck incorrectly and decided to become a stay-at-home Mom.

We lived for a short time in Athens , Texas but due to a failed land deal we came back to Maryland to "take care of business". We have two and one-half grandchildren (expected in December) and a step-grandchild. My husband fondly refers to me as "Bitch", most everyone else calls me Weezie. All in all it has been a good ride.

Well, since B. Dunn Doane sent her bio, I guess I will too. I have also enjoyed reading everybody's bios and I am very impressed! But you won't read any high academic achievements in this bio. Drove off to college with my brother, Joe, (WJ '65) to a small college in North Carolina. I wasn't too focused on studying so I did not graduate (but I did have fun). Returned home and worked for Univac for several years and moved to an apartment in Glover Park (upper Georgetown). That was fun also.

Then I met my husband at Nancy Jonucz Poole's wedding and we have been happily married for 35 years. We lived briefly in Falls Church, Rockville and Gaithersburg before moving to Plantation, FL 20 years ago. Plantation is a sleepy community just outside Ft. Lauderdale.

We have 2 beautiful daughters (yes, I am prejudiced), Karin (1973) and Katherine (1977). I was a stay at home Mom and loved every minute of it. Karin has been married for 2 years and lives in Plantation just 10 minutes from us - we love having her close. She works for a busy title company. Katherine graduated from Univ. of Central Florida in Marketing and is a Buyer for Macy's. She and her fiancé (they met at UCF) live in Atlanta and are going to be married October 14 - just a few short weeks away. The wedding is in Atlanta and Katherine is handling the last minute stress - she has done all the planning. I make periodic visits and write the checks! I'm making one last visit the end of September before we head up in October.

No grandchildren yet but we are (impatiently) waiting. We do have step-grandchildren and many grand-dogs and grand-cats. Plus, we just adopted a puppy who desperately needed a good home (we're suckers for that).

After my youngest reached 4th grade, I started back to work part-time so I could still be home after school and be the car-pool Mom. For about the last 10 years, I have been contracted to General Services Administration. We handle the leasing for Federal agencies in Florida (except the panhandle)- a small but very busy office.

I missed the 20 year reunion - we had just moved to Florida, so I'm coming to this one. I will see you guys there! Special thanks to all the people working hard to put this reunion together.

Debbie Sullivan, Realty Services Division Phone: 954-356-7698, ext. 111 Fax: 954-356-7675

Greg Puterbaugh

...................................

Bio from Tony Records

After WJ, I went to University of Maryland for a couple of years, dropped out for awhile then was quickly drafted into the Army. Was stationed in Germany for two years and after I returned, finished at Maryland in 1972. Since then, for the past thirty six years, I have been in the field of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I worked in the non-profit world for the first 18 years, then started my own company in 1990. I have since done work in more than 20 states working most in large class-action cases against states on behalf of people living in state institutions. I am now considered a national expert in the field and get call quite often to consult with states. I have ten employees and don’t plan on retiring until around 2013.

I have stayed living in Montgomery County the whole time although I travel extensively. My office and home are now in Bethesda and we have a second home in Ojai , California where we go during the cold months. I have been married for the past 21 years to Robin Gerber, who is an author and I have a son who now goes to American University . I also have a step-daughter who in grown and living in Los Angeles . I am an avid tennis player and die-hard Redskin fan. Contact Information: 7109 Exeter Road, Bethesda , MD 20814, 301-652-6177 (h), 301-529-9510 (c), traconsult@mindspring.com

.................................

Bio from Thomas Reed

After WJ, I went on to the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1970. I messed around with some temporary jobs for a couple of months after that, waiting to go into the Army (I was in ROTC in college). Because by then the Viet Nam war was winding down, I only had to serve on active duty for a few months and then went into the reserves for 7 years.

Fairly quickly after the army, I settled into my career at NIH. After starting my career, I married (Barbara), was involved founding a community theater group (Rockville Musical Theatre), and had a couple of kids (Stephanie, John). All these endeavors turned out pretty successfully...I'm still married to Barbara, RMT still continues producing musicals in Rockville, and my kids are also now both graduates of Notre Dame (one magna, one summa).

Barbara had a mid-career change in her 30s, went back to school to become a nurse and worked as a Labor and Delivery nurse at Shady Grove Hospital and, for a few years, at the Maternity Center in Bethesda (right behind WJ!)

My main hobby over the years has been theater where I mostly worked doing lighting design. Well, that plus going to piano recitals and competitions with my daughter (she was quite good) and watching my son play baseball (eventually on the Magruder HS team).

Somewhere along the way, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and that has slowed me down somewhat, although I am not yet wheelchair-bound as many with the disease are, so that's good.

I just retired from NIH, having spent my last 25 years or so as the Human Resources director at the Clinical Center there. My wife always wanted to live by the beach so we bought a place near Rehoboth Beach , DE and moved here last April. Click picture below to make larger.

...........................................

Bio. from Dean Reynolds, CBS News National Reporter

I have to agree with everyone that it has been interesting reading all the history for the past few days. Unfortunately I will not be able to make the reunion but I hope it's a blast for those who go. I doubt many would remember me anyway. I spent only my senior year at WJ, but I have been very, very lucky in the years since. I graduated from Wabash College in 1970 and a year later joined United Press International in Washington. That was my first job in journalism and I never looked back. I worked for UPI for 11 years, culminating as White House correspondent.

I spent two years more covering the Reagan administration for CNN and then hooked up with ABC News, where I have worked for the past 22 years. I have been stationed in Washington, London, Tel Aviv, Dallas and, currently, Chicago. Along the way I have covered all kinds of events, foreign and domestic for the evening news, the morning news and Nightline. Tragedies and triumphs. Tearjerkers and thigh-slappers. And many more wars than I cared to witness. I've been shot at on numerous occasions and once survived a plane crash. Alas, the cases of food poisonings are too numerous to list. I've interviewed presidents and dictators, saints and many sinners. I've covered popes and all manner of potentates. Candidates for dog catcher and president: McGovern, Wallace, Carter, Kennedy, Reagan, Bush and Kerry, the names go on and on.

There have been courtrooms and prisons, orphanages and mental institutions, schools and terrorist training grounds. I have traveled the world -- on somebody else's dime. I've visited every great state in the union and all of the continents save Australia and Antarctica.

But my nine years in Israel were the best for me -- professionally and personally. I met and married my wife, Yael, an Israeli. And we now have four wonderful children ages 13 to 7.

Retirement? Hell, I'm just getting started.

.....................................

NEW Bio.9/17/07 from: Marilyn Rosenblum, married name Kimmerling email mkimmerling@harbornet.com

I always felt pretty alienated by everything in high school so I don't have very warm memories of that 4 years. After high school I went to East Carolina College, which is now East Carolina University. The plan was that Bennie Polhman and I were going together, but she applied too late so I went alone. I met some wonderful friends there, discovered drugs, sex,rock-n-roll and also discovered that there was a war going on and people I knew were getting drafted and killed or were coming back horribly wounded and changed. I started out majoring in English and Balkan History, but soon discovered that if I wanted really good teachers they only taught the classes for folks majoring in their subject sooo....I changed my major regularly to get the good classes!! Needless to say, no degree! From there I went to G.W. U. and the Corcoran School of the Arts and began to get more active in social change and justice, did the Counterinaugeral Ball and March during Nixon's regime..(remember that?) From there to San Francisco for a couple of years, involved in the People's Park protests and anti war demonstrations, fell in love, went back to East Carolina where my future husband joined me. We were married by the judged who booked us (!!), spent the night in jail, then hitchiked back to Ca. the next day. There's actually a write-up of the wedding in a couple of N Carolina papers, one titled "In Bonds Of..." From San Fransisco up to Tacoma, Washington by way of friends met in Frisco to a tiny community right on the banks of Puget Sound called Salmon Beach. At the base of a 200 foot cliff reached by boat or going up and down about 200 stairs, "the poor man's fitness club". The houses are built on pilings right on the beach with a trail running behind. I bought my house for...are you ready...$2,700 back in '71...best investment I ever made! Anyway, let's fast-forward, shall we? 2 sons later, Jesse, now 33 years old is a commercial electrician and lives on a boat on Lake Washington and Robin, 28 years old is married and almost finished with his Master's in green architecture. Rick and I divorced after 9 years of an interesting but very crappy marriage, I moved away from the beach and went back to school and became an Occupational Therapist with a specialty in mental health (wonder why, duh!), then became a Mental Health therapist and have worked for Comprehensive Mental Health in Tacoma Wa for 22 years. I still am very active in peace, social justice and community issues to the point where I feel like I really don't have time for a day job! Anyway, to wind up this windy bio, my life is interesting, busy, with a wonderful group of friends and an activist community. I spend as much time as I can gardening and with my 2 gigantic doggies and with my best friend Xeno and his 2 gigantic doggies.

P.S. I'll try to find a photo to send you, too!

........................................................................

Bio. from: Donald Rubinstein email rubinste@uog9.uog.edu

The stream of WJ-66 bios have been fascinating to read. Current students at WJ should study them for life experience lessons for the next 40 years! They'll learn that (1) there is life after WJ; and (2) whatever happens will be unscripted and unpredictable but nevertheless rewarding, at least in retrospect. I would never have guessed in 1966 that today I would be living in Guam -- halfway around the planet from Bethesda -- and deeply immersed in a part of the world I had never heard of in high school.

Right after WJ I went to U. Penn with vague plans for taking pre-med courses and eventually going into medicine. After my freshman year I got a summer job in Bethesda at NIH, in what was then the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness. Great job, and one of those serendipitous life-changing junctures! The lab was involved in early forefront work on prion diseases (then called "slow viruses") in New Guinean highlanders, and epidemic ALS-PD in southern Guamanians, among other projects. The lab's chief scientist shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1976 for the prion work. I spent nearly every college vacation day I could manage, and sometimes weekends during the semester, working at that lab over the next three years. Meanwhile I was finding Penn intellectually exciting but socially unappealing -- too preppy and frat-house oriented -- although the place became a lot less buttoned-down after the 1968 sit-ins. The NIH summer job I had stimulated an interest in anthropology and especially Pacific Island cultures, an interest also fueled by my inherent wanderlust (escapism). Penn permitted me to piece together an interdisciplinary major involving anthro, developmental psych and linguistics, and some pre-med courses. I did an honors thesis on cross-cultural child language acquisition, and graduated cum laude in 1970.

After college I had no clear idea what I really wanted to do long-term with my life, but my immediate goal was to satisfy a growing itch to travel before continuing with graduate work. I spent 11 months hitch-hiking and solo backpacking around Europe, North Africa and the Middle east, from Reykjavik to Algiers and Tel Aviv to Granada, visiting just about every museum and historical site in every village or city I saw, and getting a look at most of the major sites of paleolithic cave art in Europe (including Lascaux, literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience). I was lured back to the States by the offer of a full-ride graduate fellowship at Stanford's doctoral program in anthropology. Grad study was even more intellectually exciting than undergrad work and really great fun as long as one treats it as an adventure and ignores the career-prep and competitive aspects. After the first year at Stanford I took off a year for further traveling, this time in the Pacific. Spent four months living on Fais, a very isolated tiny Pacific island of 250 people in the Outer Islands of Yap, Western Carolines (where I later returned for two years of dissertation field research on child socialization). That year I also worked as an assistant on a Scripps Institute medical research ship for two months that toured remote islands in Vanuatu (then the New Hebrides) and the Solomon Islands, and spent another couple of months living on Kapingamarangi, which like Easter Island is one of the most isolated Polynesian Islands in the Pacific.

Two days after completing my doctoral degree at Stanford in 1979 I began a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in medical anthropology at University of Hawaii, and that led to a nine-year sojourn in Honolulu, with many more trips throughout Micronesia. With NIMH funding I began a long-term study into the socio-cultural reasons for epidemic rates of suicide among Micronesian youth (work which, years later, got a nice plug from Malcolm Gladwell in "The Tipping Point"). Completed a Masters degree in Public Health at University of Hawaii, did some teaching, and a stint in academic administration, before leaving Hawaii in 1988 and moving to Guam to direct a small Micronesian area research center at the University of Guam. After three years in that job I moved into a position of full-time research and graduate teaching. Have been based in Guam ever since, for the most part quite enjoyably. One of the best aspects of a small, isolated school like University of Guam is that, although we have many first-rate faculty members, nobody takes themselves too seriously, unlike at powerhouse schools like Stanford or Penn. The academic calendar is another great advantage: a full month off between fall and spring semesters, and three months of free time in summer. I've been able to join friends for New Year celebrations in some extraordinary places, from Kyushu in southern Japan to Luxor on the middle Nile to Ubud in central Bali. University teaching is tremendously satisfying, the students in the program I teach are enthusiastic and truly grateful, and each class in a continual rediscovery. I've had opportunities to be visiting professor twice at the Institute of Ethnology in Heidelberg, and the Kagoshima University Research Center for the Pacific Islands (former colonial rulers Germany and Japan continue to take at least an academic interest in Micronesia). Because anthropology is so eclectic and Micronesian Studies so interdisciplinary, I can pursue all sorts of intellectual interests and research projects as part of "the job." So work is never boring. Or repetitive.

And I've quite happily remained single throughout my life. I have an extended "family" of about 300 Fais Islanders, a couple dozen of whom have lived in my house for a few years while attending high school or college or working in Guam, and I get back to Fais or neighboring islands Ulithi and Yap once or twice a year for family visits and research projects. University and community projects keep me fully engaged and the agenda is always diverse enough to provide a sense of adventure and novelty. Currently I'm on the board of the Guam Humanities Council and I'm serving as humanities scholar for a Smithsonian Museum-on-Main-Street exhibit coming to Guam in 2007, I'm doing a second year as president of the university's faculty senate, and I'm serving as a faculty mentor for a junior colleague who has a National Science Foundation Minority Research Fellowship. Plus teaching graduate classes, advising student theses, working on research projects, writing....

I have two siblings who live in Chevy Chase and Rockville, so I get back to the DC area about once a year, but I won't make the reunion this weekend.

I'm hoping to locate some long-lost high school friends through the reunion list. If anyone has information on Lisa Richter, Robert Hollander, Cris Green, Dave Baughan, I'd welcome news. Thanks!

Don Rubinstein

rubinstein@kuentos.guam.net or rubinste@uog9.uog.edu

303 University Drive

University of Guam /M.A.R.C.

Mangilao GU 96913

.................................

Bio. From: Susan Runnells....married name Wilton email Susan.Wilton@Source4.com

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's bio's and thought I would throw mine into the mix. I am looking forward to seeing some old faces at the reunion - hopefully we will recognize each other!!

After graduation I attended the University of Maryland for one year and realized that college wasn't for me - I wasn't sure where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do so why waste my parent's money!!

I jumped into the employment world and finally ended up with a small business forms/printing company in 1972. I have been with them for 35 years and in July a large national company bought us out. They offered me a Senior Account Executive position and I am enjoying the challenge of learning all the new technology they have to offer my clients.

Also in 1972 I married Ralph Wilton (WJ class of '64) and we are still happily married. Ralph is in sales for a local commercial awning company and has been in this field for years. In 1978 our daughter Kelly was born and is still the delight of our lives. She works for the Montgomery County government as the Director of the Emory Grove Family Resource Center . We were happy to welcome Brian Keegan to our family in

June '05 when he and Kelly married. Hopefully grandchildren won't be too far down the road!

Ralph and I are at the stage of our lives where we love to travel - so many places to see, so little time. He will go anywhere I want as long as there is a golf course!!

Thanks to everyone for all their efforts in making this happen. See you on the 4^th!!

Susan Runnels Wilton , 3908 Shallow Brook Lane , Olney , MD 20832

301-924-4212, swilton@starpower.net

Susan Wilton, Senior Account Executive Source4 8543 Grovemont Circle Gaithersburg, MD 20877 susan.wilton@source4.com 301-948-0700 Phone 301-948-6233 Fax

..............................

Gene Russell HEW 1971? Gene Russell NOW?????

BIO. from: Gene Russell email Gene by clicking on this generusselllds@comcast.net

Right after high school I started working in the Ladies Sportswear Dept. at E.J. Korvettes on Rockville Pike. A young buck working in the Ladies Sportswear Dept. you'd think there would be many memorable moments...the only one that has been seared into my mind is the gal who came waltzing into the department in a pair of lime green hip huggers with white poke-a-dots and a matching halter top, full bare midriff...sounds exciting! Only problem was she had to be 90 if she was a day!! But she was hip! I resigned my duties at E. J's to take a Job at The Dept. of Justice, Office of Immigration and Naturalization. On my breaks I would check out the file cards on the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Fidel Castro among others. From there I transferred over to The Dept. of Health Education and Welfare. I worked there as a Visual Communication Specialist. As some of you may remember I spent most of my time at WJ drawing Hot Rods and "Ginks" in class rather than paying attention to our teachers. (a Gink is a caricature created by "Mouse" a pseudo famous artist who airbrushed tee shirts at Hot Rod Shows). Well it paid off. I've been in the art field most of my life.

During the 5 years with HEW ('67-'71) I managed rock bands. The first was The Ludicrous Sunflower Dynasty, with George Demma (WJ alum.) on drums. We played in Georgetown, colleges, and out of state. That group evolved into "The Harrison Act" and played in clubs in Georgetown and was the house band for Sam's Club on Conn. Ave in DC. I then formed a new band with the lead singer of "The Fallen Angels" home based at the district line off Wisconsin Ave. They were an original band doing their own music and had an album. Their lead singer Guy (pronounced Gee) and I formed a group called "Gravity". We went to California and recruited Kathe, the lead singer of a group called "Natty Bumpo" who used to perform in Wash. DC. Gravity played clubs in DC like My Mothers Place, The Keg and the Silver Dollar in Georgetown. When Gravity had the opportunity to go and play in St. Thomas for 6 months I quit my government job. In 1972 Kathe and I got married. Her brother and I started a refuse company based in Gaithersburg, MD. We had a few trucks. One we painted burgundy and gold and I painted the Redskins logo big on the back. The truck was what was called a Barrel Packer, so the round back lent itself well to the logo. We actually wound up with Larry Brown, the running back for the Redskins, who lived in Potomac, as one of our clients. In 1976 Kathe and I divorced and I left the refuse co. I got a job as a technical illustrator with a publishing co. at DuPont Circle in DC. From there went to ARINC Research in Annapolis as a Tech. Illustrator. They developed the Harrier Jet, the one that lifts off straight up in the air then blasts off. In 1977 I remarried. We were together 15 years and had 3 children, a son Bray 24, daughter Casey 22 and another son Blake 20. All single.

In 1980 I started work as an Advertising Artist/Designer for Patuxent Publishing Co. based in Columbia, MD. They produce 13 weekly newspapers and the Columbia Magazine. I worked for them full and part time for 18 years winning over 35 regional advertising awards and 5 national advertising awards from Suburban Newspapers of America which included Canada. During that time I also worked for ad agencies and for Mattress Discounters. I've designed numerous corporate logos. One still shows up on TV sometimes "Oak Tree Furniture" not one of my best, but it has endured. I remarried in 1997 (Threes a Charm) her name is Evelyn and we will be together thru time and all eternity. Evelyn enriched our family with 2 children, Melanie 32 and Laura 30. I had known Evelyn and her children since 1977. Melanie married and we have 2 grandchildren, Emily 5 and Sam 11 months. I currently work designing ads for The Baltimore Sun newspaper. They are owned by The Chicago Tribune.

As a hobby I collect historical documents and artifacts. Some of the most interesting are the ancient Egyptian and pre-Columbian artifacts. I have some early documents including Illuminated Manuscripts. There is an interesting page printed in 1532. It is a printed page from the letters that Cortes wrote to King Charles describing how unbelievably beautiful and advanced Mexico and it's people were and how he turned around and annilated them. Go figure. I have a Mayan artifact to frame together with the page along with its translation. The page is printed in Latin.

It's been great reading all the bios. I've been able to make contact with some of the kids I played with in elementary school. I'm sure I speak for those who have participated, in thanking everyone who has worked so hard putting all this together. I haven't had any contact with most of you who I went to school with since 1966. Most of you probably don't know who I am, but I was the guy that hung out every morning on the corner by the school bank across from the school store watching everyone go by. Actually, one Saturday about 8 years ago, after one of my daughters soccer games near Gaithersburg, I took her by WJ to show her my old High School. A custodian just happened to be there and he let us in. I couldn't resist leaning up against that wall just one more time. I was surprised to find out they are now the Walter Johnson Wildcats. They have a new brass Wildcat logo inlaid into the floor right next to our old brass Spartan logo. Go Spartans! Oh, and incase you were wondering... yes I can still draw a Gink in a Hot Rod.

See you all in Bethesda, Gene

................................

click on this picture to enlarge !!!!

Bio from Cindi Schmick...married name Robbins cindirltr@aol.com email BIO. submitted 4/11/07

After reading many of the bios plus catching-up and reminiscing at the 40th Class Reunion, in some ways I feel like I am back in high school. I consider myself to be very fortunate to be a part of the WJ Class of 1966. I also consider all of us very fortunate to have so many classmates who have worked so hard to not only gather us together again, but also give us the opportunity to renew, build and strengthen relationships. Thank you.

In regard to what Cindi Schmick Robbins has been doing for the past 40 years, I will try to keep it to the "cliff notes" version. To begin, after high school graduation, Brenda Abbott and I, along with 8 other girls, spent the summer of 1966 touring Europe. Mr. Hood was our faculty chaperon. Great trip! Upon returning, I began the fall semester at the University of Maryland. I became a Sigma Kappa and Tom Meleney's older sister, Betsy, became my sorority big sister. I graduated in 1970 with a degree in business. I was eager to begin my career in the mortgage finance/real estate field. But more so, I was eager to become independent and self-supporting. I never again wanted to hear those ever so familiar words of "as long as you live under my roof ...". I wanted my own roof.

I was on a mission. Within a month of graduation from Maryland, I was hired by Maryland National Bank, bought a new 1970 Mustang, rented an apartment and moved to Baltimore. Life was wonderful. Then a year later, "it" happened. I was "down-sized". And this was before anyone knew what down-sizing was. I was devastated. To make matters worse, I had to move back in with my parents in Rockville. There I was again back under the ol' parental roof. Then, shortly thereafter, I was offered a job at Freddie Mac to become one of their original employees. Needing a place to live, and my own roof, I bought my first home which was a townhouse at Shady Grove Village in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Life was wonderful again.

In 1974, I accepted a position with a private mortgage insurance company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and relocated. I began work on organizing a subsidiary corporation to open in the state of Florida. That happened the following year, at which time I moved to Tampa, Florida.

In 1980 my mother was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma and given 30 days to live. She was accepted into an experimental chemo program at the National Cancer Institute at NIH. She was hospitalized at NIH for two of the following five and a half years of her life. We were blessed to have her with us that long. Due to her illness, I spent a great deal of time traveling between Tampa and Washington. When I was at NIH, I often thought about Mary Pratt. When we were in junior and senior high school, she lived on the NIH grounds and I would visit her. As a teenager, I never thought that later in life I would be there for such a different reason.

During that same time frame of the early 80's, I also began looking for another career challenge. I fulfilled the requirements and became licensed as a real estate broker. In 1982, I opened Sand Dollar Realty as the Broker/Owner. One of my clients introduced me to my future husband, Bill Robbins. He was active duty military at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and was on his way to be stationed at the Pentagon. We became engaged and were married on February 7, 1987 at Christ Lutheran Church in Bethesda, Maryland. For the first six months, we had a commuter marriage with Bill living in Fairfax, Virginia and I in Tampa. When I realized that this probably was not the best way to enjoy married life, I moved back to the D.C. area to join him. Coldwell Banker bought my business in Tampa and I affiliated with them in northern Virginia.

In February 1990, my husband received orders to relocate to Travis Air Force Base which is located outside of San Francisco. Off we went. This was my first experience in a true military environment. It was quite an adjustment for me and the Air Force. However, it did result into a part of my life for which I am very grateful. I saw first hand, and became acutely aware, of the sacrifices made by military members and their families. All of us should be very appreciative of their service. During that time I found a job as branch manager for a large mortgage banking firm in Sacramento and also volunteered as the financial counselor at Travis AFB.

Three years later, after 26 years in the Air Force, my husband retired as a Colonel and we moved back to Tampa, Florida. While our house was being built we lived in our beach condo on the Gulf of Mexico. At that time, I re-entered the real estate field. Today I am a RE/MAX agent and continue to market and sell executive homes, beach condos, secondary residences and investment properties. Although the housing market has slowed, the Tampa Bay area is still attracting those who are looking for a little piece of paradise. Plus the housing prices are substantially lower than in other areas. If you, or some one you know, may be interested in real estate information, I would be happy to provide it.

In addition to working over the last 40 years, I have spent some time traveling. I have visited the Far East, Hawaii, England and a good part of the United States mainland. For the past seven years, Jacque Guinan Stevens and our husbands plus several other couples have rented and enjoyed a vacation home in the Nags Head area. This has become an annual event for fun, sun and just kick'n back.

As for other activities, I am a member of Grace Lutheran Church and the local Sigma Kappa Alumnae Chapter. I also serve on the steering committee for "Speaking of Women's Health" as well as being a member of the Board of Directors for Infants and Young Children.

I have been blessed with a good life and contributing to that are the friendships that were made while I was in school. A number of those friendships that I have through the WJ Class of 1966 go back to the fourth grade at Alta Vista Elementary School. As a fourth grader, or even a high school senior, I could not have imagined what it would be like when we would be turning 60. For most us, that is next year. Maybe we should celebrate with a "sixties party". Regardless, I hope that I will be seeing all of you at the next class reunion.

Should any of you find yourselves in the Tampa Bay area, please let me know. I would love to hear from you.

Cindi Schmick Robbins

4431 Avenue Cannes

Lutz, Florida 33558

813-948-8233

RE/MAX ACR Elite

813-961-6000 X 305

cindirltr@aol.com email

.................................

Bio. from: Suzanne Schneider ....married Levy email worldofwords@gmail.com

Here's what I've been up to post-WJ. I did my undergraduate work at Harvard-Radcliffe (along with WJ '66 classmates Laurie Hall, David Baughan, and David Hughes), majoring in British History and Literature; went on to earn a doctorate in English Language and Literature at Yale; joined the Yale faculty as an assistant professor and taught there for 5 years; decided to leave academia for a career in 'public policy' (after considering law school and deciding I'd been in school for too long to do 3 more years); came back to D.C. and got a job as a junior analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, where I worked for 4 years; in 1986 moved to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the non-profit National Academies (National Academy of Sciences et al), where I've worked ever since. I'm currently Associate Executive Director of TRB, which is an organization that coordinates, manages, and conducts research on all modes and aspects of transportation.

When I returned to D.C. after teaching at Yale, I met my husband, Bob Levy, a senior economist with the Center for Naval Analyses in Alexandria , Virginia . Bob (B.S. University of Pennsylvania , Ph.D. Northwestern) and I have been married for 23 years and have two amazing daughters, Alexandra (a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania ) and Robin (a senior at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County ). I'm still very much a student and a teacher at heart, so I've really enjoyed the whole process of bringing up two kids whose intellectual curiosity equals or exceeds my own. I also envy the opportunities they've had at TJ to be exposed to the quantitative and scientific fields that I abandoned too early in my own career. As a former member of WJ's "It's Academic" quiz bowl team, one of the fun sidelights for me has been going to "It's Ac" tournaments to watch my kids and their teammates play, sometimes against WJ among other teams!

I'm really out of touch with my friends from high school days and hope to see some of you at the reunion. Many from our group have not, however, been heard from-I do hope you're all well and enjoying life! It would be fun to reminisce together about the things we still love from those early years and to catch up on the less expected turns our lives have taken.

Best, Suzanne Schneider

...............................

Bio. from Arlene Scott...married name (O'Donnell)......

Well, I just got a good laugh seeing the photos of Eddie Becker- I think I went to Elem school w/him as well.

My life since WJ:

AA Montgomery College, BA Boston Univ and then BS Univ of MD

Retired Montgomery County Police (detective)

Employed presently as Southwest Region Loss Control Mgr- Fireman's Fund Insurance

Married 33 years, 2 daughters (both graduated from Loyola Marymount Univ) youngest in grad school Chapman Univ. Husband, Retired US Secret Service Agent (25 yrs) presently Head of Corp Security Warner Bros.

Like to travel- finally did Yosemite after 20 yrs of living in CA. I get back to DC area about 2x/yr. MCP has a annual reunion I'll be back for in Sept. I came to a WJ reunion in 1991. (25th) In 2004 I got in touch w/ 2 WJ buddies while in London on a trip. (Katy Lasher, Dennis Walker)

I'll send your original note on to several others I've stayed in touch with.

Best Regards,

Arlene O'Donnell (Scott)

.................................

Bio. from: Sandra Searles .....( Dickinson) here! Hi James! I am appearing in "A Woman of No Importance" in Salisbury, England until the end of October so it is highly unlikely that I can get to the reunion but do send me the info in case things change....If I don't make it very best wishes for a great evening. I will be thinking of all of you! Thank you for thinking of me All the Best, Sandra!
Having graduated from Walter Johnson, I went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I became an active member of the theatre dept. there. I then transferred to Boston University during my Junior year. I left Boston in the Spring of my Junior year to live in London with my English husband. I worked as a telephonist/typist for a commercial production company for a few months and then enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama to study acting. At the same time, I began to get professional work in commercials on television and soon became quite well known. I went on to do theatre in the provinces, work on national television, and theatre in London. I have now been working as a professional actress in the U.K. for some 36 years in all mediums. I had the huge joy of transferring to Houston and then Broadway in a Tennessee Williams play I had done at the National Theatre in London-"Not About Nightingales" some years ago. It was great to get home!
My private life hasn't been straightforward. I have been married twice, divorced twice. I have one beautiful daughter, who is herself now a successful actress, and a four year old grandson. I am now engaged and living with a lovely fellow and continue to work as an actress and continue to be quite a workaholic and generally hyperacive young middle aged woman!
I am about to embark on a tour of England in "Anything Goes" and am in the process of writing my autobiography.
I have hugely fond memories of my time at Walter Johnson. My years in the U.S.A. seem far too distant!

Sandra Searles (Dickinson)

Sandra Searles ...married Dickinson as Trillian

Sandra Dickinson (born 20 October 1948) is an American actress, born in Washington DC. She was educated at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Md. which had an outstanding class of 750 students that year 1966 (Just funning with you SIC!). She has often played the dumb blonde – notably in the St. Bruno TV advertisements in the early 1970s.

Her roles include:

Trillian in the television version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Emily in A Man for Emily in The Tomorrow People
Tina in the sitcom 2point4 children
A stage production of The Owl and the Pussycat, where the leads were herself and her husband at the time, Peter Davison (they were later divorced).
A parallel universe version of Trillian (AKA Tricia McMillan) in the Quintessential Phase of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide radio series.
Zelda in Cover, a bizarre 1981 drama series from Thames Television, set in a recruitment and testing agency for the spy service.

Dickinson and one-time husband Peter Davison together composed and performed the theme tune to the 1980s children's programme Button Moon.

................................

Bio. from: Judy Shanbarker ....married Buckmaster email to judyb1147@adelphia.net

Forty years ago - somehow it doesn't seem that long ago. How does one do a forty year bio in a short space? How can one cover the years and not leave something out? I'll try. After graduation I went to Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio - a way to get away from the divorce my parents were going through. I majored in Art Education - always wanted to be a teacher! It was there I met my future husband. After graduation from college I taught junior high - yes back then it was still junior high - and decided these were not the age people I wanted to spend my life teaching! Walt and I got married in May of 1971 and moved back to the D.C. area - Bethesda to be exact. We spent the next 16 to 17 years there and in Gaithersburg and Germantown, had two daughters - Anne in 1976 and Christine in 1981. Work for me was in an insurance office, Carolyn Tate's mom gave me a job in her Tupperware distributorship, in home day care, and Giant food. Walt got caught in the savings and loan crunch and found a job in Richmond, VA so we moved there in the '80's. I found a job teaching pre-school and found my love of teaching renewed. In 1992 a job transfer for Walt took us to Houston, TX - a place none of the family really liked - very hot and humid all year long! I worked as a pre-school teacher and then in the grocery business when our oldest wanted to come back to Virginia for college. In 2001 our youngest made us grandparents to a little girl, Alexis. Being a grandma is one of the joys of my life! In 2004 Walt decided to semi-retire and we looked for a smallish town back on the east coast - we found Danville. We like it here and are close to our oldest daughter who lives about an hour and a half from us. In 2005 our youngest had a baby boy - Samuel- and asked us to bring her home from Texas. Going from a house of two to a house of six ,as some of you may know, is a shock to the system! Danville is in an economic depression as are many towns across the U.S. - but is looking ahead and bringing new growth as fast as they can. I taught pre-school for awhile and after realizing the children of today are more than I want to handle went back to the grocery business - a lot less stress! I have not seen most of you since graduation and the 20th reunion but hope to see you on the fourth of November!

Judy Shanbarker Buckmaster, 140 Greenwood Lane, Danville, VA 24540, 434-792-8821, judyb1147@adelphia.net

.................................

Bio. of Stuart Sheldon hopefully coming soon

.............................................

Bio. from: Cheryl Sheirburn....married Golightly email rago90746@adelphia.net

It is certainly no small undertaking to bring over 700 people back together after 40 years! Thanks to all involved.

My life after WJ in a nutshell: Anyone that knew me well might remember my pursuit of Art. I took as many art classes as was allowed in high school. I continued to take art classes at MJC for one year, and worked at Rose Williams in Bethesda. Fall of 1967 I started a career in Cartography with DOD at the Army Map Service compiling topographic maps. I enjoyed the artistic aspect of map making. I worked at the Defense Mapping Agency for 5 years. While there I had a brief marriage and then in 1972 I was laid off during Lyndon Johnson's RIF (reduction in force) of government employees. This was due to my lack of veterans' preference. While unemployed on severance pay I met Robert (Bob) Golightly thru mutual friends and relatives. Bob was at the time a Cryptologic Analyst in the Navy, stationed at NSA. Shortly after, I became employed with NOAA in the Department of Commerce, drafting aeronautical charts. Bob and I were married at my parent's home in 1973 and have been ever since. Bob left active duty in 1974 to become a civilian employee at NSA and a Naval Reservist. I started Cartographic related classes at night thru GWU. I continued classes until fall of 1975 when Jennifer was born. I returned to work at NOAA after my maternity leave and left again for good in 1977 when Robin, our second daughter was born. Raising our daughters was the most demanding job I have had. But fun and rewarding! I am grateful for the opportunity. Several years passed and Bob left NSA for the private sector. Meanwhile I became an active volunteer at the school my daughters attended and a Girl Scout Leader.

In 1986 we left Maryland for the Rocky Mountains. Bob was to open a new office for GTE in Colorado Springs. This was nothing for Bob, who had lived all over the world before he met me. However, it was quite an adjustment for our girls and me. Not just the altitude. Our home in Monument, CO at 7142' is at the base of the Front Range. Bob and I still live in the home we bought 20 years ago. The Air Force Academy is just south of Monument and Pikes Peak overlooks the area. It has been a great adventure. In 1997 Bob left defense contracting and became involved in managing private universities.

Our girls are on their own, still in CO. Jennifer is married and the mother of our three year old granddaughter, Ailey. Jen is teaching at DU and about to graduate with her PHD in English Literature. Robin is single and the mom of a Lab and a Bloodhound. She works for Franklin American Mortgage Corp.

Three years ago Bob and I each decided to pursue our high school dreams. Bob owns a quarter horse and participates in equestrian activities. I am enjoying watercolor painting. I participate in as many classes, workshops, and Art Shows as possible. In September I sold a painting for the first time!

Sadly, at this time it seems I will be unable to attend the reunion, but welcome emails from anyone.

Cheryl S. Golightly

..............................................

Unfortunately Danny dies 1/14/09 before he provided me a full biography. See Obituary below

Bio Information from Danny Shook.

I'd like to update my information:

NAME e-mail address TELEPHONE

SHOOK. Daniel G. dgshook@bellsouth.net 904-641-8644

Thanks,

Dan Shook

Class of 1966

...........................................

Bio. from Ed Ned Shultz What an interesting idea: true confessions for fellow travelers in life!

I lasted 6 months at Case Institute of Technology, finding the lure of seeing the world a lot more appealing than Schroedinger’s equations. Bailing for California, I failed to notice that a war was going on, so actually ended up spending my travels/tours in Viet Nam and Italy as a microwave radio specialist. I noted in my diary: “ More attention to timing in the future.”

Italy is a story in itself, but one anecdote is that when the astronauts were circling the moon for the first time, their messages back to the world were going through my microwave site. I had the ability to patch into the connection! As I pondered the international positive impact of the sublime homage “Hi Mom, I love you!” I hesitated too long and the moment passed. Timing.

I started school again at Montgomery College, finishing at the University of Oregon. During that time I married, and my father assured me that that it was by far the smartest thing I had ever done. While Patty and I have stopped our yearly renewal contracts on each other (we’re celebrating our 35th), I have to agree with my Dad. My timing was improving.

Med school at Yale, residencies at Washington University and the University of Minnesota and a yearning to get away from the city brought my family to rural Norwich, Vermont, where I worked at Dartmouth and we raised our four children in a log home. As the last left the nest, we opted to move to Nashville, Music City, where people actually take lessons on improving their timing!

My daytime job became designing, building and implementing computer systems for doctors and nurses: Medical Informatics. But the more interesting development, was that’s when I got in the Groove, which is the blues/Jazz way of saying you ARE the timing: it moves through you. I’m the bass player in a rock cover band that plays around the country at mostly medical conventions, along with other members of Vanderbilt University staff and faculty. As our web site (http://www.soulincision.com/) states “It’s Never Too Late to Rock and Roll.”

Fellow Travelers, my 40 years have been remarkable for my traveling companion, Patty, my children, and the good fortune in the friends I’ve made. Chances are I won’t make the reunion as I fear I will still be contagious from a bug going around. Hopefully some of us can connect later.

Ed (Ned) Shultz

Ed.Shultz@vanderbilt.edu

...........................................

Bio. from: Judy Shumaker....married classmate Gib Devey

Well, this is very strange, writing my bio to all of my WJ '66 classmates! Gib and I sent in our reservations for the reunion about 2 months ago and have been planning to write our bios pretty much every evening since!

I have so enjoyed reading everyone's history the past couple of months. We are such a diverse (isn't that putting it mildly) group! And yet, I noticed that my life and my thoughts on my days at WJ have been so similar to many of you.

First, the personal (most important) side.......the summer after graduation, I met Gib Devey. We were married on May 1, 1971 and celebrated our 35^th anniversary this year. We are so NOT the people we were then, but, by God's grace, we love each other more now than we did then! We have had a wonderful life together with 2 fantastic children, Christine, 30 - a commercial litigation attorney in Richmond and Mark, 28, a partner in a company that does inspection for underground storage tanks. Both are married and have given us a granddaughter, with our daughter and husband expecting our 3^rd in February. They are just the absolute joys of our lives. After living in Gaithersburg for the first 6 years, we moved and raised our children in the small town atmosphere of rural Calvert County . We love sailing, traveling and the Chesapeake Bay . After the children left the nest, Gib and I moved to Davidsonville 4 years ago. I have kept in touch with my "Esoteric" friends from WJ - Robin Beatty, Linda Mitchell (who, sadly, lost her battle with Cancer 3 years ago), Eileen Gillan, Patty Wilson, Linda Williams, Karen Kreshover.
We will all be at the reunion.

On the professional side.......I graduated from U of MD in '71 with a degree in Family Counseling and Early Childhood Development - you can see where my focus was! I stayed at home with my babies and then worked for the Calvert County Pubic Schools, when our son entered 1^st grade, as an Instructional Assistant for 12 years. For the past 11 years, I have been a Program Director for a family literacy program called Even Start. I am the grant writer, program coordinator and financial officer for 3 programs in Calvert County . I have become (this is a shock) a political activist, serving on the Board of Directors for the National Even Start Association, speaking to members of Congress in support of continuing funding for family literacy programs, serving as the Chair of the Board of Directors for The Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maryland, and the Chair of The Calvert County Interagency Council for Children and Families. My family thinks I am the original bleeding-heart liberalist, spending way too many nights and weekends away from home but, there are so many disadvantaged adults trying (not too successfully) to raise the next generation that I feel such a strong need to assist.

My days at WJ were not too comfortable as I recall them. I think I was a little fish in much too big of a pond! My father's sudden death when I was 15 was a huge trauma in addition to that. Despite my referring to myself as the "paste behind the wallflowers", I did receive a solid educational foundation at WJ and have many sweet memories of friends who not only graduated with me but some whose journey began with me at Grovesnor Elementary and/or North Bethesda Junior High. I can't wait to reconnect with so many of you. I too, love Sirius radio "60s - Good Vibrations"!

My compliments to Norris Hillary and Tom Melany and others who have worked so hard on this reunion - Great Job! The bios have been fascinating - a great way to pull back the memories and get us psyched for the evening.

Now, I can't wait to see what my husband, Gib writes in his bio......how will he report the past 40 years?????

..........................................

Bio. from Nate Sisco email to ALS1023@aol.com

I have greatly enjoyed reading the bios posted. I hope to see many more before 11/4/06. The efforts of Norris and the committee are greatly appreciated.

Many of you may not remember me. I wasn't very active in school activities and certainly was not an academic star. My politics were quite different than most of my peers. After graduation I decided that the military was the place for me. I enlisted in the Air Force in 67 and volunteered for duty in Vietnam. I served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. When I returned I was chosen for a cross service assignment with the US Army Aviation Training Center at Fort Rucker Alabama. It was a great assignment in an area of the country that I really love. I managed to attend Troy State University full time while assigned to Fort Rucker. When my enlistment was up in 1971 I planned to return home and civilian life. My plan changed when I was selected for a special assignment to the 89th Military Airlift Wing (Special Air Missions). The assignment was too much to pass up so I took a nice reenlistment bonus and returned to Washington. This tour was stabilized for four years which was nice. While in the area I met a charming and beautiful diplomat, Dolores Flores.

We dated for quite some time and were married in June of 1975 and we are still very happily married. We have two wonderful sons, Al who is 29 and still single and Carl who is 24 and single. Al owns a Nationwide Insurance agency and Carl is an agent with his brother.

I decided to end my military career 3 months after Dolores and I married. I've done many things to earn a living since then. 10 years in Insurance servicing with the Federal Crime Insurance Progran and the National Flood Insurance Program. For the past 20 years I have been involved in a small segment of the building supply industry and I am currently COO with Seamless Gutter Supply of Maryland. Dolores is a manager and IPC Certified Instructor with WABTEC Railway Electronics in Germantown, Md. We plan to retire and move part time to Dothan, Alabama, our second home. I play golf as much as I can and not terribly well, but I love the game. Dolores and I spend as much time as we can working for veterans causes. I am a life member of the VFW, Vietnam Veterans of America, American Legion, and AMVETS.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the reunion. We did attend the 10 Yr, 20 Yr and 25 Yr reunions.

..........................................

From Lisa Roney (Lovita Smith in high school) <Picture of Lisa (Lovita) at Apache Point>

I sent in a quick note at the beginning with the intent to write more but never did it. I've enjoyed reading all the bios people have been sending. A few of the people were friends or people I knew; a few are names that sound familiar, and the rest -- well, there were 720 kids graduating that year, what can I say? I wasn't crazy about high school but enjoyed playing in the band and working behind the scenes on all the theatrical productions. Although I don't consider high school as the best part of my life, I have some great memories. People may remember me (or not) because I had an unusual first name -- Lovita -- which went well with my last name "Smith" but I didn't mind changing either, one because it was too unusual and the other because it was too common!

After WJ I went to Hood College and became "Lisa" Smith, graduating in 1970. I received a job offer -- which I accepted -- as a statistician at the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, DC. I'd never imagined myself as a statistician and wasn't that good at or interested in statistics. Fortunately it mostly involved analysis and writing and worked out well. I earned a Masters in Public Administration at American University in evenings, and got lots of great opportunities and moved on to other more interesting things at the (now former) INS. I was a senior associate on the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy staff, traveled the country and beyond doing exciting projects, and ended up as an immigration policy expert. It wasn't always a hot topic, but it certainly is now! I've been Director of Research and Evaluation for several years, now after the breakup of the old INS, at US Citizenship and Immigration Services

In 1975 I married Milton Roney, who also worked at INS, and changed the Smith to Roney. After 31+ years we are still very happily married and living in upper Northwest Washington, DC. We have two wonderful daughters, Jessica born in 1978, and Kristen born in 1981. Both made it through and did well in the DC public schools. Jessica graduated from Swarthmore College and is currently nearing the end (we think!) of her Ph.D. program in colonial US history at Johns Hopkins. She's getting married in October 2007 to a wonderful young man, Adam Choppin, who is a Presidential Management Fellow with the Department of Commerce. Kristen graduated from Earlham College and is working as a research assistant doing work on education studies at a major research firm in DC. Currently they're both in the area but not living at home -- a perfect arrangement. Milt left government earlier this year and is currently enjoying his job as the Legislative Liaison for the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. I threaten to retire one of these days but when that will be is a mystery.

Both Jessica and Kristen participated in Amigos de las Americas, a youth leadership development program that sends some 650 high school and college age kids from all over the United States each summer to work in rural areas of Latin America. Volunteers live with community members and generally work in pairs to improve the health of communities and individual households, nutrition, and youth development. Milt and I both got involved in the local Washington, DC chapter several years ago and continue to be actively involved. After a 5-year stint as president of the DC chapter I've given someone else the opportunity and was just elected to the International Board of Directors in Houston. It's a great program -- much like Peace Corps for high school and college aged kids -- and impossible to give up!

We have done a fair amount of traveling and just got back from Portugal. Between work and Amigos we have little time left to do much else but enjoy astronomy. We've rented a large telescope in the mountains of New Mexico twice this past year and enjoyed seeing more objects than we can see in the less dark east with Milt's excellent but less powerful telescope. We also like bicycling and recently bought two kayaks and are enjoying paddling around relatively calm waters as well.

I'd lost touch with all of my high school friends except Deborah Crimmins, now in South Portland, Maine, who I correspond with and see occasionally. I'm looking forward to seeing old friends and renewing old (or making new) acquaintances at the reunion! Milt and I will both be there.

Lisa Roney (Lovita Smith in high school)