2001 Spring

Dear Classmates,

Greetings from Watsonville where there is never a recount or a doubt

about the outcome.

We have a new website address for the Class of 1957. Our new

address is: higakijhomesteadcom.homestead.com/WatsonvilleHS.html

John Higaki has added a link to our class website that plays 125 oldies. If

you are interested in downloading the music to your hard drive, let him

know & he will show you how to use Napstar. His e-mail address is:

higakij@yahoo.com

Our first 45th Class Reunion Committee will be February 17th at 2:00

in the afternoon at Kathy & Bud Mann's home, 2930 Freedom Blvd. If

you are interested in being on this committee, please call Betty Sue at

831-722-2267 or email at GTObjur@aol.com.

Class news:

* Effie Pritchard is a grandma again. Noah Panatelis Tripolitus was born

on July 6th in New Jersey to Effie's daughter. He weighed 5 lbs, 6 oz.

Cassidy is Noah's big brother.

*Clarice Giberson has another grandson. Alexander was born Oct. 19th

in Seattle. Clarice's son Richard is the happy father. Alexander joins his

brother Andrew.

Marilyn Bogisish has moved from their home in Dunwoody, Georgia.

Their new address is 149 Winged Elm Circle, Aiken, South Carolina 29803

They are enjoying the good life, playing golf away from busy Atlanta.

*Helga Nielsen & her husband have moved. Their new address is 4353

Pintail Drive Redding, CA 96001. Helga writes that her years since high

school have been good for the most part, but she is still taking lessons on

high to enjoy each moment. Helga was in the Air Force for three years, and

worked for the State Department where she spent all of her time overseas

in France, Chad, Africa & Mexico City. She started college at 30 & changed

from a career in recreation to human resources management. She has

been married for 4 years.

*Wanda Palmer writes that her entire family currently lives in Newbury

Park, CA. She has a daughter & a son & 3 grandchildren. She plans to

retire in a few years. Wanda discovered the wonderful world of travel 12

years ago upon becoming "one again" after 30 years of marriage. She has

traveled to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Alaska & Mexico.

While in San Felipe this past New Year holiday, she was walking on the

beach collecting unique shells when she came upon two men who were

fishing. After chatting for a moment they discovered they were classmates

at WHS, Loren Atkins who is married to Pat Starbird. They have a vacation

home there. Wanda, Loren & Pat had a very memorable visit & she

treasures the huge sand dollars they gave her from their collection. Small

World!!

*Roy & Carol (Phelps) Large have another grandson, Gabriel Alexander

born Jan. 18, 1999 to their daughter & husband who live in Wiedford,

Oregon.They are fortunate to have their other three grandchildren close by,

& see them often. Max, their oldest grandchild plays Little League Baseball.

The other major happening was the marriage of their youngest daughter

Jennifer to Mike Ridgway, another of Watsonville's finest poiliceman along

with Kraig Kliewer (Sharon Trafton's son). Roy & Carol are both members

of the sixty-something club, like it or not. Carol is beginning to phase

herself out of the work place, but Roy continues to work everyday & enjoys

it.

*Earline Hunter retired from the school district in Sacramento area after

29 years. They went on a RV tour of the New England States for 22 days to

see the colors & toured a lot of different places. In July they took a trip to

Oklahoma to her husband's family reunion & came home through

Washington State. To celebrate the' New Year, they took a millennium

cruise to the Caribbean.

*Merle Worley lives at 35272 Oak Lane Shingletown, CA 96088. Merle

.has two sons, Mark & Patrick. She met her husband Bob, 4 years ago.

Merle loves gardening, sewing, crafts & going to yard sales. Merle & her

mother have a routine every Friday morning of grabbing their hats, water

bottle, measuring tape, maps & hit the road in search of a treasure. Bob &

Merle are active in their church in Shingletown. .

*Lonnie Dugger's father Howard died Aug 26. Mr. Dugger lived in

Watsonville for 71 years. He received a Purple Heart for combat service

during World War II. He is survived by two sons, James & Lonnie;three

grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his

wife Frances in March, & his son Dan in 1996.

*Dick Hardy's father, Don Hardy, Sr. died Nov. 12. Mr. Hardy was born in

OK. & came to CA during the dust bowl days. After attending WHS, he

served in WWII. He started an aircraft repair shop at our Airport. He is

survived by his wife of 65 years, Betty, his two sons, Dick & Don, daughter

in law, Arline Hansen Hardy; six grandchildren & six great-grandchildren.

*Neal HoIbrook's father, Pau! Holbrook died Nov. 18. A native of

Alameda, CA., he had lived in Watsonville for 65 yers. He retired from So.

Pacific Railroad. He served as a Scoutmaster, receiving the higest rank,

the Silver Beaver Award. He is survived by his wife Dorthy; two sons, Neal

& Robert; seven grandchildren & seven great-grandchildren. The family

requests contributions to be made to ALS Assoc. 27001 Agoura Rd. #150,

Calabasas Hills, CA. 91301.

*Roger Large died Dec. 9th in Santa Cruz. A member of our class of

1957. Such a shock for everyone. He was a native of Oklahoma but was

raised in California. After graduation from WHS, he served 6 years in the

Air Force. For the next thirty years, he was a carpenter & custom cabinet

maker. He was a huge sports enthusiast, he was on the Air Force boxing

team, drove a race car at the Watsonville Speedway & volunteered his time

to help with the Special Olympics. His biggest passion was NASCAR, &

was a big fan of the 49ers, Golden State Warriors & Giants. He is survied

by his wife, Donna; his mother Sally Wade; two sons, Roger, Jr. & David &

daughter Mara; stepson, Tom & stepdaughter, Karin; a brother, Roy Large

&his wife Carol Phelps Large & a sister Suzanne; two grandchildren. He

was preceded in death by his father, Roy, Sr.

*Geri DeMoss Stewart, class of '56 died Dec. 9th in Santa Cruz. She

lived in Santa Cruz County most of her life. She was the youngest of 12

children.She loved to cook & entertain family & friends. She was a loving &

devoted wife, mother & grandmother. She is survived by her husband, Ken

Stewart; son, Michael & daughter, Julie, stepdaughter, Janice & three

stepsons, David, Michael & Kenny; six grandchildren & 2 great

grandchildren.

*Sa!!y England, Pat Hewett, Betty Sue & their spouses & five other

couples enjoyed 4 days in New York City before boarding the Crown

Princess for a cruise up the East Coast, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia &

Quebec. The trees were a blaze in color. New York City is wild & crazy &

great fun. They all enjoyed their first Broadway Show in New York, Kiss Me

Kate. Sally & her husband extended their trip for a week, exploring Sally's

family roots in Vermont & Boston.

*Ed & Adrienne Fagalde boarded the Sun Princess in Puerto Rico for a

10 day cruise with stops in St. Thomas, St. John, Dominicia, Barbados,

Aruba, Cartagena, Colombia & through the Panama Canal to Cosa Rica.

They had a great time abroad ship. Ed played basketball & Adrienne went

to the history lectures. Mr. Rowland would be proud.

*Carolyn Pettus & Pat Blair vacationed for 2 weeks in Paris this fall. It

was Carolyn's first trip to France, Pat has been there several times. They

never stopped moving after they landed in Paris. Paris is truly the "City of

Lights". Everything was fabulous & exciting. Paris is definitely a "go back"

place. There are still bistros yet to be discovered & shops waiting to be

emptied. They were in Paris for 3 days, on to Provence. Tho it rained most

of the time (they were lucky enough to experience first hand a Mistral) it

didn't stop them from seeing everything possible. Tho food was beyond

description & so reasonable. They had always heard how unfriendly the

French people are, NOT SO! Everyone was so helpful & patient with the

language barrier. They are ready to go back.

*Maryella Kerns writes that this has been a busy year of travel for her

family. They flew to Italy for a wedding in Verona. The bride lived with them

during the '89/'90 school year & Maryella's daughter Julie lived with

Chiara's family as an exchange student. They also visited Florence, Venice

& Lake Garda. They visited Miami & were there during the Hurricane

Gordon. They drove to Savannah, GA from Florida for some gracious

Southern hospitality. Maryella is the Executive Director of the Washington

State Medical Quality Assurance Commission. She is busy overseeing 60

commissioners & staff & learning to be a bureaucrat. She also serves on

several committees for the State.

If you want to be on the list for the WHS Alumni Foundation

Newsletter, please let me know, asap. I will give your address to the

Foundation. They send out mailings twice a year.

.

Margaret Day resides in Salinas with her husband Chuck Foster. They

have been married 41 years & have one son, Mike who works in San

Francisco & takes classes at San Francisco State towards his master's

degree. Margaret does volunteer work at the Steinbeck House. She serves

as secretary for the Salinas Valley Art Association. She is planning on

being the oldest student at Hartnell College in the art department soon. She

enjoys being with young college students.

*Betsy Wong is the proud grandmother of Kristen Elise Kawakami, born

Nov. 9th. This is Betsy's first grandchild, born to her daughter Cathy.

Betsy's youngest daughter Diana, is engaged to Mark Gill. They are

planning a June 30th wedding. Diana works as a Human Resource

Manager at LSI Logic.

*Pat Hewett welcomes another grandchild, Alexandra Grace born in

Texas, Jan. 2, 2001 to her son Jeff Klay. Alexandra's big brother is Chase.

Pat & Jim are in San Antonio visiting their new granddaughter & family.

*Mr. Sherlock Holmes, AKA Jack Marceron found one of our missing

classmembers, Jim Carter in New Jersey! Jim was really excited hearing

from Jack. He has had a real longing to get back in touch with his high

school classmates. Everytime his wife had a class reunion he couldn't help

but wonder about everybody back at WHS. Jim married a Jersey Girl

named Barbara in 1967. They have 2 sons. Both live nearby. Jim has 2

granddaughters. Jim worked for AT&T for 20 years & then took a

"package." He started a communications consulting firm & has been doing

that for the last 12 years. We look forward to seeing Jim at our next

reunion, its been way too long.

*Don Beukers & his wife took their usual dive vacation to Ecuador for a trip

into the Amazon then over to the Galapagos Island to stay on a liveaboard

boat for a week of intense diving. They were able to see Hammer head

sharks along with other reef & nurse sharks. At one point if he didn't have

at least 15 sharks in his video, he wouldn't bother to take the shot. They

saw the sea Iguanas along with the land Iguanas, turtles & all the land &

sea flora & fauna available. He also was able to video some large sea

horses, about 10 " in length. This summer they took their motorhome on a

six week trip through British Columbia, the Yukon & into Alaska. They

visited with Grant Wrathall & saw his cabin in the wilderness. Grant flew

them in his float plane, the area was so beautiful, so many lakes to see

from the air. Don & Mary Ellen put about 7300 miles on the motorhome

plus 800 miles on their tow car. Last week they purchased a 1997 Beaver

Marquis motohome. Anyone in need of a 1988 motorthome, Cat engine on

a Gillig chassis, contact Don by email. Don is trying to retire from his

business, but still has 2 employees & is trying to finish the last project.

*Neal Holbrook writes that his ALS symptoms are progressing at a

medium rate. The good news is that he will probably still be alive for the

next reunion. The bad is that he won't be able to speak. His voice is going

fast. Neal will be in Watsonville in March for more medical treatments in the

Bay Area.

Watsonville High hosted "A Very Special Night"

On January 5th, WHS honored six former athletes, also had their jerseys

retired, at halftime during the varsity basketball game. Those honored

were:

Kenny Sears, '51

Dave Mercer, '64

Janet Coles, '65

Mark Eichhorn,72

Sherman Cocroft, 79

Ed Kelly was the Master of Ceremony. All six athletes have enjoyed

successful careers in collegiate & professional sports. The 6 foot 9 Sears,

led the NBA in field goal percentage for two consecutive seasons as a

member of the New York Knicks. Sipin played professional baseball for 15

years. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals as a shortstop. He hit 350

homeruns in his professional career. Mercer, was an All-Monterey Bay

League quarterback & played football & basketball for San Jose State.

Coles, played golf for UCLA & Team USA & retired as the top-30 all-time

leading money winner in the LPGA. She was named College Athlete of the

Year at UCLA in 1974. Eichhorn, had a successful career in the Major

League Baseball, winning two World Series championships in 1992 & 1993

for the Toronto Blue Jays. He was named American League Rookie Pitcher

of the Year in 1S86. Cocroft, played in the NFL for Kansas City Chiefs,

Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay & Detroit Lions. He was an outstanding special

teams performer.

The event, also provided an opportunity to display the new lights &

championship banners inside the gym which were recently hung up due

largely in part to the efforts of John Pengelly, organizer of the annual

Make-A-Wish Basketball Tournament & the WH S Alumni Golf

Tournament.

John Pengelly, a WHS alumni has done some great things for our alumni

including this "Very Special Night". Pengelly says" I'm a nostalgic person &

I liked my childhood growning up & I liked Watsonville". Our hats are off to

John for his dedicated work for our school.

Happy 2001 to all & to all a good Diet. Hope you have recovered from the

dimpled, hanging, pregnant chads. I always thought that Chad was my

nephew. How things have changed. -

Please send all news about you & your family to Betty Bjur, 190 Bjur

Drive Watsonville, CA. 95076 or e-mail at GTObjur@aol.com

MISSING CLASSMATES

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ADDRESSES FOR THE

FOLLOWING CLASSMATES

June Akiyoshi

Jim Arruiza

Robert Baldwin

Elizabeth Brantley

Nichy Ceballos

Ken Clewett

Norman Davies

James Delavan

Don Gardine

Juanita Goins

Joe Hernandez

Glen Iwamoto

Robert Johnson

Darlene Kerns

Helen Kokka

Helen Kuroiwa

Sue Leathers

Bob Lynn

Joyce Marlowe

Lee McCulloch

Lucy Mcncada

Robert Nead

Kristine Parker

Josephine Re

Janice Rowe

Patti Scott

Alice Stoddard

Lloyd Uehara

Bob Vincent

Judith Webb

Jane Yamaguchi

Cliff Young

Barbara Andrien

Harold Bailey

David Benson

Laura Cordoza

Gerald Coulston

Jim Copley

Leanna Davison

Betty Farr

Robert Gipson

Betty Ham rick

Sandra Hilton

Ed Johnson

Harold Kelsey

Harold Kidd

Larry Koskela

Audis Lawrence

Rosemary Ledesma

Anthony Macedo

Benny Martinez

jonn Menuoza

Rosie Morales

Sharon Owen

^-Marynard Potter

Roxanne Roberts

Robert Sanchez

Lee Simmons

Richard Twitchell

Frances Vance

Don Vines

Chong Wong

Kyoyo Yamashita

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