2003 Spring

NEWSLETTER & REUNION UPDATE

200+ packed out Corralitos Padres Clubhouse for our 45th Class Reunion.

It was so good seeing so many of our classmates. Fifteen were first time

attenders sorry you waited so long. Thanks to all who helped make the

reunion possible. A very big job!!! But a very fun job! Special thanks to

those that donated gifts & cash for the raffle, Grant Wrathall, Kenny

Blanton Terre Skillicorn, Darlene Kerns, Georgeann Cowles, Eldon Roth,

Jack Marceron, Marilyn Bogisich, Yoshi Yoshida, Sharon Trafton, Art Mino,

Jane Sullivan, Sally England, Margaret Day, Clarice Giberson, Beverly

Clements, John Higaki, Ken Dobler, also to those that sponsored a faculty

member, Carole Hiatt, Sally England, Ed Fagalde, Adrienne Marmo, Grant

Wrathall, Darlene Kerns, Colleen Connor, Pat Hewett, Kenny Dobler,

Georgeann Cowles. We want to send our special thanks to our faculty

members that attended the reunion, Mr. Haney, Mr & Mrs Bilicich, Mrs.

Severin Miss Pogue, Mr. McCombs. And now....I can't wait , they've just

set the date, 2007, our 50th is coming, I'm told. It should be a ball, they've

rented a hall at the Shady Rest Home for the old.

John Alaga has a grandDAUGHTER!! Katelyn Nicole Bettencourt was

born January 15 to his daughter Cindy. That makes five grandchildren, four

boys and now Katelyn. Grandma Sharon is quite happy too.

Jane Sullivan's grandson Ian Robert Christie was born May 31 He joins

his 3 sisters, Meghan, Kendall & Kate. That makes 7 grandchildren for

Jane Jane had a wonderful 2 week trip to Italy & Sicily with her friends.

They started in Rome & drove South to Amaifi & flew to Palermo where

they had their own 10 day tour & guide. They visited lots of Archaeological

sites, also visited Siracusa, Agirgento & ended at Taormina, a fabulous

spot 'They saw Mt. Etna & brought home a large piece of lava.

Ken Dobler welcomed his fourth grandchild, June 5. Claire Marie Dobler

Cagnacci was born to his daughter Deanne & her husband. Claire joins

big sister, Lindsay Ann. Ken has 2 granddaughters & 2 grandsons, and a

beautiful wife (grandma) Ann.

Joann Flores lives in Kent, WA., she is a volunteer with the Kent Police

Dept I think Joann takes the award for having the oldest child, 45 years old

and she has a great-grandchild. Joann is looking forward to vacationing in

Hawaii on a 11 day cruise with her daughter & family.

Beverly Clement's grandson, Garrett Landon Gloff was born Oct. 5th in

Texas to her son David & his wife.Garrett weighed in at 7 lbs. & 10 oz. He

j o i n s h i s b i g b r o t h e r , G r a n t . .

Neal Holbrook's daughter, Phailin is a freshman at WHS. She is staying

with her grandmother, who also is an alumnus of WHS. Neal & his wife

visited Singapore for a few days on their way home from the reunion. They

will be coming back to Watsonville to celebrate Christmas. Neal is

scheduled for heart surgery at Stanford in January.

Jim Gipson joined the Navy in 1958-62 and then married Shirley Yappert,

class of '59 in 1964. They have 2 girls, Kimberly & Cindy & 3 grandchildren

who are 7, 3 & 3, yes, twins. Jim has been retired for 1 1/2 years while

Shirley continues to work to keep Jim in the manner that he has been

accustomed to. They have lived 30 years in the same house in San Jose &

recently spent their vacation in Whistler, BC.

Don Beukers & his wife Mary Ellen spent a month in Australia & New

Zealand. They started in Melbourne, then to Sydney, up to Cairns & over to

Ayres Rock. They went to Auchland where they drove the northern half of

the North Island. They did some diving in the Great Barrier Reef (Fiji is

much better) & enjoyed New Zealand immensely. The dollar is very strong

in both places & the wine was good at a great price

A TRIBUTE TO OUR FRIEND, TOMMY MOLINA

Tommy (Moe) Molina died August 2nd. He was born in Phoenix, AZ &

raised in Watsonville. Tommy was employed with Granite Construction &

he & his brother Jim had Moe's grading & paving for 10 years. Tommy

loved traveling with his family & friends. Golfing & his dog, Frasier, were his

great pastimes. Tommy leaves his wife Diane.class of '59; daughters,

Debbie & Stacy & his son, Jeffery, his grandchildren, Broc, Brittany, Jordi,

Connor & his newest granddaughter Kasandra Lee, born July 25 to his son

Jeffrey & his wife Lisa. Tommy's funeral was held at Valley Catholic

Church. Many of his high school friends attended the memorial service.

John Higaki writes that Jimmie Arruiza, one of our classmates died June

3, 1990 at the age of 50. He lis survived by his wife & two

daughters.Jimmie served in the military.

Jackie Opdyke's mother, Celia Opdyke died June 5. She had made her

home in our area since 1946. She is survived by her husband Jack;

daughter Jacklynn of Reno; sons Bev, Ned, and Don; 11 grandchildren;

four great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by sons Paul & Jon.

Sam Vestal died July 8. After graduating from WHS in 1949, Sam attended

The Art Center school in LA. He started working for the Register Pajaronian

in 1951, where he worked most of his professional life. Sam's photography

included Bing Crosby Golf Tournaments, Monterey Jazz Festivals, & just

about every Miss California contest staged in Santa Cruz, including the one

where he met his wife Alyce in 1954. Sam took a photo of a gun-toting

gambler in an effort to expose a corrupt district attorney which led to the

Register Pajaronian winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1956. He leaves 2

daughters, Kim & Victoria; a son Kirk & his brother, Jim Vestal; 3

grandchildren.

Jerry Chin & his wife Moira vacationed in Ireland for a couple of weeks.

They met friends in Islay & enjoyed the single malt scotch whiskey

distilliers. They also visited Dublin & Glasgow.

Christopher Scurich died August 6 after a year-long battle with cancer

He was 30. He was a native of Watsonville & a graduate of WHS, class of

1990 He attended Cal Poly & loved to golf. Christopher is survived by his

mother, Moira; brothers Peter & Edmund; uncle Michael O'Connell; He

was preceded in death by his father Nick Scurich in 1991.

Ken Gray's youngest son Matt married Melanie Kahwaji on Aug. 10 in

what Ken describes as their "Big Fat Lebanese Wedding" in Los Angeles. It

was a great event in which they had the opportunity of learning new dances

& traditions. Matt & Melanie met on the Super Highway (Internet). Matt

works at a LA. business club until he breaks into the music industry as a

lyricist.

Don & Barbara (Beard) Stracener are restoring their 1937 Ford pickup.

They have owned the truck for 34 years. It served as Don's work car for the

first 20 years, & has been garaged the last 23 years & only driven in the

Aptos 4th of July parade. Its new color will be burgundy with black fenders.

Carole Hiatt's son Craig Winters died August 27. He was 41. Craig's

favorite pastime was fishing off his boat & catching salmon. He had a good

heart & gave so much of himself to his family & friends. Craig is survived by

his mother Carole Hiatt Winters; his sister Joyce & her children, Taylor &

Cristin. He was preceded in death by his father Jerry Winters.

Don Armstrong retired from DialAmerica Sept. 20th after 30 years of

dedicated service. He started in Lakewood, CA facility, moving many

places with the company & ending his tenure in AZ. Don & his wife plan to

travel in the U.S. & Canada.

Norma Williamson's husband, Phil Crouch died October 4. He attended

Salinas High School. He was the owner & operator of Lincoln Street

Radiator in Watsonville. Phil enjoyed traveling with Norma, spending time

with his family, restoring old cars & gardening. He is survived by his wife

Norma; his son, PJ & daughter Mamie; granddaughters Danielle & Morgan.

Danielle sang a song she had written for her Grandpa at the memorial

service.

Marvin Byers' mother, Dorothy Hall Byers died October 15. She had

lived in the Watsonville area for 43 years. She loved playing canasta,

gradening & dining out. She is survived by her sons Marvin & Lester Byers;

daughter, Merle; eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren. Her

husband of 52 years, Mearl Byers, died in 1984.

Jack Marceron's mother Lena "Peggy" Marceron died Oct. 22 at her

Corralitos home where she lived for 35 years. Some of her many interests

included going to Europe & on bus trips to Reno with her friends. She was

a proud member of Holy Eucharist Catholic Church. She is survived by her

sons, Jack & Julian; 6 grandchildren & 3 great grandchildren.

In Loving Memory

Pal made Watsonville a better place to live.How many of you remember a

man riding his bicycle in Watsonville, with a big smile on his face & a

friendly, "Hello, Sweetheart" coming from his heart?? Well, that was Pal.

Pal Hunting died in October of this year. I just want to say, thank you Pal

for bringing such happy memories to all of us throughout the years. Maybe

this would be a better world if we all learned a lesson from Pal, a bright

smile & a friendly hello means so much & what a great way to be

remembered. Watsonville will miss Pal!!!

Rachel Zuniga has moved to 5924 Webb Ct. Riverbank, CA 96367. She &

her husband are now closer to their daughter Julie & grandsons.

Don Howe writes that he joined the Navy for 4 years after graduation. He

has lived in the Watsonville area ever since. Don & his wife Shirley have 8

children. He retired from the Postal Service in April 2002. They celebrated

their 32nd wedding anniversary in July.

Betsy Corrigan has moved to the country & purchased a farm in Western

Marin county near Tomales. Her new address is P.O. Box 166, Tomales,

Bob Dixon spent 3 weeks working in Germany, Poland, Czech Republic,

Slovakia & Austria. Lots of cold weather & rain, not much fun driving in that

mess, lots of ruts, overloaded trucks & everyone using the 2 lane roads as

a 3 lane super highway. Glad you are home safely Bob.

Pat Blair welcomes another grandchild, Savannah Jayne born to her

oldest daughter Morgan & her husband, Sept. 19th. Pat has also retired

from nursing but is helping in the care of an elderly friend, so much for

retirement a t this time . .

Joan Mezger had a wonderful trip to Wash, DC. She saw all the sights &

conquered the Metro system. It was quite hot & humid while she was there.

She really enjoyed the Congressional tours set up by her congressman. In

Nov. Joan had surgery for her Cochlear implant. She is doing well, & can

hear ! !

Marilyn Brumit's husband, Lonnie Sublett, class of 55 died Nov. 2 in

Fontana Lonnie was diagnosed with cancer in June. He leaves his wife

Marilyn- sons, David & Randy;grandson, Stephen & granddaughter, Cinder.

Marilyn Morgan welcomed her third grandchild, Luke Elijah Lewis, Nov.

8th Luke was born in Coronado, CA to Marilyn's son Steve & his wife. Luke

joins big sister Natalie & brother Zachery.

Bob Osborn has a new granddaughter, Abagail Lynn born Nov. 10th in

Watsonville. Abagail is the first child of Kirk & Becky Osborn.

Gary Acosta & his wife spent a few days in New York visiting the sites

including ground zero. They took a 7 day cruise from NY to the north east.

After returning to NY, they spent 4 days in WA., D.C.

Pat Vaughn's father, Al Vaughn died Nov. 21. He was a native of Texas,

& lived in Watsonville for 60 years. He was a veteran of WWII & was

wounded on the Island of Saipan, he received many medals & ribbons of

honor. Al is survived by his wife Rose; daughter Pat; 3 grandchildren & 8

q r e a t - g r a n d c h i l d r e n . .

Jim Jordan's father Burley Jordan died Dec. 9 in Auburn. Burley never

met a stranger. He loved the railroad, retiring as an Engineer after 33

years He is survived by his children, James, Donald, Barbara & Michael; 9

grandchildren;9 great grand children. He was preceded in death by his wife Otha Mae.

*Back in time, 1955, Raejean Bales left WHS & moved to Santa Cruz. We

recently caught up with Raejean after all these years. She lives in Port

Townsend, WA during the summer & Baja CA Sur, Mexico from Nov. to

May Raejean has 3 kids, she is divorced & took early retirement in 1992

from Pacific Bell CO. She hopes to be in the Watsonville area in Feb or Mar.

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