Merry Christmas

Another year is at an end and I take this time to Wish you all a Merry Christmas.  I have not been back to WI since our class reunion, and for me that is quite a change.  It does, however, make me even more appreciative of people who keep in touch via email or facebook.  Happy New Year and keep in touch.  Myrt

Obituary for Chris

Don Beresh sent me this article from the Dec. 13, 2012 Delavan Enterprise.  I could read it by enlarging it and moving it back and forth across the screen.  I don't know how it will reprint here.  May be easier to look up the Enterprise.  

Chris Britz Morse

A change in school boundaries meant that Chris graduated from Walworth instead of with us, but those of you who graduated from St. Andrews should remember her.  I recieved this email from Sue Nauseda Everette today.

Hi Myrt,


As you know,I don't do much on Facebook, but I did see your note about my dearest friend Christy. I was very thankful that I was able to be with her and the family during her last hours. She slept and slipped peacefully away early Friday morning - about 4:30 a.m. Her Mormon services will be this Thursday at 1:00 p.m.

We had such a nice lunch together and I again thank you for the nice photo you posted. I am sorry we didn't have a chance to get together again while you were in California - hope you enjoyed Vegas! Please drop me a note if you get a moment.



Susan

Losing classmates

Myrt,

My most recent attempt (this morning) to send the new data to Rolfe Egenes, Dick Gransee and LaVerne VanDyken finally paid off … but only for LaVerne.
Joannie suggested this morning that I put something on the blog. I should have thought of this sooner.
Would you please post the following? Thanks!
**********************
A T T E N T I O N
Rolfe Egenes

Dick Gransee

_____
18 October 2012

_____
Gentlemen,
This note assumes you each still have internet access, and that you occasionally check this blog to see wassup.
Based on that premise, I can think of two reasons for my emails being rejected by your Hotmail server during the last two weeks, for the reason, “mailbox unavailable”:
1- Your region’s Hotmail server sucks pond water. This possibility is borne out by the fact that someone created a web page just to monitor Hotmail’s downtime. Curiously, Carole Ellis, Paul Francis, Harold Olson and Dick Popp also use Hotmail, but none of theirs get kicked back.
2- You’ve changed email providers.
…(OK, three reasons)…
3- You’ve change your email address.
…(OK, four)…
4- You’ve given up on the internet, in which case you’re not reading this, so never mind.

Sorry guys.


While reviewing past classmate emails (to be sure that the data sheet was current) I came across an April note from Sue Davis (Deschner) telling me that Fred Baun had passed away.

Whereas I could swear I sent out a notice, I see no evidence of it.

Cerebral flatulence strikes again. At least it's absent the auditory and olfactory resonances commonly associated with its GI counterpart.
My apologies.
—Frank

Fred Baun

Frederick C. Baun

(December 3, 1943 - March 30, 2012)
Frederick C. Baun, age 68, of West Bend, passed away on Friday, March 30, 2012 at the Samaritan Health Center.



He was born on December 3, 1943 in Black River Falls to the late Phillip and Margaret (nee Hurda) Baun Sr. Fred was united in marriage to Susan Gallagher on October 29, 1966 at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Delavan. Together they resided in Delavan until moving to West Bend in 1977.



Fred was employed as a tool engineer at A.O. Smith and Tower Automotive in Milwaukee until retiring in 2002.



He was a member of St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, and a former member of the church choir. Fred enjoyed wood working, gardening, and bird watching.



Frederick is survived by his wife, Suzzi of West Bend; two children, Genell Baun of West Bend, and Stephen (Dawn) Baun, of West Bend; 7 grandchildren, Nicholas Johnson of Milwaukee, Brittany, Zachary, Savannah, Camden, Devin and Alyssa Baun, all of West Bend; two brothers, Jim (Carol) of Delavan and Phillip (Kathie) Baun of Massachusetts; a sister-in-law, Carol (Ron) Willing of Milton; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. You will be missed dearly by us all.



A funeral service in remembrance of Fred will be held on Thursday, April 5th at 1:30 pm at the Myrhum-Patten Funeral Home in West Bend. Rev. Nathan Reesman will officiate and burial will follow in Washington County Memorial Park. Visitation will be at the Myrhum-Patten Funeral Home on Thursday, April 5th from 12:30 pm until the time of service.

Pam's Alaskan trip

I just discovered how to cut and paste from my email to this blog.  No one is safe now :)  This was Pam's response about a class trip to Alaska (see below)


We have taken the cruise before and this year we did our own land touring not connected to any cruise. The scenery on the Alaskan cruise is beautiful especially near Juneau and Glacier Bay. We didn't cruise all the way to Seward or Whittier. The Kenai Peninsula is beautiful as well. All the people we have talked to recommend doing the land portion first because you put in long days on the tours in Denali and then the train-bus travel takes time as well. That way when you cruise you just relax and enjoy. We took a flight around Mt. McKinley that I highly recommend for anyone's bucket list. I don't think Dave and I will join you all as we have other things on our bucket list to work on but it was my favorite cruise and we have taken several. Dave completed his goal (bucket list) of golfing in every state. Alaska was the last one.


I am planning to write a short letter for Frank to email reminding classmates to keep us updated on address changes, email addresses and phone numbers. Remember our next reunion get together is just 4 years away. We will attend Dave's 50th in two weeks.

Hope you all had a great summer.

Pam



Sent from my iPad

"you know your from Delavan if..." Facebook Page

I don't know if any of you look into this facebook page, but I do occasionally.  There are a lot of people out there that remember a lot more than I do.  I mentioned it to Frank DeVoy and he isn't on Facebook but apparently could look at it anyway.  Here is his response....

"Looks like it's probably an interesting trip down Nostalgia Boulevard.  From the little I could access without joining, I noticed no one had mentioned the Eat'N'Time, A&W, Tasty-Freese, Tiger Lounge, Jacket's Tap, Colonial Hotel, Fleming's Tap (Club Charming,), Delavan Train Depot, Mawhinney's Feed Mill, Doyan-Rayne Lumber, Borg Pile Fabric or Clock Division or Sta-Rite Industries.  (If you really dig I thing some of these are mentioned, but here is what I found really interesting in his email....)
During WWII, those last two caused Delavan to be ranked the 5th likeliest American town to be targeted for sabotage:  Borg made fuse systems for heavy munitions and Sta-Rite designes and made landing gear assemblies for B-24s and B-17s.  I vaguely recall that we had black window shades, and that there were occasional air-raid drills.  That would have been my contribution.  Frank"

I didn't know that!  Thanks, Frank    Myrt

A Bucket List Idea from Sue

Sue sent this to the committe but I'm also posting this here as something to think about, and of course, feedback might ensure that it happens.....

Hi Frank, et al of the planning committee of the 50th reunion:
Just finished up Richard's 50th reunion this weekend..It was fun and some of us came away with the idea of checking off one of our 'to dos' on our bucket list which is going on an Alaskan Cruise, train, bus or whatever. We got to thinking it might be fun to combine our classes for the trip. Going through a local travel agent like Carefree would be the easiest as they can collect money, make reservations, etc...So I'm sending this off to see if you think their would be any interest amongst us in doing something like this. I'm thinking that once a date is set and an agent is in place it would just be a matter of sending out the information. I know that Pam just got back from an Alaskan trip and wonder if you have any suggestions about this.
Also, David Schirer was at the reunion with his wife Donna Kavanaugh and wanted us to be sure and let him know if we had another reunion or get together he would like to be included. Address is (different from what we published so contact someone with the booklet if you want to know)Thanks, Sue

Congrats to Sandi Thomas Niles

Sandi posted on her FB page that her 'girls' checked out good this time and don't have to go through that torture again for a whole year.  That's good news Sandi and I publish it here for those who don't read your FB to know that you are a fighter and a survivor.

A further response from Judy

I really appreciate people who respond to email.  Just be aware that your response may end up here.  :)  Judy Christiansen Fewless gave me a bit more information....she wrote

Hi Myrt, Enjoyed your reply.  I haven't seen my great grand son in person yet.  Think they are driving up from KY in August.  Actually Jerry Henning's granddaughter Jenelle, had a little girl a few days after Jerry passed away.  So that makes 2 of us for sure.  That was sad about Jerry H.  His wife Darlene worked at Pentair where my daughter April works in IT.  April has 2 kids.  Taryn and Jordan.  Both went to Tibbets to school.  I remember seeing you when I attended maybe a Christmas program. [I taught there for 15 years]  Taryn now is in 3rd yr at UWW. And Jordan is second yr. at Elkhorn high.  Stacie, my second daughter is baby Colton's grandmother.  She lives at Beaver Dam and is a nurse.  And my son Mark lives here [Delavan]  and is a Auato Body Repair man at Keith's Auto Body.  That's my family and very proud of them.  Sounds like a lot of the classmates have health problems.  I had my hips replaced 6 years ago.  Karen Uhen Johnson was at the reunion, she called me said "everyone there were a bunch of old people"  Laughed, like Karen's not?
Have a Happy 4th and enjoy the summer.  Judy

Dave K. a faithrul viewer

Just read the latest on the 'Class of 61" page.  Wow, Larry was blessed.  I wish him well and a speedy recovery.  Judy Christiansen Fewless, a face from the past.  Congrats to Great Grandma!!

Myrt, you are doing a great job with the web page, keep it up.  I visit there at least once a week and enjoy the news from classmates.  Your pics show that you haven't changed at all.

Happy Fourth of July to ya'll
Thank you. Dave Koepnick
HD/OPS Supervisor
Carolina East Health System

Tom Skelton, Sorry for your loss

I heard from my brother that Tom's brother Jerry (a.k.a. 'Tiny" ) passed away on June 27th, at his home in Florida.  His two daughters were with him and his brothers had been there for a visit just days before.  Jerry was one of my brothers best friends all through highschool.  His daughter was one of my daughters best friends.  We are all connected in so many ways.

Hi! This is Judy Christiansen Fewless

I do check and enjoy the class blog.  I didn't attend the reunion as you know but enjoyed all pictures and comments.  Keep them coming.  My husband of 48 years passed away May 11, 2012.  On May 20th I became a great gram to baby Colton Michael.  Life is short but I have a life time of memories to treasure.  Keep blogging.
Classmte Judy

Larry Schut and his testimony of the power of prayer

I recieved the following email from Larry when he changed his email address.  He had mentioned he had an accident last Oct. shortly after the reunion and I asked him what happened.  Here is his rely.
 "Last Summer (2011) I started building the workshop I had been dreaming of for my retirement.  I was out on the roof and when my wife looked out the window I was lying on the ground crying in pain and bleeding from my head.  The fall had been about 9 feet and I landed on cement.  I spent 4 hours in the local emergency room where they were trying to determine the damage.  At that point they found 9 broken ribs, 7 cracks in my vertebrae, two breaks in my right shoulder and a hair line fracture in my skull.  They sent me by ambulance to Oklahoma City to the trauma center, and for the next three weeks if it was not one thing it was another.  My lungs had been punctured and collapsed, I came down with a bad case of pneumonia, I developed a blood clot in my lungs, one in each leg and one in each arm.  During the second week my body started swelling and I was at least twice my size.  On the third week I contracted the disease they call the Iraqi disease.  My body metablolism was all messed up and they had to put in a trach and a ventilator as I was not able to breath on my own.  I was then transferred to another trauma center and put into an induced coma for the next five weeks.  The doctors gave my wife no hope that I would survive.  On Nov. 30 my wife and daughters called for a special night of prayer for me.  That call went to friends of ours from coast to coast as well as in England. After that night they started removing the tubes and everything else over the next week.  On Dec. 11 I officially came out of the coma and talked to my wife for the first time in 8 weeks.  On Dec. 13 I was moved to a nursing home and officially came home on Jan. 3, 2012.  I am doing very well, but I still suffer from a light headedness and was told that may go away over a period of time.  I am now known by many people as the miracle man.  I firmly believe that if I had not had that prayer covering I would never have survived.

That is about as short as I can make it.  I have learned that I have truly been blessed with a lot of friends who really do care about me.  thank you for your interest.  "

I'm with you Larry....I believe in the power of prayer.  Now, miracle man or not, please stay off of roofs and just have fun in your workshop.

Father's Day

Missed wishing all you father a good day, but Gene Mustin in now on Facebook and he says he cooked himself a great steak.  That's what I like to hear.

Classmate news

Joan had a phone call from Sue Schipper and she passed some news on to me.  I hope I'm not out of line reporting here but several asked about Sue at the class reunion and what the heck....nobody is probably reading this anymore anyway.  Sue has had two strokes since last December and has just now ( middle of May) returned home.  Her left side was effected and she suffered speech loss and doesn't drive.  Joan said her memory seems okay.  It has been a long time since they've been in touch, but it's always good to here  a voice from the past.  I sure wish her the best in her recovery.  Makes my occasional back ache nothing to complain about. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers.  I do hope it's possible for you to spend time with your children (and grandchildren) or at least hear from them on our day.  

California visit

Just when I thought I had this figured out, I entered the blog today and see they've change everything around.    I just returned from a visit with my son in CA.  The first week with him and the second week taking care of his dogs.  Since I had his car I went on a day trip to visit Sue Nauseda Evrett.  And that's what it turned out to be.  A day of driving for a 3 hour visit (I only drive in daylight and I had to get back for the dogs). You know how Sue is always saying 'let's get together in CA' ?  Surprise, surprise....look who came for lunch.  I picked up Chris Britz Morris in Lancaster ( an hour and a half away) with the help of GPS.  Chris has just returned from a cruise the day before, where she was Nanny to her daughter's and friends children.  Unfortunately, the second day of the cruise she fell and really messed up her foot, but like the trooper she is she limped along with me. She lives 2 1/2 hours from Sue.   Chris is still working at Olive Garden, but they will have to get along without her until she can wear shoes again.  Sue is still in the process of retireing. She lives in a gated community in Ranchero Mirage where it was 92 that day.  These two gals are still crying about missing the reunion.    It was wonderful to see her and it was my first experience driving through the desert.  Mountains, sand and windmills all just added to the fun of the trip. 

Florida fun

Happy birthday to Dave K. I know he checks this site occasionally. He's older than me ...:)

I received this photo from Joan this morning and couldn't resist putting it on the blog. The returned to WI this past weekend, but doesn't she have fun where ever she is.

One Extra Day

I received a message in my email that was posted under Gene's son's picture. Looked like an ad advertiseing truck driving lessons. I am assuming it found the nickname 'truck' in a general search and added it as a comment. I deleted it because I didn't recognize the email.

That being said, here it is the extra last day of Feb. and here in IN we will be 60 degrees. What a wonderful surprise. I walked the dog around the neighborhood and yard and saw lots of sprouting. Seems mother nature is also eager for spring.

I haven't heard from anyone in a long time. Anyone still reading this?

I did have a nice visit with Joan when I went to FL to help my mother. It was a wonderful break for me. It would have been fun to look up more of you in the sunshine state for a visit, but I was there to accomplish getting in-home assistance for mother and it took longer than I anticipated. Maybe next time.

Stay well, everyone Myrt

Jerry W. Henning

Jerry died at his home on January 15th, 2012. He lived in Darien with his wife Darlene and had worked many years for Warner Electric as a machinist. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Delavan. He has 1 son, 1 daughter, a step-daughter and four grandchildren.

A visit from a manatee

I wasn't the only visitor in Briney Breezes last week. I drove from my Mother's in Orlando to Briney to visit Joan and this little fellow swam into their marina and happily drank fresh water from their hose and ate their lettuce. Fun to watch him.

Happy New Year

The snow has arrived so it's time to dig out the boots, shovels, hats, gloves, scarfs.....well, you get the picture. Wishing all my classmates a happy, healthy and productive New Year.

Bonnie Boltz Mann

More finds on Bonnie's facebook. Couldthis be a grandson? From reading her posts I also discovered that Bonnie is a Master Gardener and interested in quilting, in addition to being a reading teacher.

Happy New Year

Tim caught it, who cleaned and cooked it? My understanding is this is Joan and Tim's Christmas Eve dinner. Yum