Offical Site of TJ Class of 1968
    
      TJ Class of '68 NEWSLETTER                                                            03/29/09




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    Well, howdy do!  Can't believe it has been 6 months since I wrote a proper NEWSLETTER!!  So much has happened.  I guess I will fill you in during the course of this writing.  So, let's begin at the beginning!  Just don't forget to have a note pad to jot down items that are of interest to you while reading this long NEWSLETTER.   

    August 1-2, 2008   Our 40th year class reunion.  What a hit!  Many said it was the BEST ever.  The faculty members that showed up were raving about the attendance and how much fun it was. 

    September 13, 2008   Hurricane Ike ravaged the golden triangle area also affecting many of our classmates along the Crystal Beach, Galveston , and Baytown Area

    September 14-ongoing   Classmates that were affected by the storm have been supported monetarily, physically, and emotionally by their fellow classmates.

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    During this time, Mike Lawson stepped in and ran the whole show with very little help from me.  I would from time to time send him news I received, obituaries I read, and other tidbits.  He ran the show by publishing AND writing the news.  Fred McCarty and Debbie Borres helped him during the first couple of months getting news of those directly affected by the storm.  Once again, classmates helping classmates!!  Kudos to Mike for being the super guy that he has proven to be.  Please make sure that he knows that you appreciate
    his efforts in keeping your website running so smoothly. 

    ***********************************************************************************

    MAIL CALL

    (THANKS TO MANY OF YOU WHO TOOK THE TIME TO RESPOND SO THAT I WOULD HAVE MAIL TO GIVE TO YOU.  JUST DON'T STOP.  I WILL NEED SOME MORE FOR THE NEXT UPDATE IN TWO WEEKS!)

    from Donnie DeLee in Sacramento , CA
         I know how tough it can be losing everything. I’ve gone through that with floods back in the 80’s at the Russian river
    (near the coast in N. Cal. ) in Guerneville .

    I’m doing well. I am no longer working. I was approved for disability by the feds and am officially retired due to medical reasons (CHF, COPD , PAD, Diabetes , etc) I’ve started getting my garden ready. I’m building up the compost heap, getting the plot ready and planting my heirloom seeds in those mini-greenhouses. It takes a while as I get tired easily, so I do a little each day, as well as recruit friends to help in exchange for some of the harvest. I’m also planting loads of English Lavender and hope to make scented candles or/and soap from them and sell to friends, or just enjoy the beauty and scent all year. I’m getting my old Benz road-ready and hope to drive to Texas to visit family and perhaps old friends this spring.
    (     Donnie, Steve Baker , and I were running buddies back in the old days.  Donnie was also a great fellow Maroon and Gold band member AND esteemed  member of Mr Rowland's homeroom mafia!)

    from Sharon Lewis Forrest in Baytown
         Just a quick update on our status.  Jim and I are doing fine - still living in an RV after the storm, but in January we upgraded to a 34 ft fifth wheel !!  Woohoo!!!  We feel like we are in a mansion - we can actually be in different rooms and watch different shows on TV.  All's been settled with the insurance - apparently we've gotten all the money we're going to get!!!  The house in Baytown has been torn down and
    the lot sold.  We're working with builders to get started on our retirement home in Boerne, near San Antonio and hope to get started on that soon.  Living on the water has lost its allure for us!  Can't remember the last time storm surge wiped out anybody in the Hill Country. 

    I'm still working at Shell in downtown Houston , but looking very closely at retirement later this year or early next year.  Many thanks to all our classmates who called/emailed and offered to help after the storm! 
    (Photos of     Sharon 's devastated home were published in the fall on the website.  My home looked like a prize compared
    to hers on the outside.  Ours were pretty comparable on the inside, though.  So glad she is moving on.)

    from Fred McCarty in Kingwood
    I was excited to hear you are going to start writing the Newsletter again. Mike has done a very admirable job over these past six months, but there is no doubt that you will be able to scout out the "news" better than anyone else could do.  

    Not much news from me. Still working and answering questions from my sweet wife and family about how much longer I am going to be working. It is a more difficult decision to reach in the current economy. I will be glad to see this situation turn around for the better, hopefully soon. 

    I had dinner with David Salter   last month when he was in Houston for some business meetings, and George Collins and Joel Levy joined us. David had some good grandkid pictures, maybe you can get him to share some of those.  Joel remembered to bring his camera and he has some good pictures of the four of us (taken by our waitress at the
    restaurant), so I am hopeful he will submit a couple of those. We had a great time visiting for about three hours until the restaurant was ready to close, and they had to kick us out.
    (Well, hopefully we will hear     David, Joel, and George's take on this gathering.  I love hearing about classmates getting together and reminiscing.)

    from Randy Landry in Crystal Beach
     We lost our home and everything in it along with two Harleys , custom golf cart,  and my restored vette. The list of personal items could depress the Pope.  Presently we are staying with friends in Waterways at Crystal beach. I have kept you and yours in my prayers and hope these circumstances make us all stronger. Still have lots of faith and future,
    must be the first day of spring and beautiful weather today making me delirious ;) I know we will all look back one day and reminisce 2008, 2009 with fondness. Dang girl, I must be enjoying this perfect beach day.
    (I am so sad for our friends and classmates that were devastated along the coastline.      Cathy Jones lost her home,
    also on Boliver.)

    from Mr. Lionel Rowland in Pt. Neches
    After a year and a half of not being able to eat solid food, the doctor put a stint in my esophagus and I have been eating like a horse--love the buffets at Golden Corral and Ryans.  Feeling good, doing fine.  Just got back from a trip to Austin to see my grandkids. 
    (     Mr. Rowland made an appearance at the Saturday night reunion social/dance last August!)

    from Debbie Borres Desmond in Nederland
     We will have an addition to our family in August.   Our daughter is having another son due on Aug 20th and our anniversary is the 22nd.  

    Gene Armand and his wife Karen should be back in their home in BC by now.   I ran into Karen 2 or 3 weeks ago and they were waiting on the painters. They have a commercial building on Nall in PN that was 99% totaled.   It has taken everyone so much longer because of the number of homes damaged.   As if the damage wasn't bad enough, the time it takes with all the delays and waiting on all contractors to do each step of the repairs make it worse.    

    Wish all those in BC  and the other areas of damage due to Ike would keep us all informed on how their lives are going during this hectic time.   I wished we had had more success in contacting fellow classmates .  I know a lot of us have been praying for all those that have lost so much in Ike.   God bless all of you.

    Good news here, though.  We are going on a cruise leaving out of Galveston July 25th .   If anyone wishes to join us,
    we would love to have you come along.   This will be the same ship we went on for our first cruise.   Maybe we will win another cruise, like we did 2 years ago.  

    " Mike Lawson did a great job keeping the website going but it will be great having our NEWSLETTER going again.  It seems like Linda can get more news out of us then anyone else. 
    (Thank you Debbie for helping Mike during my "crazy" period getting back on track.)

    from Terry Watson in Richardson , TX
    Congratulations on getting in your new house. I know you'll like it way up north in Lumberton .
    I've attached a few photos taken at      Robert Sandoval's house on February 14th. Robert's wife, Carole, is a former neighbor of Kermit Falgout (TJ '67).   Robert remembered that Kermit and I were across-the-street neighbors in Pear Ridge. So, Carole arranged for the two former neighbors to see each other for the first time since 1971. Kermit and Pam Falgout and Terry and Nancy Watson joined Robert and Carole Sandoval at their lovely home in Fulshear , Texas for a fantastic evening.  Rober also invited my old Sam Houston classmate Janette Light and her husband, Richard Norton. The classmates spent a lot of quality time while the spouses graciously feigned interest. Everyone had fun trying to answer Kermit's trivia questions about music and movies, especially songs from the "early days". Robert has mastered downloading music, so his library added to the fun.
    (Another trip down memory lane while spending time with friends of old!  Classmates and married couple,     Linda Olivier and Rex Meyer also live in the small community of Fulshear.  Small world.)

    from Mike Lawson in West Columbia , TX
         Meredith and I met Robert and Carole Sandoval in Pearland at Gringo’s Mexican Restaurant last Saturday night. We all arrived around 6:30pm. We had a great time. Robert furnished the entertainment for us much of the night, he had us all going for a good while. We ate and visited for more than two hours and then went our separate ways. I hope to get several of our classmates together, hopefully you and Murphy also, sometimes centrally and do something like that again.
    (That Robert must be an eating fool!  Also, I changed his name to Robert in the last two entries.  Obviously, Bob is what he goes by since he "grew up" but     ROBERT is what he was called by me long ago AND to this day.)

    from Lillian "Jody" Prince Rains in Monroe , LA
    Unfortunantly,I do not have my class reuion book.  You may not remember me.  I was kinda shy.  Went to Woodrow Wilson Jr. High.  I took business classes.  I married in '69 and moved away because of my husband's job and have been away from Pt. Arthur since then.  I do go home to visit my sister and relative 3 or 4 times a year and attend the yearly family reunions in May.  I lost my dad when I was 16 and lost my mom 25 years ago. I have three children and three sweet grandchildren.  I work for Metlife and have been wanting to communicate with some of my old classmates .   For those of you who may remember me, please e-mail me.   Would love to hear from you. 
    (Okay classmates!  Here is your invitation to reconnect. Don't put it off.     rains7950@bellsouth.net   )

    from Janice Jones Kelley in Bridge City
         My family has had a busy year. We went to Alaska in June. We took the cruise and went on the inland passage. The senery was awsome! The mountains, glaciers, animal life, and culture were breath taking. We learned so much about the state and met a lot of wonderful people. Alaska seems to of retained some of the pioneer atmosphere. During the train ride the host and hostess shared Alaska 's colorful history with us.  I would recommend this trip to anyone.

    June 28 my oldest daughter, Jennifer, got married in Florida . It was a beautiful wedding on the beach at sunset. Paul's mother, my mother-in-law, was able to attend the wedding and got to see the white sand beaches for the first time and put her feet in the water. She loved it. We have some wonderful pictures and memories. She passed away about 7 months later. Jennifer's husband became abusive right after they returned from the honeymoon. We found out about it the day after we returned home to clean out our house from Ike's storm surge . They went to counseling. Things got worse. They divorced in Dec. I clung to the verse, "All things work together for good for those who love the Lord." As hard as this was for her and us, it was also a growing experience and kept the damage to our house in perspective. Jennifer is going to fulfill one of her dreams and teach at an American school in San Pedro Sula , Honduras . She always wanted to  teach internationally. It sounds great. I intend to visit her and see the rainforest and enjoy a trip to the beach . All three of my children live in the College Station area . Michael is an engineer for Weatherford. Stephanie is a medical technologist at St. Joseph 's Hospital. Jennifer is a school counselor .

    I work for Port Neches- Groves ISD and my husband, Paul, works for MOTIVA. We are living in Port Arthur until our
    home is rebuilt. We hope to be back in our home in June. God is faithful.

    I enjoyed seeing many of you the first night of our 40th reunion. I would like to thank the committee for doing such a good job putting it together. Mike and Linda the website is great.
    (Thanks for the compliments on the reunion and the website.  Yes, God is good and best wishes in getting your
    homefront back in order     . )

    from Stephen Simonton in Orange
         We made it through Ike just fine.  Nothing flooded, broke, or was wounded!
    (Good news on Ike since you had enough to contend with.  You sure didn't need anything else.  Check out about Stephen and his wife in the SUPPORT section later in the NEWSLETTER.)

    from Danny Landry in LaBelle (between Pt. Acres and Fannett)
    Well, it has been awhile since I  last dropped you a line. Phyllis and  I are spending most of the time in  Cedar Park with our daughter and grandchildren. We have a contract on our house in Labelle and are waiting for the loan papers to be finalized.  Retirement seems to agree with me. We have been busy getting our house in order. Our grandkids are keeping us busy, so we had to join the YMCA to keep our up our strength . Phyllis got me hooked on The Young And The Restless ,  I thought I would never do it,  but don't call between 11:00 and 12:00.
    (How did your house make out during IKE?)

    from Lana Oliver Baker  in Tulsa , OK (a name from the past!)
    You may not remember me,  but I went to Franklin Elementary,     Woodrow Wilson , and TJ my sophmore year .  Moved to Nederland after that.  I have kept up with some friends from Port Arthur thru the years, but I have just been given your website information and wanted to let you know what a great job ya'll are doing.  It is so interesting reading about every one and of course so sad to see those who have passed. 

    Your reunions have sounded like such a great time and really planned out well.  I have only been to my 10 reunion in     Nederland , mainly because I didn't really have the connection to them as I did to TJ.  When you didn't go to school in Elementary and Jr. High, you really don't have that many connections. 

    It is really great to see reports on     Linda Davis     , Linda Blanton, and Sandy Ellis . I was in Blue Birds with Linda Davis and Sandy Ellis .  Now that was a really long time ago .  Glad to see they are all doing so well.
    (Here is another change to reconnect with an old friend from our past. Show her how our classmates are the friendliest!)      lanbak@yahoo.com

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    UPDATE ON MY PARENTS

    The following is a letter that my parents sent out this week:

    WE"VE DONE IT AGAIN!

    After living on 8th St. in Lakeview since 1943, then moving to Bridge City with LInda and Murphy for 10 months before getting hit by Hurricane Ike, evacuating for a month, then into a rent house in Groves for 10 months, we decided to move AGAIN!

    The GOLDEN YEARS are not always "golden", but we do what we can to make them the best.  We decided that we could use a little more attention by living with other residents in our same "shape".  We chose to move into a comfortable, safe environment where we can enjoy ourselves all the more.  So, please come visit or call or even drop us a note.  We would love to hear from you at the Rose House, an assisted living site.  It is located right behind Central Mall.

                                            Dan and Eula DeCuir
     8214 Anchor Dr. #107
         Port Arthur , TX 77642
                                            (409)729-0773

    Of course, we are thrilled and feel so much more comfortable and less anxious having them there. 
    Thanks to all you gave donations of furniture and items that helped them get back on their feet.  They
    pretty much lost everything they brought to our home in     Bridge City .  They are doing very well. 

                                                                                    Linda

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         MOVIE DEPICTING FOOTAGE ABOUT IKE
    ( a note sent in by one of our ardent website readers,     Karen Champage Milliff,   Nederland '69 )
    On April 9th     this year, a movie will be released about the Bolivar Peninsula . Go to the website and select trailers at the top.  It looks like the movie will be very interesting.

    http://www.robotagency.com/messenger/

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    RAFFLE for a 2008 MUSTANG
    note from classmate     Jenny Rhodes Hamilton

    Hello everyone!  It's time to get serious about supporting Legacy High School in Beaumont and getting involved in this fund raiser opportunity !  Would you pay $10.00 for a chance to own a 2008 convertible mustang??  There's enough "kid" left in me to say,
    I'll take it!!! 

    Please go to Legacy High School website, look it over and help support our kids fund raising project.  Tickets are $10 for one and
    $90 for 10.  If you don't want the car you can bless your child or grandchild OR even donate it back to the school. 
    Type in my granddaughter's name, Rebecca Doyen in the box for student's name. 

    Please help!  Thanks.

    ***********************************************************************************

    WEBSITE $$$$$ CONTRIBUTIONS

    Webb Draughon in Seabrook
    (Hey Webbie,
    How did you and your family make out during Hurricane Ike?  Let us hear from you.)

    Hal Ross in Nederland
    Hal says that he hopes to have the terminal up and running by the first of May.  He is the manager of the     Southeast Texas Regional Airport
    (formerly known as     Jefferson County Airport .)  It was heavily damaged during the hurricane.

    **************************************************************************************************

    SUPPORT
    (Please contact and add the following friends to your prayer lists.  Let them know we care.)

    Stephen Simonton and wife Betty Hebert, '67
    Didn't tell you this before because everyone was having their own trials and tribulations.  But, I was off work for a year with an inoperable heart
    condition.  I went back to work this last January.  My wife, Betty also has been diagnosed with a very rare cancer.  She has had surgery and is taking chemo.  The outlook is good.  I am going to     Houston for my heart condition.  The doctors here have decided to try something different.

    Stephen and Betty Simonton
    4446 Valhalla Lane
    Orange         , TX 77630
    (409)735-4445
         wolfen49@sbcglobal.net

    Gayle Endsley
    (A note from Linda McFadden) I received a phone call recently from Gayle. She told me that she had had an aneurysm and stroke a year ago January.  She is still recovering.  She didn't want to concern anyone with her troubles as she felt many classmates already had enough of their own to worry about.   

    Gayle Endsey
    4615 Bull Creek Rd
    Austin         , TX 78722
    (512)459-5935
         gashba@io.com

    Linda Smith Webber
    (an update from classmate     Cherlyn Hebert )
    Just wanted to let you know that     Linda Smith is doing very well after her stroke and brain surgery.  She is back at work and
    handling that very well.  She still has a problem with one of her eyes; it won't close properly.  And she can't drive, and I know
    that's driving her crazy.  On the phone you can't tell, but she says her face shows the effects of the stroke.  But, she's upbeat and very grateful that the tumor was operable and that she's alive and has a good prognosis.

    Linda Smith Webber
    2605 Buck Dr.
    Mesquite, TX 75181
    (972)222-0095
    wwebber1803@sbcglobal.net

    This is about as good as any place to mention something that has been bothering me.   I wrote an "open letter" to all of you several months ago just to touch base since Mike and Fred were receiving lots of inquiries about me and my family's situation.  In doing so, I included a LIST of really crazy things that had happened to our family during 2008.  But, I also listed the upside to many of those and the good outcome.  Well, I got a ton of mail saying how sorry you were and that we had really been snowed under.  On the contrary, we didn't realize all of what had happened until we listed them.  I didn't mean to make it sound like a PITY PARTY .  We had no serious health issues through this all.  We sold our home in record time, found a nice existing home in Lumberton, remodeled it and moved in the end of February.  Now see, it is fine on our end.  Please know that your concern and prayers were certainly appreciated, though!!  Oh yeah.  Murphy did say that I FORGOT to put the STOCK MARKET woes on our list! "-(   Please remember and contact those listed above.  They really could use your kind support.  Also, keep me
    posted about any health issues for you or any family member or classmate.  Who doesn't need extra PRAYERS? 

    *****************************************************************************************************
     CONDOLENCES

    Frank Mirabella
    (death of his lovely wife, Amber after 4 1/2 years of fighting Alzheimers)
    (Amber died at a very young age of 55.  She was a frequent attendee with Frank at our class reunions.  She always had a beautiful smile.)

    A note from Paul Colletti :
    I enjoyed seeing you briefly at the visitation. I had a nice visit with         Hal Ross , Pete Huber , and Webb Draughon .  The pastor said something I thought was very touching. He said Frank and Amber were married 37 years, but really they celebrated 61 years of marriage.  Here's how that occurred....Last spring, in an effort to lift his wife's sinking spirit, Frank came home from work on a Monday and proclaimed to Amber that it was their wedding anniversary and they were going to go out to a nice restaurant and celebrate.  They did, and she had a wonderful time and it seemed to really lift her spirit.  On they following Monday, he came home from work and told her it was their wedding anniversary and they were going to go out and celebrate.  Again, she had a wonderful time and it had a great effect on her.  From then on, until she was too ill to go out, he would take her out to celebrate their wedding anniversary on every Monday . 

    Frank Mirabella
    4819 Menlo Park Dr.
    Sugarland, TX 477479
    (979)265-9158

    Bob Mullin's death was reported in the last update.  Since then, his sister sent in some tributes written by her and also his niece.  Please check them out in the MEMORIAL section of our website. 

    These following memories of  Bob were sent in by Suzanne and Dianne Mannino, TJ '69

    Bob was such an uplifting person in high school and we were just talking about him last week when Sue and I were going to Houston.
    Two best moments come to mind.  One was when we had a fan in our bath room and he thought the noise was rain outside. Worrying about his car, he came running out of the restroom and the look on his face was priceless.The second one was when Sue, Bob,
    Dalworth Badgett          and I were playing volleyball in our front yard. Sue cut her foot on a rock and he was very caring to her at that time.
         He never looked sad, always happy and from what they all wrote about him, Bob hadn't changed much... just age made him better.

    (Please check out our MEMORIAL section.  We have lost two additional classmates since our August '08 reunion....Pam Lopez and Bob Mullin.  I might be off a little bit, but at last count we have information on 71 deceased classmates.  So sad.)

    ***********************************************************************************

    Well, I warned you that it would be LONGGGGG.  Now if you didn't heed my warning to have a note pad out, it is your fault.  You will just have to reread this whole shebang again!  You know that my voice doesn't hold out but I sure can be long-winded on this computer.  Before I forget, there is a very easy way to contact your classmates.  Just go to the top of the website where it says CLASS LISTING.  Find the name and point to it.  The correct e-mail address will be at the bottom of your page.  It doesn't always look the same if you just click.  There you have their e-mail information IF they have provided one.  Contact me if you have a problem.  Oh yeah, and thanks to all that made sure I got your change of e-mail address.  That is the only way we can keep you informed. 

                                             Stay in touch,
                                             Linda DeCuir McFadden
     lindasuemcfadden@sbcglobal.net
    www.tjhs1968.com

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