MAIL CALL
from Cynthia Marshall Devlin in Zavalla, TX
11/29/16
My parents have had some health troubles, but the doctors and a good diet keeps them going and going. We are blessed to still have them both.
I am going to teach at least one more semester—-wlll be teaching European history this spring. After that, I will decide if I am truly ready to retire. My husband is retiring in December. He has plenty to keep him busy. A John Deere tractor is his good friend. Plus, he has lots of activities with various Marine Corps associations.
We will spend Christmas in Port Neches at my family’s home with all our loved ones.
As always, I thank you and Mike for your endeavors to keep everyone connected.
cynjad@msn.com
from Bill Horton in Austin
12/16/17
Last month the newsletter had a story about the Hicks family who lived in PA when we were kids. That story did not have a lot of details specifically about Steve, who is our age.
Some of our classmates who knew Steve might be interested to know that he has been on the UT System board of regents since 2009. He is currently vice chairman and you can read his UT professional bio here. He also has a Wikipedia page, maybe our only classmate on there. Wiki says he graduated from TJ in 1968 but I think he moved when we were in junior high. My memory is getting unreliable, so I could be wrong. But this may be an example that everything you read on the internet might not be true.
billh812@gmail.com
from David Salter in Brownwood, TX
Thank you again for the great work you and Mike continue doing to keep The Maroon and Gold connected. I appreciate the opportunity it affords for us to lift up, support and pray for our classmates & families as they experience life's most trying times and to likewise celebrate their most joyful ones. Happy New Year!
desalter1949@yahoo.com
.
WEBSITE DONATION
We received a check from Cynthia Marshall Devlin. She has been so kind and has donated every Christmas for the past few years. We really appreciate the $ that goes toward the website expenses.
NEWS FROM THE HOMEFRONT
Christmas came and went. Due to the nerve pain in my leg, I was unable to decorate my three trees, go shopping or do any big cooking. My family physician gave me a double dose steroid shot and started me on a MEDRO pack of prednisone the day before Christmas Eve so that I would hopefully be able to make it at least to the family gatherings for the Christmas weekend. I was able to make it to Bridge City Christmas Eve to visit with Murphy's extended family. Then, we changed our tradition at my daughter's for Christmas morning. No big lunch. We decided to have a big brunch of breakfast food. Who doesn't like breakfast? I picked Dad up in Nederland and brought him back to my daughter's in Lumberton for the brunch and he watched as the granddaughters opened gifts from us. It was a wonderful, stressfree morning. We all needed that. We spent the afternoon hanging out by the tv and napping in our recliners. Monday, we headed to Spring to have a day-after-Christmas lunch of seafood gumbo at my niece's house. My brother and my sister were there. The meds helped me get through these great three days. Thanks, doc.
My problem with the nerve pain in my left leg continues. I am now walking with a cane on good days. Some days Murphy has to help me get to a bed, chair or even help me dress. I am scheduled to go back to my neurosurgeon on Monday, Jan. 9 to see what our next plan of action will be. Wish me luck that something can be found to help.
Murphy's deer season at the beer lease was HORRIBLE. Only 17 deer were shot for the WHOLE season and they have 40 members! Of course, this isn't WEST TEXAS, but geez! He finally got an 85 lb. doe on the last day. He likes going to this lease because it only takes him one hour and twenty minutes to get there from Lumberton. He can go several times a year and keep the feeders filled with the corn. I felt bad for the hunters because they would go several hunts and not even see anything. My brother had me laughing though because he spent a whole morning taking pics of crows!
Dad is doing well and is 3 ½ months away from his 101st birthday!!! Wow. That sounds crazy. He is very comfortable at his private assisted living home in Nederland called Holland Place Senior Care. There are 10 residents there. He always looks so dapper when I show up there. They dress him in slacks, nice shirt and a vest and his dapper polo hat. Nice!
My sister, Gerry is also in a private assisted living home in Humble (actually Atascocita). She has been having a few more problems lately not wanting to take showers, not liking noise, worrying excessively about the dog getting out and the WEATHER.
2016 – Good Riddance
My family is glad to be rid of that bad boy year. It was certainly bittersweet!
• Our daughter's heartwrenching divorce was finalized
• My sister's husband died in a tragic way.
• I had a back surgery that doesn't seem to heal
• Murphy had a heart attack
Good things:
• Dad turned 100! We had a great celebration
• Murphy survived a heart attack
• My classmates and friends came through overwhelmingly with cards, letters, food and support
• Our 12 year old granddaughter discovered a new passion in life; drill team at her middle school
• Our 13 year old granddaughter is leading her middle school as their student body president
• Our only child is healing and has become stronger after the dissolution of her marriage
• We are still above the earth! Praise the Lord
SUPPORT
update:
Gene Ross was able to finally come home from Galveston UMTB. He is healing and getting stronger every day.
From Jacque Ross
Jan. 3
The doctors are pleased with Gene's arm and in it's healing process . They would like us to continue the wound cleaning and wraps at home for another month. There is some excess swelling and what they call hyper granulation of the wound which from what I understood to be a faster growth of cells then the actual wound is healing and they want us to watch closely in the coming month until we come back to doctor next month. There is a couple of options they do to control the hyper growth if needed at some point. There is still the possibility that if the wound continues to heal like it is doing on its own there might not need to be any grafting done. This would be the ideal outcome as it would save Gene from having a secondary wound to deal with where they would take his own skin to do the grafting. All in all this was a excellent report.
maling2@sbcglobal.net
from Bobby Williamson concerning Jonnye Dee
Jan. 5
Jonnye has been suffering from a serious infection for more than a month now. It's nothing exotic, just typical winter stuff that took awhile to diagnose correctly. She has spent most of that time in bed. Finally, she is starting to get better. Her recovery will be slow. The Nurse/Practitioner pronounced her cured but warned that it might require another 90 days for her to regain her strength. So, she has blood work in a month and a follow-up visit in three months. On the bright side she has lost 13 pounds which she does not necessarily want to gain back. Thanks for you prayers and well wishes.
bob_williamson@yahoo.com
jonnyedee@yahoo.com
update on Charlotte Pace Thurston
Charlotte had surgery in Houston to stablize her spine. She is in a lot less pain now. Continue prayers for her healing in her battle against cancer.
2702 Mazur
Port Neches, TX 77651
update on Joyce Marceaux's husband, Ronnie Abate
Jan. 3
Ronnie is at Methodist Hospital having tests and blood work done. He went because of an infection. He recently had a liver transplant.
6305 Marble Falls
Lumberton, TX 77657
abate.joyce@yahoo.com
from Linda Dowling Weldon
December, 2016
I had a severe allergic reaction to an antibiotic. I had 2nd degree burns on 70% of my body. I lost 35% of my skin. I was at Herman Memorial Hospital burn center for over two weeks. They expected me to be there a month but I healed faster than expected. It was the most painful thing!!!!
I took levaquin. It started as Steven Johnson syndrome. It escalated to TEN: Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. I am so blessed to be alive.
2820 Private Rd. 8335 #37
Woodville, TX 75979
lweldon50@gmail.com
Dec. 30
from David Salter
Things are now quiet here as the last of our family from our Christmas celebration left yesterday afternoon. 2016 has ended in quite an unexpected manner for Lana and I. Her colonoscopy the week after Thanksgiving revealed a mass that needed to be removed. A CT scan was scheduled the next day and showed that the cancer appeared limited. We met with the surgeon a week later and on Monday, December 19, he removed part of her colon and several lymph nodes. Thank the Lord, the pathology report was favorable and my dear one was home the Thursday before Christmas! Next week, we pursue the follow up appointments to determine any additional treatment needed. We have been blessed with excellent medical care here in Brownwood.
Since Lana wanted to proceed, if possible, with our Christmas gathering as planned, our family from Oklahoma began arriving the day Lana returned home. It was a blessing to celebrate Jesus' birth and the surgery success together with all of them. As expected, everyone helped out more with chores of cooking, cleaning, etc., as we managed to restrain our recuperating hostess from most of her usual, gracious hospitality activities. Our family time together was wonderful but still too short. I praise God and thank Him for His grace, mercy, goodness, kindness and the undeserved blessings He shares!
9359 FM 45 S
Brownwood, TX 76801
desalter1949@yaoo.com
CONDOLENCES
Janis Hamilton Lee
(loss of her mother-in-law, Naomi Lee)
712 Little Jeff
Port Neches, TX 77651
Dec. 28
Prayers needed friends. Mark & I came home yesterday from his Mom's in Iowa. Our grandson, Trent had surgery today & had to have three screws in his ankle so he's out this basketball season. Early this morning Mark's Mom passed away. We're flying back to Iowa tomorrow. Even though we know she's happy now & Trent's ankle will heal, it's just been very overwhelming for us.
markjlee@yahoo.com
Well, the new year is upon us and as I write this NEWSLETTER I am hopeful that we will all have healthy and happy days to come. May our nation have peace among all nations and prosper so that our children and grandchildren will be able to raise their families in a rightgeous world.
Take care and contact a classmate,
Linda DeCuir McFadden
lindadmcfadden@yahoo.com
www.tjhs1968.com