Another
school year is just around the corner. Some of you are educators,
administrators, tutors, volunteers, etc. We need all the good help
we can get. It has been 10 years this month that I took early
disability retirement from teaching 1st grade for 27 years. I then
volunteered for a few years until I started babysitting granddaughters
and then had to stop to become a caregiver for my elderly parents.
I actually miss the beginning of school each year when I start seeing
the school supplies displayed in the stores and hear the buses running
in the mornings.
MAIL CALL.
from Joe Gongora (actually
written by his wife, Belinda
Fernandez '71) in Pt. Arthur
I wanted to let you know that our daughter, Jamie, is going to be
teaching 3rd grade at Lee Elementary.
First year teacher, oh boy. Joe and I are very proud of
her. Also, Joe is retiring. His official date to exit
Exxon Mobil is
October 1.
He will be working until
August 30
and take the whole month of September vacation and bye bye Mobil after
36 years of refinery work. Look out
Lee Trevino.
Here comes Joe to the senior tour!
(Boy, I bet TIGER is glad they won't
be playing in the same tournaments~:)
from
Jerry Whittredge in
Tampa, FL
Just thought I would let you know there are three TJ graduates
living in
Tampa, FL: Jerry Whittredge, Margarita and
Anna Rodregez. I'm now retired CIA (yea!) and attached to the
Federal Justice Department doing investigations. Anna
is an
FBI
Special Investigator attached to the same department as I am. At the
age of 60, I'm
applying to law school. I'm just not the retiring kind
of guy. By the way, do you know of a website for the year of TJ 1970
graduates? That’s when Margarita graduated.
(No, there isn't a website for
1970 as far as I know.)
from Barbara Bowers
in Pagosa Springs, CO
It's been awhile since I have sent any
correspondence from here so here goes. All is well. We
are having the most beautiful year here since I moved to Pagosa.
Lots of rain & cool weather, thank heavens! The wildflowers
are taller than my shoulders. it is truly incredible! All to
remind me how lucky I am to be here on this beautiful planet
communing with nature.
Enchanted Valley Girls - the Greens Growers!
www.enchantedvalleyfarm.homestead.com
(Thanks for taking the time to catch
us up on your news.)
from Fred McCarty
in Kingwood
I wanted to let you and my classmates know that I have decided to
retire from
ExxonMobil
at the end of September. I have worked for ExxonMobil for almost 37
years which included one summer while I was still in college. While
there is a good bit of uncertainty about the economy and how long it
may take to recover, my wife Sandy and I have decided that there is
not enough time to continue working and still be able to do many of
the "other things" we want to do while our health is still good.
We
plan to do some traveling outside of the
US
as well as a good bit of touring in the US. We are planning to continue to
live in our current home for at least a few more years. I have heard
from many who have retired before me, and everyone says you quickly
adjust to the change in lifestyle.
Thanks again for all that you have done and are continuing to do to
keep our website going. I read every word of every newsletter, and
keep a file of them that I can refer back to when needed later.
(You can travel but make sure
you have a laptop to keep up with our NEWS!)
from
Jessie Resendez '67
in
Sun City, TX
(outside of Georgetown)
Just a note to let you know Kathleen and I have made the move to
Sun City Tx. We came up here to see
Eileen (Boultinghouse) '67
and Lionel Menchaca "66,
fell in love with the place and moved. We have four grandsons in Lakeway Tx and one in Humble. So, we stay
pretty busy. Keep up the good work on the website. It keeps me in
touch with the Golden Triangle.
from Janis Hamilton Lee
in Pt. Neches
My ladies 4.0 USTA
tennis team played in a state tournament in
Dallas,
Aug. 7-9. There were 20 cities represented and we had a great run
by beating Midland, Houston, Amarillo &
Dallas to win
our flight. We beat The Valley in the semi-finals but lost to Abilene 3-2 in the finals.
(You play 5 courts, 3 doubles & 2 singles) Abilene now advances to Las Vegas for a National Tournament. The
big question all weekend was where is
Southeast Texas.
Usually the bigger cities like Houston, Dallas or Austin make it to the
finals (not SE Tx)
My senior team, 50 & older, will also be playing in a state tournament
Sept. 18-20
in Tyler. If anyone
lives there please come cheer for us. I'll find out our
playing times about a week before the tournament.
Hopefully we won't have to evacuate
this September.
(I'm tired just reading about it.
Proud of you for staying in shape!)
**************************************************************************
PRAYER FOR HURRICANE SEASON
(Tropical Storms Ana and Bill are in the Gulf as you read this!)
O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your
children. The
Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned
to its former quietude; You are still the Master of land and sea.
We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control: the
Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming
lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and
spread chaos and disaster. During this hurricane season, we turn
to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose
memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with
the passing of time.
Amen
**************************************************************************
NEWS FROM THE HOMEFRONT
Murphy and I are going to busy (mainly ME!) this week. It is the
last week before school begins and we like to spend some quality time
ALONE with each granddaughter. So, Sunday-Tuesday, we will have
the littlest one, DREW (4 3/4 yrs) . She is the one that had the
kidney surgery last summer right at same time as HURRICANE IKE.
Many of you have asked this year about her health update. She is
doing great. In fact, she goes to have an ultrasound done this
week to see how it is healing. She is still on blood pressure
medicine twice a day. But, it is 1/2 the dosage as the first half
of the year since her surgery last Sept. Since her 5th birthday won't be
until Oct. 26th, she will be in PK. She loves to play with horse
toys, watch videos, go to the movies, and EAT. This girl loves to
snack. I will have to be on my toes. I think I will take her to
the PN Park to
Tugboat
Island and the splash park
there. (They no longer have the PN Pool.)
Wednesday-Friday will have us entertaining the 6 year old, Bailey.
She will start 1st grade in a week. We will spend some quality
time with her at the Children's Museum in Lake Charles, hit some
water park or pool some where, work on the computer, and maybe hit the
clothes shops. She is the diva who is in love with BRIDES and
WEDDINGS! Of course, she loves Build-a-Bear, also.
I do hope the week is uneventful as far as my parents are concerned.
Mom has not had a good month. She is very weak and having some
spells but continues to try to take care of my dad. I'm not sure
how much longer that will happen.
**************************************************************************
SUPPORT
from Walter Jones '67
(update on wife, Linda
'66)
Linda is still being treated for her breast cancer. She has three small
spots (each about 3/4" in size) that are stable. She has been under
teatment since July, 2007. She feels well and tolerates the chemo
without a lot of side effects. She is currently getting Doxil once every
4 weeks. Mostly, we are in good spirits.
We are trying to sell our house & move to
Florida.
We want to be closer to our
two daughters.
wdjrel@hotmail.com
from Donnie DeLee in Sacramento, CA
Well, the Dr. couldn't break through the plaque to place the stents in
my legs. I talked with my vascular surgeon and decided to have the
femoral artery in my right leg bypassed. The right leg had worse
circulation. Rather than waiting, since I have type 2 diabetes, we
decided to proceed. The risk was low but the possibility of
gangrene was good enough reason to go ahead. I could tell within
days after the surgery that the PAD symptioms were gone in the right
leg. Now, I will be able to get around much better.
dcdelee@peoplepc.com
from Barbara Bowers in Pagosa Springs, CO
I had a spell in January that was not so fun but things are finally
coming around. I'm realizing we aren't 20 anymore! Yipes! I'm
working a bit less and playing a bit more. That seems to be the
ticket. Thank you for all for the prayers & thanks to
Pat Trahan for her great
love! I hope all is well with everyone.
www.enchantedvalleyfarm.homestead.com
***************************************************************************
CONDOLENCES
Carlos "Tate" Barbosa
death of his
mother
Virginia Barbosa
See obituary
***************************************************************************
Much thanks, as always,
to those who took the time to contact me with news, photos, updates,
etc. I worry that there will be a time when I will have to tell
Mike that there is nothing to report! He might fire me. How
will I pay my bills?
Stay in touch and contact a classmate,
Linda DeCuir McFadden
lindasuemcfadden@sbcglobal.net
www.tjhs1968.com