TJ Class of '68     NEWSLETTER                                                           10/24/09
         
         
         

Well, a month has gone by and I am two weeks late with a NEWSLETTER.  This one is going to be short since I haven't been receiving any news items or mail. 

MAIL CALL
from Roy Dale Birkelbach
Yeah I know you thought I had died, didn't you?  We had a bad case of IKE-ITIS for the past year. Amazing how 6 feet of storm surge can change your life forever, isn't it? We have since moved  only  7 miles and we don't even need flood insurance! Amazing. Still it was hard to leave the house your kids grew up in after 32 years  Anyway, we are doing well . Tell any of our  hill country classmates if they want a house on the water only 8 miles out of Galveston let me know.  I will make them a hell of a deal. Thanks for keeping the website going.

from Hal Ross (taken off of his Facebook entries!)
The first leg of my EPIC FALL VACATION is complete.  Dilley, Texas doves yielded to East Texas marksmanship.  Three hunts, three limits, two hunters, ninety doves in the freezer.  I got to spend some beer time with Pat Lange and his son, Troy and ....Brother Brian along with some new friends and a great Labrador Retriever named Call.

(another entry later on his vacation)
Kite surfing....check one off of my bucket list.

from Paula Iles Restrepo '69
My husband is still flying for DHL, and I am still a stay-at-home mom.  Volunteering for the school more this year.  Running the proverbial parental taxi to horseback riding lessons, church choir practice, Young Life, K-Life, etc.  I also go into a women's Bible Study at church this fall.

Highland Park HS recently had their homecoming game.  I think they use to be a rival of TJ's years back.  Even though the community spirit is so strong here, (so many grow up here, marry, and live here) it's not quite the same when you didn't grow up here.  It does always bring back memories of TJ and marching in the Hussars and the "hey day of Port Arthur."
By the way, I would like to know if Janette Light remembers me from choir?  She sat next to me and we used to talk a lot.  She was very nice.

The State Fair started.  Fall is in the air.  People in the Park Cities go all out decorating their porches and yards for Halloween and fall.

I saw the name Marilyn Mires in your MISSING CLASSMATES LIST.  I didn't see a photo of her in the annual but there is an 8th grade teacher here named David Mires.  Since the spelling is unusual he might be kin.  You never know!  Also, has anyone heard from Bill Blanton?
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Albuquerque, NM vacation
Murphy and I went on a 8 day bus tour with 47 others to the Albuquerque, Taos, Santa Fe, and Los Alamos area.  It was really nice and the weather cooperated.  We went on a tram up a mountain to dine at a restaurant.  The winds picked up as we were traveling down in the tram and they stopped it mid air for about 20 minutes in total darkness.  They ended up bringing it back up while we had to wait for the winds to die down.  Of course, the best part of our vacation was going to the International Hot Air Balloon festival.  We went on SHAPES day, (cute HUGE balloons shaped in characters), and we also RODE up in a balloon for an hour.  Pretty pricy, BUT worth it.  Like Hal Ross mentioned above.....check one off of my BUCKET LIST.
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NEWS FROM THE HOMEFRONT
Mom got sick while we were on vacation and I had to get her admitted in the hospital when we returned.  She was dehydrated and her oxygen level was very low.  Even though she has an oxygen machine at home, she doesn't use it often enough.  Well, now she is so frail and weak that she isn't able to drive or do most anything.  She has been very depressed lately and wants "God to take her."  But, then again, she worries what will happen to Dad with him having dementia.  I do not look forward to being elderly.  It stinks!
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SUPPORT
from Donnie DeLee
I was reading the last NEWSLETTER and noticed my name on the SUPPORT list mentioning having "diabetes and stints put in arteries in legs".   Actually, the Dr. tried to put stints in but couldn't get through the plaque.  I went in the hospital about a month later and I decided to have bypass graft surgery on (the femoral artery) my right leg.  (It was worse than the left).  So, now I have a total of 5 arteries bypassed, 4 on my heart and one on my right leg.  Hopefully there will be advances with stem cell research, etc. before I have to bypass any other arteries!  LOL
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MEMORIES OF MR. ROWLAND
from Joe Pinell
I just wanted to say that Mr. Rowland was that kind of teacher that made his subject come alive!  I love history now.  He made it more than some old dried up story about dead folk.  I met with his wife and daughters at Oak Bluff cemetery to talk to them about some plots I owned out there.  I have had them for years and never really thought about selling them.  I got a call from David Hathaway at Oak Bluff wanting to know if I might sell them.  I went out there and met his family.  He is now resting in the best spaces at Oak Bluff.  For Mr. Rowland, I say, "Thanks for teaching me."  I knew there was a reason I hung on for so long and never needed them.  Some say fate, others say GOD.

from Paula Iles Restrepo '69
I too was so sadden to read about Mr. Rowland's passing.  I was blessed to have him for American History.  He was a real hoot.  I e-mailed him last year and shared with him how I had solidified my faith in Christ when I was 24 and he wrote me back a really nice response.  What a sweet man.  I have enjoyed the memories that you have shared of him being your homeroom teacher.

Fred McCarty drove in from Kingwood and met me at Mr. Rowland's funeral.  It was so inspirational.  Many shared their memories and moments of his life as a teacher and as a Christian.  I did see Linda Yancey and Mrs. McLain and Mrs. Crisp there, also.  He will be missed.  The church was packed.  I am sure there were more that I knew from TJ but didn't get to see.   Heaven has a new angel that I am sure he is playing an organ up there brilliantly!
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So long for now.  Thanks to the few that contacted me or Mike.  Otherwise, there wouldn't have been an update or NEWSLETTER.  Come on and send me some news. 

                                                Stay in touch and contact a friend,
                                                 Linda DeCuir McFadden
                                                 lindasuemcfadden@sbcglobal.net
                                                 www.tjhs1968.com


 

 




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