1/5/25

MAIL CALL
from Cynthia Marshall Devlin in Zavalla, TX
My dear husband died in October, 2023 and then my wonderful mother passed away in August of 2024. We are keeping the family together for the holidays as this is our first year not having Christmas Eve at Mom’s. On a happy note, my book, Texas Women are on the Money, will be out around the start of this holiday season. Thanks to you and Mike for helping to keep us connected.
cynjad@msn.com

MINI REUNION
We held a TJ ’68 luncheon at Sombrero’s in Nederland in November. The weather was stormy, but the crowd still came out. Several brought canned items to donate to the Hospitality House. Those attending were Darlene Turner & Ronnie Smith, Loretta LaLonde & Glynn Myers, Jim & Julie Snoek, Linda DeCuir, Florence “Sissie’ Woods, Joyce Marceaux & Ronnie Abate, Rebecca Harrison, Mary Wells, Lana Weber, David Petit & Felicia Hiatt, Lana Oliver, Chrissy Dupuis, Dale & Anna Guidry, Marilyn Jackson, Fred McCarty, Cecelia Trevino & Tony Esqueda, Bart Darby & Laura Meece, Carla Castro, Janis Hamilton, Pat Trahan, Paula Daigle, Allen Andrus, Maureen Murphy, Horace “Tinker” Brown & Jody Juneau, Norma Gayle Guidry, Linda Gothia, Linda Hopper and Debbie Borres & Raymond Desmond.
Marilyn Jackson arranged all the plans and kept up with the attendance. Paula Daigle Sheppard assisted. THANKS to them for getting this together and for all the classmates who attended. (My apologies if I forgot a name or two.)

WEBSITE DONATIONS
Mike Lawson (our esteemed classmate and webmaster) and I are so very appreciative of those classmates who have donated to our website checking account over the years. The money helps us continue to update the soft wear and support domains that are necessary to keep our website online and updated. We just had to spend $200.00 to continue with GO DADDY. It has been a very frustrating year for Mike because our mail service is not always cooperative when he needs to send out a head’s up for the new website updates and notices about deaths and gatherings for the classmates. Hours and hours are spent on him trying to send them out to each of you. Sometimes the mail service will only let him send to a small group and then wait 24 more hours before sending to another group. This sometimes goes on for DAYS!!!
Donations were recently received from our generous classmates, Fred McCarty, Allen Andrus and Cynthia Marshall. You are so appreciated. Thanks for your continuing support.

To donate to the Website:
Send a CHECK made out to:
Linda McFadden
Send To:
Linda DeCuir McFadden
7699 Boardwalk
Lumberton, TX 77657
or
Pay by Venmo
user: Thomas-Jefferson68
or
Pay by ZELLE
lindadmcfadden@yahoo.com

TOMBSTONE, AZ VACATION
Well, Murphy and I bit the bullet and finally took a road trip in October that was long overdue. Because of my neuropathy, we made sure to stop every two hours and stretch and change drivers. Two days later we arrived at a Dude Ranch. Each of the 13 rooms were decorated in a western theme. The ranch buildings are all built to resemble a western downtown including a saloon. Murphy took a two-hour horseback ride with a group and we also enjoyed sitting around a campfire and having morning coffee. The ranch hand serving has been in western movies since he was 3 years old. He had some very entertaining stories to share with us and was a wealth of knowledge when asked questions. He also just happened to be our bartender at the saloon at night! We stayed there two nights at the ranch and another night at a local hotel so that we could stretch out our Tombstone stay and enjoy as many of the attractions as possible. Of course, we visited the courthouse, museums, saloons, newspaper office, watched saloon shoot outs, visited Boot Hill cemetery and the reenactment of the OK Corral shootout. We took pictures of the actors along the way. My stagecoach ride was a little disappointing. You can’t see how you look in the coach while you are riding! But at least I have that check on my bucket list. After Tombstone, we headed back to Texas. After stopping to spend the night in Midland, we headed to Keller, TX to visit with classmate Beverly Copeland and husband, Ronnie Gaspard ‘67. We have really missed seeing them since they moved away from Port Neches several years ago. We spent the night in their lovely home and left the next morning to visit with classmate, Terry Watson and his sweet wife, Nancy in Richardson. After a nice visit we headed to Greenville, TX to see another bucket list attraction, Audie Murphy museum. We are both huge Audie fans! Because, by this 9th day of our road trip starting with College Station for two days before our AZ trip, I was really tired and coughing a lot. The DUST in Tombstone is part of the allure of the western town. We planned to attend Linda Dowling’s husband’s (Robert Weldon ’66) funeral in Woodville butI didn’t want to cough through the service. The next day we went to two doctor appointments in Houston. A day later I got a phone call from Terry Watson and then one from Beverly Copeland. Both stated that they had tested positive for Covid! Yep, Linda was a SUPER SPREADER!!!! Of course, by then I was starting to feel poorly just like my classmates and their spouses. Ugh. So much for spreading classmate friendship!!! My apologies to my friends.

SUPPORT
JoAnn Tauzin Labrada
Cancer free after a long bout with breast cancer
Joannlabrada46@gmail.com
JoAnn Labrada
285 CR 365
Brookland, TX 75931

Johnny Vasquez
Dementia
4546 Springdale
Port Arthur, TX 77642

Carole Oubre Reeves
Pancreatic Cancer
Carole.reeves@att.net
Carole Reeves
6536 Jefferson
Groves, TX 77619

Susan Reagle Duplant
Dec. 4
Well, finally had my cervical surgery, Monday. Had to go to Baton Rouge to a Vascular Neurosurgeon. They fused C4 through C7 with metal. Have to wear a hard brace except to sleep. Neck isn’t bad. Throat is horrible. The breathing tube apparently scratch my already narrow esophagus. Hopefully, the surgery, is going to help a lot of the problems I have been dealing with after several falls. Can’t drive for 6 weeks. That is bad, Wayne has to drive. I always drive…always…lol. This too will pass.
texasbeargrammy@aol.com
Susan Duplant
2688 Foreman
Vinton, LA 70668

Diane Barker Foreman
Major health issues
Dianebforeman@gmail.com
Diane Foreman
5541 Garfield
Groves, TX 77619

Lana Parker (wife of Ruelle Parker)
Positive results toward remission for breast cancer
Continued prayers
Wparker423@aol.com
Lana Parker
6821 32nd St.
Groves, TX 77619

Becky LeBlanc Robinson
Nov.17th is the date of my rebirth. God saved me from a massive pulmonary embolism and gave me a second chance in life. I am forever grateful to Him and plan to use this gift to the fullest. I still have a blood clot in my lower right leg which will be dissolved through blood thinners. I am asking my prayer warriors for cover through my recovery and beyond. What a year this has been is a huge understatement. GOD IS GREAT!!!!
Beckyrobinson22@gmail.com
Becky Robinson
16471 Peoples Rd.
Conroe, TX 77384

Dianna Caillier and Robert Lewis
Many health issues. Also, Robert is in an assisted living with dementia and seizures.
Dianna Lewis
912 E. 6th St.
Port Arthur, TX 77640

Charline Valenciano Allen
Assisted living facility dealing with dementia
Jhargrave77@yahoo.com
Charline Allen
8695 Medical Center Blvd.
Port Arthur, TX 77640

Charlie Fontenot
Continuing treatments for prostate cancer
cajunfont@aol.com
Charlie Fontenot
412 Brookdale
League City, TX 77573

I know there is many more classmates that need to be mentioned here. Some I know about and they do not wish to be listed. So, for them, Prayers for the Unnamed. Others, maybe on FB and I have just missed the information that was posted. Please help me to update this list for the next update.

CONDOLENCES
Faculty member
Mr. Jack Sell
10/6/1929-11/22/2024

Mary H. Jackson
3/2/1926-11/27/2024
(mother of Marilyn Jackson)
marilynsjw@yahoo.com
Marilyn Jackson
2315 Glenwood
Port Arthur, TX 77642

Marlene Oubre Durke
3/27/1939 – 12/28/2024
(sister of Carole Oubre Reeves)
Carole.reeves@att.net
Carole Oubre Reeves
6536 Jefferson
Groves, TX 77619

As I am writing this, terrorist attacks have just happened to start our new year. Prayers that 2025 will be peaceful from now on and that we share our thanks and love with our family, friends and those others that could use that as well.

Stay in touch and contact a classmate,
Linda DeCuir McFadden
lindaDmcfadden@yahoo.com
www.tjhs1968.com