Margaret W. "Peggy" Ware (Koger)

What a view! Enjoy your new home...it's beautiful  

I understand you can practically live on your Social Security income down there. Wouldn't that be nice!

Robin E. Lostetter

James A "Jim" White

Yes, RICK MARCUM, you and Johnene will have not only a wonderful life there, but you are guaranteed that 5-minutes of magic every afternoon as the sun dips into the ocean. That was how Kathy and I started our RV traveling. We were purchasing a condo on the ocean for the same reason, but the seller would not fix with the inspector picked up; hence, we recinded our offer and started on the RV trip we have been on for 3 1/2 years. I hope you will have a refrigerator the size of a small trailer with margaritas in it when people come to visit. The magic of your balcony will be the creative juices it will produce as you author your next novels. By the way, how are your screen plays coming along? Take care, keep having fun, try to make it back to the reunion this year.

James A "Jim" White

REUNION NEWS - of which there is very little. Only chairperson, MARIANNE COONS McCULLOUGH has the vote count thus far but from what I can see, October 15th-16th votes are beating the September dates  by about 4 to 1. I would say pencil in October 15-16, 2021 on your calendars until you hear differently, or can write it in ink.

Marianne is as busy as a cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs trying to figure out what to have, when to have it, and with what? Due to several classmates generous donations, at least Marianne has around $1,500 to start. As soon as I get time and get off my keister, we will have our website linked to accept debit/credit cards and possibly paypal if you want that too. Most of the help being offered to Marianne is from afar, meaning only Marianne can go visit all the venues, hotels and catering sites, She also has to determine registration costs, entertainment, who will prepare name badges, airport shuttles, should we also invite other classes to join us, work registration desk and more to design an event you will love. Of course, you will love it anyway because you are seeing old friends, some of which you may never see again. Will you ever again have the opportunity to let a close childhood friend know you think of them often and how much they mean to you? A lot is falling on Marianne's shoulders now but still offer your help .... whether living in Roswell or not. We will have work opportunities for you to assist.

The most important thing you can do right now to help is to go to our "Missing Classmates" list on the left of the home page and see if you can find your friends. A reunion is fun but more fun if your close friends are there. LINDA MAXWELL VANDEWART can give you great lessons on finding missing classmates on Facebook, Zabasearch, Google, tracing them through siblings or professional (career) licensing agencies and more. Will you do this? And if you find out a classmate is deceased, please let me know and also how I might verify (like approximately when they died and where). We once posted a classmate as deceased and she was not thrilled with that prospect, but did take it good naturely.

We look forward to seeing you in October --15th and 16th if that is the finalized date. Anything could goof us up ... like NMMI Homecoming or a gazillion other things that Marianne is working around. Meanwhile, go get your vaccines and start helping us find clasmates. Thank you!.

James A "Jim" White

55-YEAR REUNION – OCTOBER 15-16, 2021 – ROSWELL, NM

BRENDA RIDENER BRADLEY celebrated her birthday yesterday. We hope it was a good celebration and she has a year of good health and experiences ahead. BRENDA is an amazing vocalist, teacher, administrator (whether deaf children or nurses), wife, mother, grandmother and more. I love finding out about classmates. How about you? You can find out more about your childhood friends at the 55-year reunion to be held October 15-16, 2021 in Roswell. Please put it on your calendar and attend.

 I personally plan to see some classmates this year. How about you? We have all made wonderful friends as adults, but our friends while growing up are gold. As for me, I will be having lunch tomorrow with LOUIS BAGWELL in Galveston. On the 19th and 20^th of this month, Kathy and I will have the pleasure of bunking with TERRY BOONE and his sainted wife, Judy, at their Lake Home. Who knows, maybe even BOYCE McFARLAND and Annie will be crossing the country about then and stop by?  The next people I will see will be the Roswell contingent, led by reunion chairperson MARIANNE COONS and also CRAIG SUTHERLAND, DICKIE DAVIS, PAM BERRY DAVIS, LINDA MAXWELL VANDEWART and so on… unless MILDRED ANDREWS FORD can make time to stop us along the highway and say “Hello.”

After that we will be at Wines of the San Juan (60 miles south of Durango) for 10-12 days where DR. JIM BROWN may ride up to say hello. I wonder if he can get TOM ALEXANDER to ride his Harley up there too (Tom moved from TX to Las Cruces)? Maybe MARY HUSEMOLLER’s wine cellar is getting low (fat chance of that) and she will stop at the Winery. Any Albuquerque natives want to stop by the Winery and say “Hello?” Our next base will be southern Colorado so there is a chance we will be able to stop by JUDI ADAMS MORRIS and ELIZABETH GWARTNEY LOWNEY abodes to say “Hi” around May 12th or 13^th. Our next stop is Illinois where we have 5 grandchildren we dearly love, then drive clear across country to Washington State (more grandchildren) where, hopefully, we will catch up with DR. JIM BAIRD. My point in all this is to ask, will you come to the 55-Year Reunion where you have more friends than you remember?

MARIANNE COONS McCULLOUGH is swamped with negotiations of venues and hotels, trying to figure out costs or the Governor’s next move, and simply does not have time to try to notify classmates of the reunion. That is all of our jobs. Please help. Also volunteer to MARIANNE to help with flyers, name badges, sitting at registration desk and any other way you may be able to help. Thank you.

James A "Jim" White

A reunion survey has been posted on the home page of the website. 

> HOME PAGE

> 55-Year Class Reunion Survey (on bottom of first section, left column)

We realize most will not know absolutely certain at this time if they will be able to attend. Only a few of us know. But we need these statistics in order to plan. You at least know at this time if you possibly will be able to attend and doing all in your power to attend. Answering YES does not commit you to any expense or require you to attend, but it allows us to estimate and plan properly. We need to know, will there be 6 or 206 classmates attending. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let us know YES or NO. Thank you.

John Leslie Wolfe

Hi All...the survey didn't have a box for "I HOPE to make it", so I didn't respond. But, I hope to make it. My sister still lives in Roswell, so it gives me two reasons to make it. Best to all. JLW

James A "Jim" White

It is with profound sadness we inform you of the passing of LAURA KNIGHT ATKINS. During her brave battle with Leukemia, a good number (I only know Peggy Ware McPhilimy and Lynn Waller Washam) of you contacted and prayed for Laura. Thank you for showing that we really do care about our classmates we grew up with. Laura was an exceptional lady but I will let you tell your own story on her "In Memory" page which I will set up in a few minutes. If you care to write a condolence to her husband, Jesse, here is his address.

Jesse Atkins - 1677 Cerra Gordo Road, #9 - Santa Fe, NM 87501

FROM JESSE

Jim.  I have sad news about Laura.  Laura passed away Tuesday afternoon a little past 4 pm.  Her death was very sudden and completely unexpected.  She had finished her last round of chemotherapy about a week ago on Monday 29 March.  That seemed to go well.  Beginning last Tuesday 30 March and finishing on Saturday 3 April, she received (as she had following the previous chemo treatments) a once-a-day injection intended to build white blood cells.  There seemed to be no problem with those injections.  We thought she was in the home stretch in curing the leukemia.  She was fine Easter Sunday morning.  Then early afternoon Sunday, her recovery took a drastic turn for the worse.  She was taken with severe chills.  She began to have difficulties talking and became unable to walk without help.  We went to the emergency room at Christus Saint Vincent hospital in Santa Fe early Monday 4 April.  She was treated in the emergency room for several hours and then moved to the ICU.  The ICU is run by a well-known cancer specialist.  His diagnosis was infection by some sort of garden variety streptococcus or staphylococcus bacteria (not Covid, she had been vaccinated against that).  Apparently these bacteria are found pretty much everywhere, are easy to pick up, and are routinely fought off without difficulty by a healthy immune system.  They are, however, potentially very dangerous in the absence of white blood cells to fight them.  Laura had practically no white blood cells. The doctor threw everything in his medical arsenal against the infection, but to no avail.  All in, from onset of symptoms to her death, a little more than 48 hours.

For much of this two day ordeal, Laura could hear and understand, at least some, but was not able to say much at all.  But, Laura being Laura, she put up a valiant fight.  At the end she was tired, but the doctors made her comfortable.  As nearly as I could tell, she was not in distress.  I was holding her hand when she died.

The world condition being what it is, there will not be a funeral ceremony, but perhaps the next time we meet up, we can reflect on her memory.  Jesse

Margaret W. "Peggy" Ware (Koger)

Nooooooo, not Laura! She was over the hump and we had plans to see each other. Oh, my heart hurts 💔

James A "Jim" White

 Judging from the tears in my eyes about LAURA KNIGHT ATKINS' passing, we should take every opportunity to see our classmate friends as we may never see them again or be able to tell them how much they meant to us. LOUIS BAGWELL met with me again in Galveston this week. Thank you, Louis, for driving down a 2nd time and swapping stories and educating me on legal history. It is always facinating to be around you.

Now for my old friend and partner in crime, TERRY BOONE, shown here when he visited me in the Seattle area (any of you recognized Snoqualimie Falls?), we will be visiting in a tiny window we both have this month. After that, we will be passing through Roswell and visiting with MARIANNE COONS McCULLOUGH about the reunion.

Have I said it enough? Take a trip or call and visit your friends. The grateful feeling several of us have for having a last trip to Las Vegas with CLIFF SANDERS (he had lung cancer at the time), or passing through the Space Coast and seeing CHIP KING (right before his liver cancer was diagnosed) is immeasurable. Many of you know that feeling since you got to see VERNON LAWHORN at the RHS-GHS reunion right before he passed suddenly, shortly after the reunion. His widow stated "Vernon was so glad he came to the reunion," his first one to attend. I will be at the Wines of the San Juan in NW New Mexico the last week of April and first week of May if you would like to stop by (Near Navajo Lake/Dam and 60 miles south of Durango). Blessings and good health to you.

Mardi Gonyea (Nicklin)

Hi Classmates/Friends

I would like to express my sadness and deep condolences as we've lost another precious classmate, Mrs Laura. Peggy, Jim and those who were close to her, I am praying for the loss of this sweet lady. As Jim and I agree, staying in touch over the years with so many, as we are not getting any younger, it's huge. As I was having a conversation with a classmate just this week, we were talking about how there are some classmates we've encountered through the years, that have no desire to be in contact. Most of it is due to some bad memories. If that is the case, I surely do understand, myself included. But, I push myself forward and I say this, those times were a time in not only their life but ours, that things could have been going on in the background that we had no clue about. We may have found out about it years later, and then understood. Myself, I have made the choice to not carry the past with me moving forward. I hope, that if some of you might be experiencing this, I would like to encourage you to think of the new classmate friends you might have made. Many of the classmates have made friends from being on this site and being on Facebook. There is a whole host of friends within the class that would like to build a friendship with you. That surely has been the case with me, and I am loving it. I have to laugh, after Micheale Austin Kelly found me after several years, one of the first questions I asked her was, Didn't you run around with Jane Ann? I couldn't remember her last name so I said, Was it the bad Jane Ann or the good Jane Ann? She and I busted out laughing as she said, it was the bad one!! Of course, by then both feet were fitting in my big mouth. But, I so remembered Jane Ann Harris as she was in love with a guy named Bobby Hanby. I remembered him because he had set my back yard on fire. I remembered his mother had long black hair and as she was running to put the fire out, her hair caught on fire. It was pretty scarey because I was just in first grade then. So, yes, there are some crazy memories as I am more than sure we all have them. But, I chose to remember and I choose to remember the fun ones more than the ones that tried to take me down.

So, as I sit here on this gorgeous Spring afternoon, listening to classic country music, in my Kerrville Camelot, I pray for Mr. Jesse and all those who are feeling the loss of Mrs. Laura. 

I appreciate those who have answered the reunion survey. As for myself, I have no idea at all. I have my foster daughter from California coming in June. She is bringing my foster Great Grandson, whom I will meet for the first time (just turned 17). It will take all the energy I have to finish my Spring cleaning and get ready for their visit. My good friend in Dallas is planning on my coming to her home in July. Traveling has become hard for me, so I don't know how that will pan out. Will just have to wait and see.

So, now I am rambling, so I shall sign off for now.

Luv and Hugs

Mardi Gonyea Nicklin

Judi Adams (Morris)

I just saw the post about Laura and I am just in shock. My heart is so sad I can't hold back the tears. I just talked to Laura a couple of months back and I had to try to send her a card and it came back as I had the wrong address on it so we talked instead. It was so great to get back in touch. Several years ago when she was living in Buenos Aires I happen to be there for a week so we hit the town. I don't think I have ever walked so much in my life. She showed it all to me and we laughed and had so much fun. She even took me to a place that she knew where I could buy some shoes so I could dance the tango. She was a hoot. Then I went out to dinner with her and Jesse were they took me to a famous steakhouse where you could cut the steak with a spoon… And I did. It was so great to be with these wonderful people in a strange land but they made me feel so at home. I saw her a few years back when she was in Denver and we met for happy hour downtown and again set and laughed and laughed. I really love this lady.  I wish there were something we could do to help the pain that you are feeling Jesse,  I guess all we can do right now is let you know how loved she was and how much we will all miss her.  Judi

Margaret W. "Peggy" Ware (Koger)

Dear All,  Jesse said to light a candle for her on Tuesday at 12:30 pm  That is when she will be cremated .  We can all say a prayer in her honor   Just totally gutted  😣

Richard Marcum

Laura's death was very upsetting.  Laura and Jesse hosted me and my wife, Johnene, and Peggy, and her husband, Fred, for dinner the night before my book signing in Santa Fe.  It was a most enjoyable evening.  
 

Now, most recently Laura and I were in discussions regarding her novel, 'A Shallow State' and a screenplay that I have just finished.  But we also discussed her battle with cancer ...and my experience with my wife's battle with cancer.  And right now I can tell you all that Laura told me the current technology and process was way more sophisticated and considerate in Albuquerque than it was for Johnene in 2009 in Panama City, Florida.   I confessed to Laura that after joining Johnene in three sessions of a crowd-like-cafeteria setting I became so angry with doctors and nurses...and by the way, throw in God, that Johnene asked me to not come to her chemo sessions anymore.   Well, I did, but I spent much time in the car.  And I was so very glad to hear when Laura's chemotherapy was complete.  AND then to learn that a staph infection actually caused the death.  So, if you can feel my anger, I apologize.  And my heart goes out to Jesse.  And I must say I admire the fact that he was holding her hand when she died.  What I do know about Jesse, is that he loved Laura  greatly...because Laura told me how good it was that he basically held her hand throughout most of the process.  I can not imagine what it must feel walk-in in his shoes right now.  So what positive thoughts I can offer, must go to Jesse.  I am sure he can tell that she was loved by all of us.  And sadly my friends I have nothing more to say.

James A "Jim" White

Margaret W. "Peggy" Ware (Koger)

Thank you, Jim! 

Barbara Dell Buzbee (Thompson)

Hey. Jim & Kathy. I say no for now unless something changes. I would like to come. However, I understand you need the numbers. Have a great day. Blessings. 

Linda Lee Henry (Crowder)

Jim, I'm sorry that I won't be able to attend the reunion. I am always in Ohio in October. Will be there, for sure,  this year. But I know you all will have a terrific time!! Linda 

Beatriz Valadez (Ferreira)

Hello all!

I will be unable to make it to the reunion! I am now scheduled to be in England! 
enjoy! And hug each other lots!  
ONE WORLD, ONE HUMANITY, ONE FAMILY!  

Karen Sue Harrington (Ream)

Marianne, Bob Ream from Goddard and Karen Harrington Ream from Roswell High are planning to come to the reunion. Either date works for us. Just let me know if I can help!

Donna Birkenbuel

James A "Jim" White

I know you think I was being spoiled this Friday by Judi Adams Morris and Elizabeth Gwartney Lowney but In reality they were trying to play innocent after teasing me. If you did not know they were in our class, would you have any idea either is in their 70's? Yes, our class is full of lovely classmates which is 'why' you should strive to be at the 55-year reunion October 15-16. 

So this picture was taken on Friday on Judi's deck in north Denver, I write this Saturday in Missouri, and on Sunday Kathy and I will be in illinois with our son's lovely family including 5 grandchildren age 11 and under. Yes, no cell phones, no teenage attitude, just love. Life is good!. 

James A "Jim" White

MARIANNE COONS McCULLOUGH is working hard on the 55-Year Reunion. LAURIE SHUEY ANDERSEN and LINDA MAXWELL VANDEWART are working on finding classmates but could use your help. PAM BERRY DAVIS is still acting as our banker and accountant. Here is what we still need:

• Someone computer proficient to prepare name badges (there will not be that many)
• Others to help find classmates
• Be a gopher for Marianne when she needs one

If you see a name of a deceased classmate while looking through the lost souls list or otherwise, please notify me with name and approximate location and year the classmate passed away. JON PELLEGRINI has been the best at this over the years, but we need your help too.

If your name is not on this list below, please complete the two question 55-Year Reunion survey on the left side of the home page. If your information is not correct on the list below, please let me know.

Since most classmates agree that in the past 2-years we have physically aged 10-years, do NOT assume we will have a 60-year reunion where you can catch up with your friends. Try to make this class reunion. You mean a lot to them and us.

Dennis R. Hunter

Hey Jim, I can offer my computer skills as I know a thing or two about programming, systems and of course the basic apps to do things like name tags ... just let me know what I need to accomplish.  If you want to call me ... 303-884-2934 is my number or email me directly at dennis@dhunterinc.com.

Denny

Roger Carl

I don't see my name, but I really thought I had submitted it a couple of months ago.  I am making some plans to visit my sister in Abq and then come down for the reunion.  I don't think my wife will be with me, but miracles do happen.  Looking forward to being with everyone who is there.

Roger