Weber High School Class of '62 50th Reunion

Here at last!

The pics from Roger's 50th got posted on the WHS website, so the story can be told!

My husband has looked forward to this ever since the Reunion Committee (this is the first time he hasn't been a part of this, since we moved to St. George) first set up a website and notified everyone about a year ago. 

Weber's Class of '62 had almost 400 students. 53 have died and a little over 200 classmates attended the Big Friday Night on August 10. It was held at Earl's Lodge at the Snow Basin Resort, above Ogden, that was built for the 
2002 Winter Olympics.

We drove up the day before and stayed in Rick and Jodie's beautiful Stratford Hotel. 
Jodie took pics of us in their front yard as we were leaving.

You probably won't believe me, but our color coordination was strictly coincidental!

The photographer got a pic of us entering the beautiful facility.

The Reunion Committee worked so hard, making great displays of the Class of 62's past high school days.

Roger and I have gone with some of Rogers classmates to Lake Powell on Jerry Moyes's houseboats through the years, so we've been in touch with about 25 of them and gotten to know their spouses.
 We've missed the last three years, so it was fun catching up with them. 
Below is John D'Agnillo, Linda Stettler, Elaine D'Agnillo and Fred Stettler. 

Chatting with Nancy Sivulich and Judy Barrett

We lived in Roy before we moved to Ogden and across the street lived the Karrases. Next to me is Rosalie Karras, Roger's classmate, and Dad's friend, Steve Jones, and his wife, Alice.

We enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner and sat at the table with Brigitte and Jess Hunsaker and I sat by Joan Walsh.

I totally scored, because Joan was probably my most interesting dinner companion ever!

 Now retired, she worked for the CIA, basing out of Frankfurt, Germany, which is an airport gateway to the world.  Each time she was sent on assignment out of Frankfurt, she assumed a new name and did intelligence work at various locations in the world.

Her assignment in 1979 was working out of the US Embassy in Tehran, and she was taken hostage by Ayatollah Khomeini militants with 70 others inside the Embassy. She was one of 17 women released after 33 days. The Hostage Crisis lasted until 1981, when the final 52 were released.

I was fascinated with every detail she told me and continued to pick her brain throughout dinner. 

She shared one incident that happened that I consider a small act of heroism. They were tied to a chair and blind-folded most of the days, then at night, they were allowed to sleep beside their chairs, with guards holding guns on them at all times.  

They were separated from each other and could not communicate, but Joan knew that a female friend, also a hostage, wore hard contacts, was virtually blind without them and was suffering without her saline solution. Joan knew where it was in her desk, so, several days into this, when the guard took her to the bathroom, she sneaked it out of the desk and put it up her long, blousy sleeve.

When she was returning from the bathroom, she took a chance and passed by her friend and gave her the solution.  She got severely punished for this and put in solitary confinement.

 Despite being constantly interrogated, the militants never discovered that she worked for the CIA, thinking she was a secretary at the Embassy. The end of the story for her would probably have been very different.

The senior class officers conducted a program about fun memories

 and special tributes to those who have passed away.

There was also a clever poem read by its author and a classmate sang and played on his guitar.

Below are Lyle Johnson, Senior Class Vice-President, Suzanne Wood Ferre, Senior Class Secretary (she was a counselor at OHS when some of my kids attended there), Fred Stettler, Student Body President and Tom Grimm, Senior Class President.

We just have pics of what the roaming photographer took, but Roger was able to chat with many classmates whom he had not seen since he graduated.  It was such a fun evening, and if the spouse can say that, then I think that speaks very well for the overall friendliness and kindness of the WHS Class of '62!

Next day, there was a picnic held at John Rhees's lovely home by Huntsville.

Josh took our pics as we were leaving Rick and Jodie's.

(Again, I promise I did not purposefully plan the color coordination!)

John's lovely home

We got there a little early and I helped decorate the tables.

This is John Rhees, Roger's good friend throughout school days.

Joan Walsh came and sat at our table, so we enjoyed talking to her again - she had flown here from North Carolina just for the reunion.  She has no family in Utah anymore.

Roger was tickled that "Dutch" Belnap (seated right), old coach at WHS and coach of the USU Aggies, came to the reunion as a special guest. Craig Peterson, classmate and sculptor, is on the left.

Janey and Wayne Stevenson, Roger, Suzanne Wood Ferre and Lois Ann Ward

Jerry Moyes is standing and talking to Liz and Val Taylor.

Richard Crawford entertained us with a funny song about how we are all now so forgetful.

Jimmy Smout has told us many, many jokes on the houseboat through the years, 
and he has his comic timing down!

A small gathering of some of us at the picnic

What a great reunion!  

Hope there is a 6oth!