LATEST STATUS ON BILL POTTGEN

I am so pleased to report that our beloved classmate Bill Pottgen is recovering amidst the love and care of his family.  Please read daughter Jen's recent Facebook post and be glad Bill has survived and is improving.  Jen has been an angel to communicate with us on FB throughout Bill's ordeal, what a great daughter!

"This Christmas I am more grateful than ever for my dad. It's been a very difficult 4 months since my dad was rushed to the hospital and then suffered a massive brain hemorrhage and pulmonary embolisms. His life, our lives and especially my mom's was flipped upside down. It's been scary and stressful and still full of uncertainty as he works on recovery every day. I'm beyond thankful that he has overcome the odds. That he is here with us and doing better each day. I'm grateful for my mom who takes care of his every need 24/7. And I'm thankful for all of our family and friends who have gone above and beyond with love, encouragement, support and prayers. Thank you for continuing to reach out and pray. Thanks for acknowledging the struggle we've had to endure and pouring out your love and support. Without it - I don't know where we would be. And thanks, Dad, for your fight, your strength and your undying positive attitude. You are my guide and inspiration and I love you so much! Best Christmas gift ever is your life. We are blessed and lucky. ❤🙏🏻"

Gary Stobbe passes away - another KHS65 classmate gone too soon.

I am very sad to say our classmate Gary Stobbe has passed away, please see the obituary from the St. Louis Post Dispatch below.  Gary was a career-long fire-fighter in the Manchester and West County EMS organization.  While he was not involved in our class activities after graduation, he was always right here in our area.  In 1985 I was divorced and bought a home in Manchester, which turned out to be right behind that of Gary and his family.  The previous owner of my home, an elderly widower, had died of a heart attack while cutting the back yard grass.  It was Gary's dog who was barking over his body to attract Gary's attention.  At some point I had the opportunity to meet the "person" who lived behind me and it surprised us both.  He was a devoted family man and good neighbor, a couple of times helping me with odd things I couldn't do myself, or lending me a tool, etc.  One of his daughters became a pharmacist, working at a nearby pharmacy where I saw her often.  After Gary and family moved to a larger home, we lost touch, but he has been on our mailing list for all these years, although I never had an email address for him. His large and loving family will miss him so much I am sure and I'm also sure he will rest in peace and love.

"Gary Thomas Stobbe (1947 - 2015)

Stobbe, Gary Thomas passed away, Tuesday, December 22, 2015. Beloved husband of Rev. Brenda J. Stobbe; dearest father of Susan (Paul) Reed, Nathan DeGraaf, Jason DeGraaf, Rev. Tiffany Winter (Andrew) Hamilton, Frank (Terri) Remsik and the late Tom (survived by Susan) Stobbe; dear grandfather of Katy and Austin Reed, John Parker Stobbe, Jami Maia, D.J. DeCosta and Iva Viola Hamilton; loving son of Mary A. and the late John O. Stobbe; our dear brother, brother-in-law, uncle, great-uncle, cousin and friend. Services: Memorial Service at Living Word United Methodist Church, 17315 Manchester Rd., Wildwood, MO 63038, Monday, December 28, 2015 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The BackStoppers, Inc. Memorial visitation at the church, Monday 9 a.m. until time of memorial service. A service of the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory. Friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com."

BRUCE ANTLE WEIGHS IN ON 50 YEARS OF LIFE

Reading my emails just now I found a classmates.com message that I had a new private message waiting, however, when I clicked there was only a part of a sentence, undated, which looked like a message from Bruce.  I have corresponded with him only a couple times, earlier this summer when we were talking up the reunion.  I clicked around, found 3 pix he posted, and one of him, but then also this text which I post here, hoping it is okay....Classmates.com is pretty public and I see nothing Bruce would want to hide, so I hope you enjoy reading about this classmate who's led an interesting life:

"Story

The Call staff, Mrs Conley, building a paper mache mountain for homecoming in Gary VonDerheide's garage, drag racing Nelson Mann on Rt.66 (Nelson's Buick beat my Ford), very cold Turkey Day games, sailing on Alton Lake ... hard to believe it has been fifty years since graduating from high school and hard to believe we are all approaching seventy years of age.

Darlene Petri (class of 1966) and I married in 1970 after graduating from Washington University and Sears moving me to Madison, WI. We have a daughter and two sons and nine grand children. We lived in Wisconsin the first 20 years, then gravitated back to Missouri and later Florida to care for elderly parents. We owned a small family resort in Northern Wisconsin, worked retail and currently manage a small real estate brokerage firm started by our youngest son. Our first house was a condemned cottage on Lake Mendota in Madison, which started a pattern of buying and fixing up houses. Darlene has counted 32 residences we have lived. We have also been active in the church and after receiving a M.Div. from Eden Seminary in Webster Groves served churches as a pastor in the United Methodist Church both in Missouri and Florida.

We spend most of the year in Englewood, FL located in southwest Florida on the gulf coast south of Sarasota and a small lake cottage near Owensville, MO which has always been our get away."

Thanks for sharing, Bruce and Darlene - maybe we'll see you at our next reunion!

PITMAN SCHOOL PENNANT SIGNATURES FUN TO SEE

At our recent reunion classmate Tom Justison

brought his Pitman pennant for me to see.  We decided he'd take it home and send me digital images so I can post them, and here they are!  The signatures are great ~ many you will recognize, some must have moved as they are not folks who graduated with us and I think I saw a name or two who are now deceased.  ENJOY and thank you again Tom for sharing...it's so fun to have access to memorabilia from our collective past!  And YES, I am working on editing the pix from the reunion, it's tedious and I've been super busy, and on two trips, etc. since the reunion.  They WILL be posted!  Merry Christmas season to all!

Another Veteran and KHS65 father enters into rest - Barry Romine's father

Also from the Webster Kirkwood Times comes the news of the passing of classmate Barry Romine's father.  Again, we send our sincere condolences to Barry and family in this sad time.

Romine, Ralph E., a longtime resident of Kirkwood, Mo., was born April 4, 1919, in Rolla, Mo., to Walter and Florence (nee Goodacre) Romine, and entered into rest Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, at his residence in Fenton, Mo., at the age of 96 years, 7 months and 7 days.

He was preceded in death by his parents and five siblings, George, Dorothea, Helen, Norma and Jack.

He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Bernice A. (nee Schaefer) Romine; three children, Barry R. (Mary Catherine) Romine, Barbara J. (Tom Patterson) Romine and Betty J. (James) Williams; four grandchildren, Bradley Ralph (Jana) Romine, Brett Ryan Romine, Melissa J. (Phillip) Lloyd and Lindsey J. (Justin) Graves; seven great-grandchildren, Eliana, Rafe, Lilly, Amy, McKenzie, Harper and Sadie; three siblings, Robert, Patricia and William, as well as many other cousins and dear friends.

Ralph was a decorated World War II veteran and dedicated family man. He was a well-known home builder in the St. Louis area. He is fondly remembered and will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Visitation was held Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, from 9 a.m. until the service time at 10 a.m., at Chapel Hill Mortuary, 10301 Big Bend Road, Kirkwood. Interment at St. James Cemetery in St. James, Mo.

Memorials may be made to Concordia Lutheran Church, 505 S. Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood, 63122. Please visit the online guestbook at www.stlfuneral.com.

COMMUNITY LEADER, VETERAN AND ROLE MODEL JACK HOLLEY PASSES AWAY

 One of our most devout KHS65 classmates, Tom Holley, and his family are mourning the loss of Tom's dad.  Please read the obituary and think of Tom and their wonderful family at this time.  I am sure all join me in sending our sincerest condolences.  I know he is resting in peace and love.

Age: 91

Holley, John W. (Jack), formerly of Kirkwood, died surrounded by family on Nov. 28 after a long illness in Naples, Fla. He was 91 years old.

Mr. Holley was born on Nov. 15, 1924, in Galena, Kan., to Frank and Lucy (Peart) Holley, who, along with a sister, Mary Jean Holley, preceded him in death.

Jack picked up a trumpet in elementary school and didn’t stop playing until well into his 80s. Throughout his life he played in a number of amateur bands, playing the trumpet in the Gateway City Big Band, and the tuba in the Miami Concert Band and Naples Concert Band. He also played with the British Brass Band in Naples.

After graduating from Carthage High School in Carthage, Mo., Jack enlisted in the army, where he served in the First Army/3rd Armored Division in western Europe. He was subsequently awarded two Bronze Stars for individual acts of bravery.

While on leave in St. Louis,  he met Barbara Pidgeon, who became his wife in 1946. He worked for his father-in-law, Tom “Grandpa” Pidgeon, first in the pottery business and then as vice president and eventually owner of the Grandpa’s Discount Stores in the St. Louis area. Mr. Holley oversaw the chain’s expansion from the flagship store to six in the St. Louis area when he retired in the mid-80s. In 1972 he founded Omni Sports, a chain of sporting goods stores in the St. Louis area, and was the key financial backer behind Forsythe Computers, one of the first personal computer dealers in the St. Louis area.

After the death of his first wife, he met Barbara Skimming of St. Louis; they were married in 1986. Among the many interests they shared was a love of automobile travel, including a memorable road rally in 1990 that took them from London to Beijing, retracing for the first time in over 80 years one of the epic journeys of the early days of international motor travel.

Jack stayed active following his retirement, volunteering time and energy to Meals On Wheels, SCORE, Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden and the pharmacy of Naples Community Hospital. Even before he retired he was heavily involved in the early days of Harris House Treatment and Recovery Center.

He was a man of varied interests and hobbies, from cattle raising to international politics, and inculcated in his sons a love of learning and a strong work ethic. Despite his worldly success, Jack “never got above his raisin,” as he would say, treating all people he encountered with humble respect.

Mr. Holley is survived by his devoted  wife Barbara, his sons Tom (Debbie) Holley, David (Lisa) Holley, Scott (Joan) Holley and Mike (Julie) Holley, all of St. Louis. In addition, Jack is survived by five stepchildren: Mac, Joe and Jeff Skimming, Weezie Canfield and Kris Held; 10  grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

His sons wish to express their deepest admiration and gratitude toward his wife Barbara, whose gracious and loving care during Jack’s final years was inspirational and boundless.

A private memorial service will be held at a later date; contributions in his memory can be made to the Salvation Army or Harris House Treatment and Recovery Center.