YET ANOTHER CLASSMATE GONE WAY TOO SOON, another VETERAN, another VICTIM OF VIET NAM

 Well, KHS65 friends this is the week I'm usually looking around the internet for another version of a beautiful yellow rose to post on the 10th. Instead I am posting more about deaths lately than graduation fun or memories. My memories of June 10, 1965 are very vivid because of my father's coming here from Florida to be with me, the following drive the next morning back to Florida with him and the special night at the Jefferson Arms, swimming at Cool Dell (by which I drive quite often lately) and breakfast at Teutenbergs, which is no longer. But now so many of us have holes in our memories because of the missing friends, and of course our aging brains which, if you are like me, are getting crowded and pushing some of those wonderful memories of our youth out of our heads! Today I am sad to say that our classmate Jim Persons, husband of Judy Lillard Persons, passed away February 27, just a bit before his 75th birthday. Jim was part of the Robinson School crowd, living not far from Thebes, our 'corner store', bike meeting place and candy counter center of our young universe. The store was just down the block from "Mouse" House's Mobil Station at which

most of our parents from Adams Ave to Robinson School down Couch Ave traded. Jim's nephew is classmate Ron Persons who let me know about Jim. As I recall Jim was actually Ron's uncle, I believe their fathers were brothers, Jim I think a younger son of the eldest brother and Ron the son of the youngest. Anyway, they lived close to one another and went to Robinson. Judy kindly told me "...Jim was a great husband, father and grandfather." She also told me he suffered from a rare disease, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy which means he was paralized in the lower extremities and in pain. Even though he is no longer suffering the world will no longer know his kindness and goodness. His ashes will be interred in one of the National Veteran's Cemeteries, perhaps in Lake Worth, FL, near where they lived and the family still does, or here in JB.

Meanwhile I hadn't heard from Ron in awhile and I'm both sad and happy to report on him. He came down, in 2017, with Non-Hodgkins Lymphona from Agent Orange contracted during his Naval career in Nam. It's been dormant for nearly 47 years but its effects are showing now. Jim says his immune system is low but he feels ok, just tired in the afternoons. Luckily the chemo he underwent didn't do any damage, and he figures his good genes will keep him going to about 95 - a great optimist he. Living the good single life in Alabama 8 miles from the Gulf...as long as hurricanes don't get him... Jim and Ron were Navy Veterans and Ron promises some stories for my veterans posts. I'm sorry for the blurry photo but it's in a frame. Just recently I was looking at this and noted that we'd only lost 2, Diane Gorbel, far left top, and sweet Sharon Lowe. Jim is the 2nd one in from the right on top and just above my head is Ron. We've taken many "Robinson" pix over the years; I have to wonder what the next one will be like. Stay well and happy as you can everyone! As I used to say to my kids when they were little, "Life is short...and then you have to brush your teeth."

(Jim is the second from the right top row, Ron just above my head.  Diane G is far left back row in black.)