Everyone’s post is so interesting. What an amazing, talented class of 1965.
After high school I worked for the Postal Service for 44 years (only suppose to be for the summer while i went to school). I had an office in San Bruno, Washington DC and Santa Ana while working as the Director of Marketing.
Florinda Islas Bailey, husband
I have two grown children and 2 grandchildren. My husband and I just celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary. We raised our family in Huntington Beach and I’m fortunate to have my children close by.
Since I’ve been retired I’ve spent time traveling throughout the world. Love it! Just returned from Machu Picchu and Galapagos. Never was one for physical activity in High School but now enjoy many outdoor sports/activities.
Dennis Velarde, Gale Grall, Bobby Bunch, Ronnie Cardiel & Florinda Islas
I have kept in touch with Gale Grall Moore and Rosalynda Ortiz Harrison, Ronnie Cardiel and until he passed away Bobby Bunch. One of my dear friends in HS who I would like to see is Pam Crozier.
While I don’t like to share my personal life on social media I am on Facebook and have been fortunate to connect with several of our classmates. I’m Blessed to have had such a wonderful healthy life and look forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks!
Start the conversation … I like that theme! I’ll start with a little about my journey from 1965 Orange County (I now recognize what a sheltered, halcyon time it was to grow up) to 2015 Sacramento, and conclude with what I’m about today.
Lou Baron, x_Gail Lehman, Mike McCord
Graduated with a BS in biochem and a BA in psych from Cal State Fullerton in 1975 … on and off it took me seven schools and 10 years. During that period my father died and I, as the eldest, suddenly became responsible for handling his business interests.
After college I got my start in the corporate world working at Beckman Instruments in a science based job that I loved; during that time I shared an apartment with Bob Fainbarg in nearby Park Newport on the Back Bay – if I remember our theme back then was work hard and play hard.
Eventually, work took me to Sacramento, where I later married and settled down to raise two girls and a boy. My oldest, Michelle, is a professor at Hobart and William Smith in New York; the next, Pamela graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and is an up-and-coming illustrator living in Oakland (pamelabaron.com); and my youngest, Matt, is still at Sac State studying nutrition. This past May my granddaughter, Ellie, was born in New York and suddenly I’m holding babies again … they are great.
Lou Baron, Family
After 17 years of marriage I divorced. Committed to mitigating the effect on the children, I focused on their best interests and today my ex and I are good friends and occasionally even go on vacation with the children and their companions. For the past eight years I’ve been dating a woman I met online. She is an attorney with a penchant for travel, adventure, knitting, and me.
I still live in Sacramento; my home is across the street from the American River and almost daily I enjoy a run or a bike ride on the beautiful, tree lined river bike trail.
My business life had been somewhat diverse; after Beckman I worked in loan underwriting, real estate appraisal, retail sales (I owned a One Hour MotoPhoto store), and stock and futures trading (unfortunately a disaster). The last 20 years, though, I’ve been a full time real estate investor (primarily in small commercial and multi-family properties) in partnership with my younger brother, Mike.
Over the years I’ve had the good fortune to travel to some interesting places, for instance the Pyramids, Machu Picchu, Paris, Tel Aviv, and Istanbul. I continue to travel and I’m planning a trip to Costa Rica later this year and to Cuba in early 2016.
Aside from children, the most gratifying investment I have ever made, in terms of time and effort, has been learning to swing dance. The Lindy Hop community is worldwide and I can usually find a place to dance no matter where I travel. I’ve danced in Chicago, New York, San Diego, and Orange County (at the Atomic Ballroom). If you’re a follow and like swing dancing, find me; I’d love to dance with you at the reunion!
My other passions today revolve around real estate and finance, exercise, nutrition, longevity research, and giving back to society (wonderful to see various classmates who have done so in a significant way, kudos to you).
I remained friends with Craig Juratsch, Bob Fainbarg, and Mike McCord and we see each other periodically. I’ve also visited with Don Baker, who I had for chemistry. I couldn’t resist including the following “then” photo; you should recognize three of us from our class.
But there were so many more classmates who provided tons of entertainment, encouragement, and competition in the classroom, at lunch time, in sports teams, and outside of school; and I really look forward to seeing many of them again.
If the varied and interesting “Here’s Wassup!!” bios are any indication, it should be an interesting, memorable, and fun reunion. 50 years! Wow! See you soon!
Geesh….50 years…I can hardly remember that far back!!
I taught school for 34 years and now have my dream job working as a vet tech for my vet of 30 years. Our son was born in 1980 and married a wonderful Ohio girl just three years ago. I’m definitely anxious to be a grandmother.
In ’99, I defeated breast cancer. I’m pleased to see every birthday.
For 43 years, I have raised, bred, shown, hunted and judged champion salukis (hounds).
I’ve judged hounds throughout the USA and Europe (England, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Australia) in the past 25 years. My pinnacle assignment was in ’03 judging 257 salukis in Lexington, Kentucky. I’m loving training my Aussie in agility.
Sharon Bartosh Kinney 2003
I married in 1970 and still retain the original model. Jim is an architect and built our dream home in east Orange.
Sharon Bartosh Kinney Family
My USMC Dad lived until 91 and we are blessed to still have both Moms kicking @ 92 and 96. I play duplicate bridge to keep my mind active and working. We are inaugural season ticket holders for the Anaheim DUCKS (hockey) and love to follow the boys throughout the playoffs.
Traveling is my biggest passion (must be ingrained from my Dad) and East Africa and Israel were our finest trips. I doubt that I will ever stop teaching and presently teach 4 year olds in Sunday school for my LDS church. I am blessed every day of my life!!
Life’s been good. After graduation I attended Santa Ana College for a 1½ years. At that time, still not knowing what I wanted to do in life, I enlisted in the Army.
John Terry (center) Vietnam
After returning from Vietnam, life took me on what became a 40+ year career in the insurance industry.
That career started with the Hartford Insurance Group and my moving to Dallas, TX in an accelerated operational management position. Next, a transfer to their office in San Francisco and then to the home office in Hartford, CT. Being a Southern California boy and interested in American History, I was amazed by the history that was there. My office was across the street from Mark Twain’s home, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s home was just a couple of blocks away and numerous other well-known Colonial landmarks were but a short distance from where I lived and worked.
Looking to return to Southern California, I accepted a position with a regional office of an international insurance brokerage firm. Part of my responsibilities included management of offices in Hawaii. Just imagine, in your 30’s, single, a very generous expense account and having to commute to Hawaii.
I married Jean, a single mother with a daughter, Lori; instant family. We divorced after 4-years. Since the divorce, daughter Lori has elected to maintain a relationship and calls my current wife and me her “bonus” parents. Lori has two children, Ava and Colin, who call us grandpa and grandma.
Leaving the management side of insurance, I got my brokers license and started the last phase of my career on the commercial-retail side of the industry.
In 1988 I married Karen. Although it took some time, she finally asked me. We had previously worked together at an insurance agency in Glendale, CA. As she likes to say – having our incomes from the same industry “made for boring pillow talk and strong computer passwords”.
We spent approximately 25-years living in Redlands, CA where we were both active within the community. I was a founding board member and officer of the Redlands Conservancy and was on the board of the Family Service Association of Redlands. Then on July 4, 2012, to my surprise, I decided to retire; went cold turkey without any plans other than to see what life would bring next. What it brought was our returning to Orange County and purchasing a home in San Clemente.
During our marriage we have had numerous opportunities to travel starting with a honeymoon in Greece and the Geek Isles, we watched Boris Yeltsin demonstrate in the old USSR, we have been to England, Italy, Germany, Austria and other European Countries plus have taken photography excursions to the Galapagos and Sea of Cortez with National Geographic, not to mention extensive travel throughout the US.
As hobbyists, we have trained protection dogs (German Sheppard’s and Belgian Malinois’s). I have traced my family’s genealogy to the early 1500’s in England and in the colonies; I found some great stories (and “black sheep”) in the old family line. I have taken up photography and now have a camera wherever we go.
Currently, we are both enjoying retirement with family and friends. We are planning on additional travel, sampling the many restaurants found in Orange County and I continue to take photos. Life’s is indeed good!
