THE Reunion Committee MEETING on APRIL 16 will not be held after all. The cancellation is due to the current pandemic that has resulted in Colorado’s statewide ban on gatherings of more than ten people and allows only to-go orders at restaurants such as the Fargo’s venue where the meeting was to be held.
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THE 55-YEAR REUNION WILL BE HELD next year on Friday and Saturday, August 20 and 21, 2021. Although the reunion committee decided on those two dates, the locations have not been determined until a contract is signed to reserve a specific venue.
Both parts of the reunion (the Friday evening and mid-day on Saturday) will be accessible to attendees with disabilities, in accordance with the responses provided by classmates who took part in the online survey sent to everyone in November-December 2019 and early January 2020. The committee recognizes the importance of accessibility and accommodations for people who need a walker, cane or wheelchair to get around. Although there are currently six (6) classmates for whom accessibility is an issue, that number certainly could increase over the next year with emerging health challenges as we become older by the time of the August 2021 reunion.
Just as our past social events (luncheons, reunions, etc.) always have been open to all WHS classes of the 1960s, our August 2021 reunion also will be open to all WHS classes of the 1960s.
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THE REUNION COMMITTEE is made up of the following classmates: Patti Kueck Daniel; Lydia Romero Fine; Linda Nolin Weber; Maryellen Brady Manuszak; Marcia Hagans Allin; Marie “Mimi” George Torreano; Laureen Ritter Gennin; Ron Petty; Bruce McAlexander; Warren Knight; Roy Manuszak; Donnie Martinez; Paul Snell; Mike Adragna; Daryl Kuiper; Steve Cox; and, Bruce Brian. Other classmates are always welcome at any time to become part of the process to plan the event.
Paul and Donnie offered to be on the committee with the caveat that they will do so from afar (via the class website and email broadcasts) due to uncontrolled population growth causing ongoing traffic congestion nightmares whenever they travel to Colorado Springs from their respective homes located in different parts of Denver.
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FEEDBACK from READERS includes the below-listed entries that were submitted in response to information contained in previous updates.
Thank you for all that you do, Donnie. Though I am not from the Class of ’66, I love reading the updates you send out. I was the Class of ’70. Our 50th reunion is this summer. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long.
— Debby Davis, WHS Class of 1970
widow of Mel Davis, Class of 1966
Thank you, Donnie, for keeping us all informed. I’d like to pass along my condolences to Glenda’s family and friends. Glenda and my relationship goes back to third grade when her mom was our Brownie troop leader. I was with [our classmate] Vickie Hawes Lessa last week in Washington DC, remembering many of our classmates including Glenda. She and I always connected at each reunion and smiled or laughed over some of our shared experiences. Glenda was/is a beautiful soul.
—Barbara Billingsley Massarano, Class of 1966
Donnie, thank you for this announcement about Glenda. In school and always, I thought Glenda was a kind human being.
— Mary Ashley Fuchsman, Class of 1966
So sad to lose another classmate. Glenda was always a kind, happy person to be around. Rest peacefully, dear Glenda.
— Linda Nolin Weber, Class of 1966
Donnie, thank you so much for compiling and sending out the March 2020 update. I cherish every word! Please ask the reunion committee again to keep in mind that I am in a wheelchair, so please make certain I can be included in every event. Thanks, Donnie, now I need to read your update again.
— Doug Allen, Class of 1966
[Reply from Donnie: The committee is committed to accessibility as an integral part of the 55-year reunion in 2021. For more about accessibility, see the reunion article elsewhere in this update.]
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OUR CLASSMATE PAM RAINS SHUMAN recently shared her fond memories of our classmate Glenda Windle Armstrong, whose sudden death last month was announced in an update to the 200 people on our confidential email list. Pam’s tribute sheds special light on the type of person Glenda was, and the tribute provides insight into the longtime friendship between Glenda and Pam. Enclosed below is what Pam wrote.
“I wanted to share a little bit about my friend Glenda (Windle) Armstrong. We were friends for 64 years. That is longer than I knew my parents. I was 26 when my dad died and 63 when my mom died. Glenda was smart and kind and a lot of fun to be around. We were like sisters. Her mom and dad were our Girl Scout leaders. Boy did they have the patience of Job. I spent a lot of time at the Windle house. Glenda and I were more like sisters than just friends. Like sisters, a couple of times we got crossways with each other but that was short lived. After high school, we worked at the USO [United Service Organization] club together and double dated a lot. I was in her wedding when she married Bob. I was heartbroken when they moved to Indianapolis. Judy Whitmore Precise [our classmate] and I flew up to see Glenda one summer. None of us were drinkers, but Glenda had learned to make wine coolers from Mogen David Wine and Seven-up. (Wow, we were on a roll.) She was so crushed when she and Bob were told they couldn’t have a baby, but they got busy and applied for adoption. She was ecstatic when they found out that they were to be the parents of a baby boy. They named him Kenny. Glenda and I kept in touch through the years and whenever I traveled east, I would make a point of going through Indianapolis to see Glenda and Bob. Bob died [in 2015] shortly after my husband. I traveled up to Glenda’s after Christmas that year to celebrate Glenda’s birthday, which was on New Year’s Day. We had a really nice time. It didn’t matter how long it had been since we had seen each other, we always picked up like it had been yesterday. Last November [2019], her sister and I traveled to Indianapolis to be part of Glenda’s retirement celebration. It was obvious that everyone we met loved and respected her. We had made some great plans for this year. She will be missed by all who knew her until we meet again in eternity.”
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OUR CLASSMATE MEL DAVIS is among several hundred veterans who will be honored at a ceremony in Washington D.C. The event was scheduled for June 20, 2020, but it was recently postponed until late September 2020. Although there were 58,000 military members whose names are on the Vietnam Veterans Wall, there is another plaque next to the wall that honors the thousands more people who served in Vietnam and came home to fight health battles caused by Agent Orange or PTSD.
“Mel died as a result of two brain tumors that were caused by Agent Orange,” said his widow Debby (WHS Class of 1970) in a recent letter via email. “He truly deserves this recognition that he died for his country.”
Sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the ceremony will be streamed live on Facebook. Debby Davis, her daughter and granddaughter plan to attend the event in person in order to receive the honor for their beloved Mel. After the ceremony, there will be a “Memorial” page dedicated to Mel. The page will be available for everyone to view and add memories of Mel. To read about the ceremony and honor, go to:
A photo of Mel Davis can be found in the “D” section of the alphabetical list of senior photos that were emailed to everyone in July 2017. Mel passed away in January 2009.
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A VIDEO about GLENDA WINDLE ARMSTRONG is now available for our readers to view. As noted in last month’s update about Glenda’s sudden death on March 20, 2020, while visiting at the Windle family home in Security, her final resting place would be in Indiana where she resided and worked for 51 years. According to Glenda’s sister Jeanell, Glenda was recently interred at a cemetery in Indiana. Due to the current pandemic that has resulted in statewide bans on gatherings of more than ten people, a celebration of Glenda’s life will be held at a later date in Security and Indiana. Until then, people can sign the online guest book and watch the video that displays a collage of photos from her infant years up through her teen and adult years. Having worked 51 years at her library job in Indiana, Glenda worked a much longer time period than the rest of our classmates and she finally retired in November 2019. To access the 5-minute video and guest book, click the following link:
https://flannerbuchanan.com/obit/glenda-kathryn-armstrong/
Because of Glenda’s longtime love of books and libraries, the greatest tribute that people can pay to Glenda is to make a donation in her name to any library.
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This update was prepared by me.
Respectfully submitted,
Donnie Martinez (April 9, 2020)
Known at WHS by stepfather’s surname Collier
Martinez is my birth certificate and legal surname
a/k/a Butch (pronounced Booch), family nickname since childhood
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