UPDATE MARCH 2012
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OUR CLASSMATE PAM RAINS SHUMAN recently lost her mother Eva, who passed away at the age of 90 and was laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs. The loss of a loved one is hard at any time of the year, but the loss is especially difficult at this time of the year with Mother’s Day rapidly approaching.
According to the Gazette newspaper obituary, Pam’s mother was born in Phillipsburg, Kansas, and was the daughter of Harry Anderson and his wife Lida Bishop Anderson. She graduated from Colorado Springs High School in 1939 and volunteered with the United Service Organization during World War Two. She married Earl Rains in 1946 in Raton, New Mexico. Mrs. Rains had a long and distinguished career with Civil Service for the USAF ADC and NORAD, retiring after 26 years. She was a faithful Life member and Past President of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary Post 4051 in Colorado Springs. She was preceded in death by her husband. In addition to being survived by her daughter Pam, Mrs. Rains is survived by her son Earl Rains (WHS Class of 1969), who still resides in Security with his wife. Several grandchildren also survive Mrs. Rains.
Please join me in extending condolences to Pam over the loss of her dear mother. As periodically noted in my updates to our classmates over the past three years, it is important to keep in perspective that we are at a point in our lives when death will be a frequent visitor. The recent death of Pam’s mother needs to be viewed in that context. If any of you would like to extend condolences to Pam, one option is to do so via email in care of this WHSclass1966 email box. To respect the privacy of Pam, her contact information will not be stated in this update nor will it be posted on our website that is accessible to anyone in the public.
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OUR CLASSMATE KEN LOVELESS continues to recuperate from the major heart surgery he had four months ago in November 2011. Instead of me providing an update on his status, let us hear from Ken in his own words how he is doing. Listed below is what he recently wrote.
Hello, Donnie. I appreciate your "eagle eyes" in catching the "oops." I've had a few setbacks with my surgery, so I'm working with my doctors and just cooling my jets. I'm working on a family project, so that's been good mental therapy, and once my doctor's give the "ok" I'll be hitting the road to catch up on my clients’ needs and mine. This will probably be my last trip for this purpose, as it's getting harder for me to move at the pace I could five to ten years ago. I hope to have my family project finished by the end of the year, so I'll be very busy with limited time for the Class Committee. Hopefully, business will be minimal for the committee until the time gets closer to planning for the 50th reunion. Thanks again, Donnie, and I hope you're doing as well as can be expected with your health issues. Take care.
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THE MEMORIAL SERVICE for OUR CLASSMATE MARTY DOSTAL will be held on Saturday, May 12, starting at 11:00 a.m., at Freedom Park located at 450 Miller Rand Road in the small town of Edwards (about 95 miles west of Denver on Interstate 70). People from every period in Marty's life will be going to say goodbye. There will be additional information going out in the near future, such as if any of the local hotels will be providing accommodations at a discounted rate. Please keep checking our class website for that supplemental information.
In celebration of the life and times of Marty, Class Committee member Gillie Walker urges people to listen to two songs via the links listed below.
http://youtu.be/qr3dWscslo8 -- Lynyrd Skynyrd "Free Bird"
http://youtu.be/1H2yHhcfptQ -- Mamas and Papas "Dedicated To The One I Love"
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IF YOU MISSED OUR CLASSMATE VICKIE HAWES LESSA on last month’s Nate Berkus Show on nationwide TV, don’t say “Doggone it” too many times. Thanks to Greg Bruce (Wisley), Class of 1965, now you can watch Vickie on a Re-Mastered video that Greg made and posted on the website created by Greg for all WHS classes of the 1960s. The three-minute video not only captures Vickie on the TV show, but it also captures Greg’s talents and skills with media production. To view the video of Vickie on the TV show, click the link that is about halfway down on the home page of the website at: www.whs2011reunion.com
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FEEDBACK FROM READERS includes the below-listed entries that were submitted in response to information contained in previous updates.
I can remember Marty Dostal in school. I always thought he was very handsome and fun to talk to. I also had a little crush on him. I was sorry to hear of his passing. I think we all will have good memories of him.
-- Barbara Smith Patterson, Class of 1966
I still can't believe it was Marty! He looked so healthy and happy at the reunion in July 2011, even more so when he caught Gillie's eye. He will be missed by all.
-- Danielle Andres, Class of 1966
Thanks for your update on classmates, friends from Widefield/Security. Thanks also for your summary of the Oscars. You help me keep track. I would love to borrow these (movie) titles from my library.
-- Terry Ready, Class of 1964
Donnie, I don't know if I ever expressed how very special it was to me that you traveled down to Colorado Springs to have lunch with me when I was in town (November 2008). I know you don't go out that much, and it really touched my heart that you were there. You still are my "best friend." Thank you so much. I know you struggle every day and yet you remain the same sweet person with such a great sense of humor. You are an inspiration to us all.
-- Vickie Hawes Lessa, Class of 1966
Hi, Donnie. First of all, I really appreciate and enjoy all that you've written in your column. Second, it was a shock to learn of Marty's passing. Such a loss and I did inform my brother Marc of the news as Marty was a good friend to my brother. I remember Marty in high school and along with all the other young girls back then, I thought he was a real cutie and naturally had a crush on him. I just wanted to comment on the picture of Marty at the reunion. The picture [caption] where you mentioned Meg hugging Marty's sister, Kay. That was Kathy Nance Wilson (Class of '67) hugging Meg. Kathy is married to John Wilson (Class of '67), brother to Twila Wilson. I just wanted to correct you on that. I would love to hear from you when you have a chance to respond. I so much enjoyed seeing you last summer!
-- Terry Anteola Brown, Class of 1967
[Note from Donnie: In response to Terry’s note about me mistakenly naming Marty’s sister Kay in the photo, the photo caption has been corrected to note that it was Kathy Nance Wilson hugging Meg. I greatly appreciate Terry pointing out the case of mistaken identity. The photo caption was posted by me seven months ago, but nobody caught the error until Terry saw it last month. It’s time for me to get new glasses.]
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A FOLLOW-UP on HERSHEL DUANE CUDE was recently provided in an email note to me from Dr. John Thiel, a Vietnam veteran and U.S. Army retiree who saw on our class website the blurb about Cude in my December 2011 update. In that update, I noted that our classmate Marie George Torreano (known by her longtime family nickname Mimi) wanted to know if any of our classmates knew Cude (same age as our classmates) as he was listed on a military website as being from Widefield and was a Vietnam veteran. In his email note to me, Dr. Thiel wrote about Cude: “He was born in August 1948 so he would be the right age to be a 1966 graduate. He was Catholic so he may have attended a parochial school if there’s one in the area. He was a good man.” In my reply to Dr. Thiel, I pointed out that the only Catholic high school in that era was St. Mary’s Catholic High School, which was in Colorado Springs about 15 miles away from Widefield. I pointed out that 15 miles would have been a long commute to go to school each day, but it was certainly a possibility if his family members were staunch Catholics. Given that Widefield was listed as Hershel Cude's "home town" on the military form, another possibility is that he moved to Widefield sometime after 1966 when he graduated from a Catholic high school. Cude’s first tour of duty in Vietnam was 1968-69 and his second tour in Vietnam started in April 1971 and ended in September 1971, at which time he died in Vietnam at the age of 23. Dr. Thiel informed me that Cude served in the elite Rangers military unit, which was the same Rangers Company to which our classmate Marty Dostal assigned while in Vietnam. Dr. Thiel pointed out that Cude and Dostal would not have been in the Rangers at the same time because they served three years apart.
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TO VISIT OUR CLASS WEBSITE that was assembled and is maintained by our Class Committee member and Webmaster, Paul Snell, please go to:
The software that Paul used to build the website allows people to access the website through a regular computer as well as a smartphone or digital tablet. At the bottom of each page of the website is a link to a Facebook page that can be used by classmates who have Facebook and want to communicate and receive information through Facebook. Please be sure to bookmark the new website address on your computer so that you will have it handy whenever you want to visit.
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OUR CLASS COMMITTEE consists of several classmates who volunteer their time, at one point or another, regarding issues pertinent to our class. Our Class Committee members are: Gillie Walker; Bruce McAlexander; Marcia Hagans Allin; Meg Hulsey Mailo; Ron Petty; Donnie Collier Martinez; Paul Snell; Mike Adragna; Bruce Brian; Linda Nolin Weber; Ken Loveless; Roy Manuszak; Mary Ellen Brada Manuszak; Jerry Moyers; Barbara Billingsley Massarano; Warren Knight. Other classmates are welcome to be part of the Class Committee.
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WE ARE VOLUNTEERS. Please do not ever take it personally if you do not hear from the Class Committee or the Website Committee right away. As volunteers, we have only so much time within which to do our volunteer work as well as tend to other aspects of our personal lives.
Delays in my replies, in particular, are due to me not being awake very much anymore as sleeping long hours is the only time period during which there is total relief from my neurological illness for which there is no cure. It is now seven years that I have had massive nerve damage. With this neurological illness continuing to take center stage in my life each day, there cannot be very much so-called normal or routine activities on my part as long as a state of normalcy has not been returned to my life.
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This update was prepared by me.
Respectfully submitted,
Donnie Martinez, WHS Class of 1966 Committee
Known at WHS by stepfather’s surname Collier
Martinez is my birth certificate and legal surname
a/k/a Butch, family nickname since childhood
a/k/a Don, presumably the adult version of Donnie
a/k/a Primo (Cousin) to dozens of my Martinez cousins
a/k/a El Aguila (The Eagle), a version of Gillie’s name for me.
I don’t care what people call me, just call me.
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