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DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

Durand high School tradition

School colors: Royal Blue and White

Mascot:

Fighting Bulldog

class Motto:

the door to success is labeled PuSh

class Flower

White Rose

class colors:

Blue and White

class advisor

Roman Baker

class officers:

Bill haggerty, president; nancy greene,

vice president; Jean Rafferty, secretary;

Mike Waller, treasurer

THE 50th REUNION AT THE CENTER PARK GAZEBO: Front row, from left: Bill Brinker, Mike Waller,
Reginal Pete, Harlan Cuthbertson, Judy (Smith) Osborne, Lee Workinger, Bill Haggerty, Jerry Whisman, Denny
Bliss and Nathan Bartelt. Second row, from left: Bill Moore, Marilyn (Lingbeck) Harris (behind Haggerty) and
Sharri (Larsen) Roser. Third row, from left: Julia (Walsh) Willkom, Nancy (Greene) Paz, Jim Cowan and Sally
(Kelsey) Lawson. Back row, from left: Jean (Rafferty) Klus, Sally (Dixon) Bear, John Dickerson, Arlene (Diehl)
Young, Norma (Slaton) Lingbeck, Carolyn (Talley) Baker and Judy (Johnson) Kloster.

55th REUNION

EDITOR’S PROLOGUE

looking back on the last five years since our 50th class reunion, much has happened in the lives

of our classmates. Many traveled, taking trips and cruises across the country and around the world.
Seven of them — Sharon (Brown) and garland Mchenry, Jim and terri cowan, Judy (Johnson) and
Jerry Kloster, Sally (Kelsey) and Bill lawson, linda (leonard) and Mike harris, norma (Slaton) and
Daryl lingbeck and lee and linda Workinger — celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries. Several
welcomed the births of more grandchildren. Some have continued to deal with serious health issues.
on the sad side, we lost four more of our classmates — Bill haggerty, Betty (Pederson) Sanders, Jean
(Rafferty) Klus and Ray “King Kong” Keller. You can find tributes to them and all of our deceased
classmates in this booklet.

— Mike Waller

The old High
School in winter.

Mike Waller and
his granddaughter,
Riley Kean, 10.

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

ADLEMAN

Pat (Adleman) and Jim Olander
17107 Matinal Road
San Diego, ca 92127
858-485-0305

2009-2014 update: Pat did not respond to inquiries about her life in the last five

years so no update is available

BARTELT

Nathan Bartelt
3987 long Run Road
Mammoth Spring, aR 72554
870-625-3119

2009-2014 update: Don’t have much news since our reunion. i’ve spent a lot

of my time cleaning up our seven acres of woods after a huge storm in 2009. i still
do a lot of fishing. My freezer is full of fish now so i won’t do as much for a while.
My health is pretty stable except for a bad back, but since coming down here for the
winter it’s been much better.

BLISS

Dennis Z. and Marlene Bliss
7227 Yale Bridge Road
Rockton, il 61072
815-629-2452
zege@frontier.com

2009-2014 update: not much news since the last reunion. We keep busy around

home cutting trees and lawn. Marlene sometimes has to babysit our daughter
amanda’s three girls if she is out of town on business. the oldest, emmie, is 9 and
the twins, erica and elania, are 8. they are all good softball and soccer players.
andrea’s kids, luke and Jessica, are in college. luke plays semi-pro football for the
Madison Mustangs. the little lad is 6’ 5” and weighs 289 lbs.

We go to arizona for at least three months to get out of the winter. We have

not had a dog for over three years, so we solved that problem with a small poodle
mix. Forgot how active a puppy is. Mike — i hope you can take this and correct
all spelling and grammar as Mrs. Kocher was my english teacher. i was even worse
in French. i forgot about amanda’s husband eric. he is a foreman for Rockford
Blacktop’s electrical Division. See you soon.

BRINKER

Bill and Sandy Brinker
3615 Rotary Road
Rockford, il 61109
815-874-1652

2009-2014 update: not much has happened since our last reunion. i’m still

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1959

55th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

riding my motorcycles. We have five grandsons and one granddaughter. one
grandson, age 20, lives with us. We’ve put our house up for sale and are hoping
to find a smaller place closer to our children , probably around Roscoe. looking
forward to hearing more about the 55th reunion.

BROWN

Sharon (Brown) and Garland McHenry
230 choo choo lane
Valrico, Fl 33594
813-651-2353

2009-2014 update: garland and i were married Sept 2, 1961. We have two

children and four great-grandchildren. garland’s father is still living at this writing.
We live in a retirement park in Valrico, Fla., with all kinds of activities. i retired from
our home owner association where i was treasurer for the past 3 ½ years. i planned
a variety show in the fall of 2013 and a dinner for about 250 people for the Strawberry
Signers last January. i’m a member of the singers and line dancers…we put on two
concerts a year. garland enjoys the wood shop, computer club, veterans club and has
helped me with the board when i was on it.

We have gone on seven cruises and toured illinois, indiana, Michigan and

Wisconsin for our vacation last year. We still belong to the national and State
grange. i am a 57-year member and garland a 50-year member. i had the honor of
being Florida State grange Master for six years and we traveled all over the u.S. for
the grange during that time.

COLE

Judy (Cole) and Don Harbison
2914 nevermind lane
colorado Springs, co 80917

2009-2014 update: Judy declined to contribute any information for the 50th or

55th reunion.

COWAN

Jim and Teri Cowan
24321 gore orphanage Road
new london, oh 44851
440-647-3254
santanafarm@hughes.net

2009-2014 update: a year or so prior to our 50th reunion teri was having

constant grand mall seizures. We left the reunion in a hurry because she was having
a seizure. She was unconscious all the way to my sister’s house in Rockford. things
stayed pretty much the same until the day before our 50th wedding anniversary on
March 25, 2011. i had rented a very nice bed & breakfast for the week in amish
country not too far from where we live. i got up first, as usual, to make coffee. When
i went back to wake teri up, she was totally unconscious and foaming at the mouth.
She was taken to the local hospital by ambulance where they immediately declared
her to be above their pay grade. the ambulance then took her to a large hospital

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

in canton, ohio. She was declared to have had a major stroke and was put on life
support. She was then transferred to university hospital in cleveland. they got her
off life support and after exactly three months i was able to bring her home. Yes, a
miracle for sure. She has a little trouble with speech and is not able to use her right
hand very well. She has me trained well, though, and i’m happy to do for her now.
She took care of me for years! Yes, i’ve been blessed.

i was diagnosed with cancer in the eye in January 2012. that seems to be going

well with the game plan at the cleveland clinic. i’m in a five-year research study
program now. My latest checkup in october showed that the tumor has disappeared
from my right eye. But the cancer has moved to my liver. i’m now undergoing
treatment that involves implanting radioactive beads on the tumors and injecting
something called ipilimumab four times over a 21-week period. everything is
working well so far and i still hope to attend the reunion.

now some good news. teri and i have four children: two boys and two girls.

they have given us nine grandkids. one great-grandchild was born in February 2013.
the father is our grandchild and stands 6 foot 9 inches. the boy’s mother is 5 foot 8.
then last September another grandson who is 6 foot 8 inches and wife (5 foot 9) gave
birth to an 11-pound 15-ounce giant of a boy. could i be thinking basketball already?
this gives us six great-grandkids and still counting.

We plan on traveling as much as possible and enjoying visiting with family and

friends. We spent the middle of april 2013 in Savannah, ga., and the middle of
September in atlanta. oh yes, my daughter and i attended last year’s Masters in
augusta.

CUTHBERTSON

Harlan “Corky” and Yvonne Cuthbertson
120 cross Drive
Popular grove, il 61065
815-765-0112
hMRwonderful@aol.com

2009-2014 update: i’ve had quite a last five years. i’ve never been very athletic

but in 1995 i bowled a perfect 300 sanctioned game. i couldn’t outdo that so i retired
from bowling and started to play golf. love the game with a passion. in 2012 i got my
first hole in one at atwood golf course in Winnebago county. i didn’t get as excited
about it as the young guy with whom i was golfing.

Since i saw any of you in 2009, i’ve had three great grandsons and a great

granddaughter born into the family. the only problem is that there is not one to carry
on the cuthbertson name. oh well, they’re great. i’m still working as plant manager
at arntzen corp. in Rockford. We’re the second largest rolled and welded steel pipe
producer in the uSa. i have the best workers in the city of Rockford and never deny
it to them either. they know that they make me look good.

as for Yvonne and me, we are getting by. Yvonne has coPD and runs out of

wind rather quickly. Makes it easier to catch her, you know. as for myself, i had
a bout with colon cancer in February 2013. Doctors removed about a foot of the
colon and gave me a clean bill of health. then in late 2013 i went for a ct scan as
i was having pain in the stomach and backaches. they reported that i have a lesion

55th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

on my pancreas. So i looked it up on the internet and found that backaches and gut
aches stem from pancreatic cancer. We talked to an oncologist about it and he said
it was from the colon cancer. So i looked a little further and saw that under regular
treatment the survival rate is about 3 percent. Well, i’m not buying into that so i got
some cesium chloride and started a regimen of that to try to kill it. it comes with a
batch of other minerals and is quite upsetting to the stomach. it is supposed to go to
the cancer cells and raise their Ph to about 8. this either kills them or changes them
back to a normal cell. it is supposed to stop their progress in reproducing. now it is
in god’s hands. and i really do trust in his healing. hope to see y’all in the summer.
god bless you and yours.

DACH

Elena (Dach) and Floyd Bee
2605 Sarona Road
Springfield, ill. 62704
217-793-3204
Mebee2605@att.net

My family moved to Durand to what my dad always referred to as the Spickler

farm in 1947. it was a most beautiful farm, very modern for its time, with a huge
white barn, a beautiful orchard of apple, cherry and pear trees, and a beautiful and
modern two-family house. i wished we could have lived there forever, but then, of
course, my life story wouldn’t be the same, would it?

i attended Durand grade School from March of second grade until March

of fifth grade (March 1949 to March 1952). i must give credit to our second grade
teacher for insisting that i learn my basic arithmetic skills (she actually invited my
mother to visit the class to observe my lack of knowledge of the orange flash cards)
and ceasing my reading library books until i could pass those orange cards, which
surprisingly i accomplished overnight (and i was back to reading). in addition, she
taught penmanship in a manner that made me feel good penmanship was a virtue. i
thought of her often during my ensuring years of school.

in 1952 we moved to a farm north of Rockford that was in a consolidated district

composed of canada, owen center and Favor schools. in March 1955 we moved to
a farm on trask Bridge Road where i attended Winnebago School to complete eighth
grade and then attended Pecatonica high School due to redistricting. after attending
West high School in Rockford for two years, i graduated from Byron high School in
1959. i’ve never forgotten my years at Durand, the teachers and the students.

i attended eastern illinois university where i met and married my husband,

Floyd. he was an educator and coach for over 38 years, the last 30 at lincoln high
School as an honored teacher and wrestling coach. We have two sons, greg and
Jeff, and a daughter, Kelly, who all graduated from lincoln high School and are also
college graduates. the boys participated in wrestling, baseball, cross country, tennis
and football and our daughter in softball, volleyball and pom-pom squad. We were an
athletic family, with the exception of me. i did, however, contribute by laundering,
folding and organizing many towels, workout clothes and various sports uniforms.
never did i dream i’d spend so many hours sitting on hard bleachers in sweaty gyms,
cold football fields and hot baseball diamonds. it was a great time and i loved it.

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

i returned to work as a secretary at our local junior high school, my favorite

all-time job, and four years later began working with the State of illinois at lincoln
Developmental center. also during these years i returned to college, receiving a
bachelor’s degree from Western illinois university in 1990. We moved the next year
to Springfield, my husband’s home town, and i spent the last 17 years with the illinois
Senate staff as a legislative secretary, committee clerk and timekeeper, retiring in
2002. We often travel to watch our eight grandchildren in their activities, and i enjoy
a quiet life of reading, quilting, painting, doing genealogy and watching our two dogs
anni and Ruby.

i was happy to run across the Durand class of 1959 Reunion Booklet on the

internet and learn what my former classmates, many of whom i remember, are doing.
i also have appreciated hearing from Mike Waller, Sharri larsen Roser and Judy
Johnson Kloster. i wish you all well and thank you for the good memories.

DICKERSON

John and Sandy Dickerson
9 Saluda trail
West columbia, Sc 29169
803-796-5157
John.r.dickerson@gmail.com

2009-2014 update: Sandy and i have been retired from teaching since 2006.

Sandy is an avid writer and woodworking keeps me from doing anything productive.
We both enjoy gardening and biking. our first son, Bradford, lives on Johns island,
Sc (Dad gave the island to us on our wedding day) and has presented us with two
grandchildren, Molly and Ryan. our second son, graham, resides in Spartanburg,
Sc, and has three boys: Dehaven, hewitt and Pierce. i’ve told them that five
grandchildren is our limit. the Durand guest house, overlooking the Saluda River,
will happily welcome Durandites. the cost, including wine and breakfast, is $0.00 per
night. it was commissioned and named by Sharri around 2003 when she spent a few
days with us. We do hope you will stop and say hello.

DIEHL

Arlene (Diehl) Young
107 W. Mechanic St.
Rockton, il 61072-2420

2009-2014 update: i am completely retired now and am just enjoying life.

Went to Boston in the fall of 2012 and that was a great experience. i saw the John
F. Kennedy library and then went to lexington and concord. We had a great
time. We also saw Salem. on the way back home we stopped at niagara Falls. i’m
planning another trip to indiana for an amish Festival. i enjoy reading (i belong to a
book club) and the daily routine. i go to the restaurant every morning here in Rockton
— still like my coffee!!

55th REUNION

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DIXON

Sally (Dixon) and Wilson Bear
n1930 clarno Road
Monroe, Wi 53566
608-325-6800

2009-2014 update: this feels an awful lot like one of Mrs. Kocher’s assignments!

i do not have much to report. We purchased a home in Florida in 2010. We spend
the worst three months of winter down there. We are now snow birds. We were
also saddened by the news of my youngest grandson being fatally injured in a car
accident in Buffalo, Wy., in the summer of 2013. he was 23 years old. We attended
my youngest stepson’s wedding this past august in guadalajara, Mexico. We had
a great time — it was a very interesting experience. i am looking forward to seeing
everyone.

FOSLER

Alyce (Fosler) Dobbs
nazareth Rehab center
Staughton, Wi
608-873-6448

2009-2014 update: the latest information available about alyce is that she is

living at the nazareth Rehab center in Staughton, Wis., suffering from dementia and
other ailments. it’s not clear that she remembers any of her classmates and we could
not obtain anymore information from her family.

GREENE

Nancy (Greene) and Sonny Paz
28 augusta Drive
laguna Vista, tX 78578
956-943-4586
sonnypaz@sbcglobal.net

2009-2014 update: in the fall of 1959, Jean Rafferty Klus, nancy Judd hawbaker

and i headed to our next big adventure at the university of illinois in champaign-
urbana. We roomed together at leeman lodge and had lots of good times together
while adjusting to a challenging school experience. Jean and nancy found their
soulmates there, but after graduation i was off to my first teaching position in
harlingen, texas, where my parents and sister had relocated in 1961. i taught five
classes of freshman english, with about 150 students and a lot of themes and spelling
tests to grade. time was found to date the football coach, and Sonny and i were
married in 1966. We taught there three more years before we decided to move to
Durand. My parents had previously returned to Durand and we visited them each
summer so Sonny was familiar with the area. What he wasn’t familiar with was the
winter snows! We had 32 good years in Durand raising our two children and building
the hardware business we purchased from my dad when he retired. i never returned
to teaching and really enjoyed keeping inventory control, ordering and stocking
merchandise while Sonny kept the books and managed personnel, payroll and

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

anything else that came up.

When my mother’s health required more of my time and emotions, we decided

to sell our Durand store. the next six years i was bookkeeper at lakeside Plaza and
Sonny ran Bryden Ford’s rental department and we were able to take time off in the
winter. in 2001 we sold our home in Durand and built a house on the South Padre
island golf course and became winter texans. During this time we lived on Route
75 in my grandparents’ home which our daughter purchased from me and my sister.
We fully retired in 2004 and became texas residents. We really enjoy our life in
South texas and have made many good friends in our neighborhood. We return to
Durand each summer to visit our daughter, attend family reunions and catch up with
old friends. We have made one trip to new York city to visit our son and hope to get
back again, maybe after our 2014 reunion.

JOHNSON

Judy (Johnson) and Jerry Kloster
Po Box 727
Roscoe, il 61073
815-298-1452
seamstress1122@yahoo.com

2009-2014 update: i am not someone who keeps a diary, so remembering the last

five years takes some thought. no great crises come to mind so this is a good thing!
We are exceptionally blessed that we are in good health except for those increasing
aches and pains of arthritis. We keep moving, though, by walking two or three
miles six days a week. in the winter i add swimming to the routine. Jerry and i both
retired from our part-time jobs last year and are enjoying this time of no commitment
to work outside the home.

in January 2010, we bought a small home in a retirement development near

Winterhaven, Fla. We go there from Dec. 1 to mid-april. We do not miss that snow
at all. We are hoping to downsize some properties and maintenance by selling our
cottage at the lake near hayward, Wis. We also want to sell the large house in the
Roscoe area. We are hoping this plan all works out soon.

i manage to find plenty to do. i joined a book club with eight other women. this

gives me a good excuse to sit down and read every day. i have taken up some quilting,
too. although i have sewn for many years, getting the “points” to meet in a quilt is
definitely an art. this can be a challenging but rewarding project.

our grandson is a junior at illinois State university studying police science. our

granddaughter aged 20 cannot decide what she would like to do (maybe nursing like
her mom and myself) but she still needs a little shove in some direction. our youngest
granddaughter is a sophomore at hononegah high and on the cheerleading squad.
our youngest daughter and her husband have recently moved to Denver, colo. for his
work. She is hoping to find a job there, too. another place for us to visit. Daughter
Shaun and family live in the Roscoe area. She works as an Rn in labor and delivery
at Rockford health System.

last September we joined 23 other friends from the hayward area on a tour to

ireland for 12 days. We flew to Dublin and then traveled by bus around the island
starting northward to Belfast. i have some irish heritage so really wanted to travel

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to northern ireland which is now welcoming tourists. the city of Belfast is most
interesting historically and the giant’s causeway is a beautiful sight even though the
day was very blustery with some rain. Belfast also just recently opened its titanic
exhibition, a very large museum about the conception of the ship, the people of the
city and the titanic’s tragic end. the island is so very beautiful. We enjoyed the cliffs
of Moher and our stops at various castles. i believe Killarney was my favorite city. of
course one cannot leave ireland without a stop at the Waterford crystal factory. i was
tempted but did not make a purchase there. of course back to Dublin meant a visit to
guinness. all too soon our vacation came to an end.

i have become very interested in genealogy and am finding this will require a

great deal of time. now i realize that i should have asked many questions while
relatives were still living. i am hoping to leave a better history for our daughters. in
2014 Jerry and i want to return for a second time to norway. our first visit there was
by cruise ship. i would like to do a more extensive inland tour, a little genealogy
searching and revisit the fjords which are so absolutely beautiful.

i am looking forward to seeing our remaining class members.

KELSEY

Sally (Kelsey) and Bill Lawson
313 W. South Street
Durand, il 61024
815-248-3690

sallyilawson@yahoo.com

2009-2014 update: Since our 50th class reunion, Bill and i have still been living

in Durand. it is a quiet life and entirely to our liking. the main part of our life,
and one that keeps us busy and running to Roscoe, is our participation in heritage
Baptist church. Bill is a deacon and is involved with the administration of our
church, which two years ago was looking for a pastor. the pulpit committee found an
excellent man who teaches the Bible. if you are looking for a good church, you must
try ours!

We are blessed with two new grandbabies in the last five years — a

granddaughter, Raegan, and a grandson, callan. they join a big brother, Benton,
and seven other grandchildren, who range in age from 2 to 23.

in June we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. the children put together

an open house for us at the William Smith community Room at the Durand State
Bank. We had a wonderful time with the many friends and relatives who attended.

LARSEN

Sharri (Larsen) and Richard Roser
226 Peabody Road
Meridianville, al 35759
256-520-5336
Sdroser70@gmail.com

2009-2014 update: Shortly after our 50th class reunion, the greatest ever, we

headed to the ozarks, meeting John and Sandy Dickerson for a whirlwind week of
16 shows in 6 days in Branson, Mo. We also found some ‘50s diners. We also had

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

house guests that year, Pat Rogers Bankford and hubby larry. We toured the famous
Jack Daniels town of lynchburg, tenn., and had such fun catching up on old school
memories and classmates. My brother David and wife Mary Jane from Rockford
also visited in august and early December for our “Winter Wonderland Décor!”
Richard and i spent 2 christmas holidays in nashville at the famous gaylord hotel,
attending a louise Mandrell dinner show, charlie Brown’s ice Sculpture house and
the Rockettes’ christmas Spectacular Review. Wonderful!

in February 2010, Mo ostergard and Marlene Saelens visited. i think they

brought the illinois snow. the most alabama has had since 1933. We still had a great
time. in april we time-shared to honolulu for a week of tours, snorkeling and R&R.
i love those curvy mountains and the hawaiian culture. Yes, it had changed since i
attended a cosmetology Beauty Show there 30 years ago. then we boarded a week’s
cruise to the other hawaiian islands. a super trip! in September we time-shared to
Virginia and took in the norfolk navy Yards, Busch gardens and Washington, D.c.
however, i tore a tendon in my foot the first day so it was a vacation of pain. in
December, we drove to cherokee, n.c., to feed the bears and see the holiday lights
and shows in Pigeon Forge, tenn., and christmas in Dollywood. unbelievably
beautiful!

in May 2011, we headed to gatlinburg for more Smokey Mountain adventures.

also in May, friend and classmate carolyn talley Baker and new hubby Bob came
down for a visit. We went to the big aquarium in tennessee and had a fun time. in
october, we went to las Vegas for a week of “really big shows” and in December
we went back to the Smokey Mountains for the christmas décor. in March 2012,
my cousin Paula and hubby John joined us for a few days in gatlinburg and in May
we time-shared to orlando (first time back in 5 years). Sharon Brown Mchenry and
hubby garland joined us for a few days. We had a fantastic time at the treasure
tavern Dinner show and catching up on old times and classmates. Sharon and i both
lived in Florida 20 years before we found each other, then visited back and forth.
then we headed farther south to Ft. lauderdale for a week and then took bus tours
to Miami and Key West. enjoyable, but we are happy to be retired in alabama with
no hurricanes, more laid back, less expensive and easier travel. in September, we went
over to the Biltmore estate in asheville, n. c. What can i say except put it on your
Bucket list. Just amazing the money and craftsmanship back then. in october, we
time-shared out West to the Sedona Summit in arizona. this blew our minds. even
though i had been West many times as a child, my father being from idaho, this was
totally fantastic! the Red Rocks are awesome! We did the grand canyon, Jerome—
the old ghost-mining town—a 15-mile float down the colorado River and the hopi
indian Reservation. a trip to remember! in December we hosted a neighborhood
christmas pot-luck party, where i give away gifts and door prizes made in my craft
house for games and display 9 lighted trees inside and 20 lighted critters outside.

the year 2013 slowed us down. i had a foot operation in January from a 30-year-

old fracture but by May we were back to Vegas for a week. in June, Richard had a
colon resection but no cancer, thank you lord. it was back to Branson for two weeks
of shows in august. in november, we hosted an alabama family reunion with guests
from arizona, texas and illinois. in December we took the norwegian cruise line
to the Bahamas, Jamaica, grand cayman and cozumel.

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We headed for Maui, hawaii for two weeks in april, whale watching and

snorkeling at the Ka’anapali Resort. last December we took a cruise to the Western
caribbean, visiting great Stirrup cay in the Bahamas, ocho Rios, Jamaica,
georgetown grand cayman and cozumel, Mexico. We enjoyed lots of snorkeling,
beach time, island Jeep tours and a swim at Sting Ray city. it was amazing —
hundreds of rays wrapping around your legs! of course, the ship food was great. We
opted for the sit-down restaurants to be pampered and waited on. also, the Vegas-
like shows were terrific.

and here we are in June for our 55th class reunion. Bless us all who have made it

this far and all our classmates looking down from heaven. i’m sure it will be another
reunion to remember. i have great memories here of you all and old school days.
Many thanks to Mike for this second wonderful booklet, John for the fun photo show,
Sally for the bookkeeping and all the others who helped make this a success…P.S.
in July, we are off to Seattle to catch a cruise to alaska. the Bucket list is getting
empty. Yes, we are thankful and still going while we canl!

LAUBE

Charles and Dorothy Laube
12083 Fritz Road
Durand, il 61024
815-248-2423

2009-2014 update: chuck didn’t respond to inquiries about the last five years so

no update is available.

LEONARD

Linda (Leonard) and Mike Harris
807 Main Street
Pecatonica, il 61063
815-239-1245
cassharris@aol.com

2009-2014 update: not much has changed from five years ago. Mike and i are

doing fine and still in the full-time ministry of Jehovah’s Witnesses. We like to golf
and took a trip to Phoenix a couple of years ago. the courses were nice and the
weather was beautiful, with the highs in the low 70s. We celebrated our 50th wedding
anniversary in 2010 with a special dinner at Briggs Mansion in Rockford with our
children, grandchildren and friends.

LINGBECK

Marilyn (Lingbeck) Harris
611 Sycamore lane
Machesney Park, il 61115
815-633-3652
815-543-7009 (cell)

2009-2014 update: everything is about the same for me. i was in alabama and

texas this winter escaping the Rockford winter. got some good news in texas—my

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

partner, being tested for cancer at M.D.anderson cancer center in houston, was
given a clean bill of health. hope to see everyone at the June reunion.

MOORE

William Moore
212 Redwood ave.
elk grove Village, il 60007
847-593-2075

2009-2014 update: it’s been a difficult time. My wife, charlotte, died June

28, 2013, after battling several illnesses over the years. We were married 34 years
so it’s been an awful emotional time. But i’m oK for a fat old man! My health
and eyesight have improved and i’m now able to drive after several years of being
chauffeured everywhere. i still attend our family’s monthly breakfasts in Rockford—i
was one of 15 children. i have 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. one
of my grandsons, austin Wright, is pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies aa team
in Reading, Pa., and is considered one of the Phillies’ top 10 prospects. another
grandson is now teaching history in high school. For now, i’m just taking it a day at a
time.

PETE

Reginal and Chris Pete
10936 Borage
Roscoe, il 61073
815-270-0525
Dom1reg@charter.net

2009-2014 update: My Dad always said, “the older you get the faster the time

goes.” that is certainly true. as we age we are more involved with family, hobbies
and other social activities. Just to let you know nothing much has changed here, chris
and i are still painting the room in our house; only the laundry and one bathroom
left. We have added a wonderful lasa apso dog to our household, Brandy. She is
very friendly and possessive. i am still working part-time at Regal cutting tools in
Roscoe. More or less their Qa guy.

PIEPER

Harold and Shirley J. Pieper
n886 Shueyville Road
Monroe, Wi 53566
608-328-4835

shirley.pieper@yahoo.com

2009-2014 update: i haven’t been doing much of anything. We won’t be at the

reunion because i don’t drive at night anymore. have fun.

55th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

SLATON

Norma (Slaton) and Daryl Lingbeck
6222 42

Street

Rockford, il 61109
815-874-7216
normalingbeck@verizon.net

2009-2014 update: We haven’t done a lot in the last few years. We visited my

brother in Mesa, ariz., and in 2011 we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. our
daughters held a small party for us with family and friends. i continue to take care of
several flower gardens and we try to walk two miles or more every day. that’s about it.

SMITH

Judy (Smith) Osborne
302 heeren Drive
Winnebago, il 61008
jmosborne12@hotmail.com

2009-2014 update: everything is pretty much the same since 2009. i have

four grandsons and two granddaughters. i live in the same house for now and my
oldest son Steve lives a few houses away with his beautiful family, wife Jennifer and
daughter olivia. My second son, Mike, lives at the northeast end of Rockford with
his wife Shelly and sons nathan and noah. My third son, Bob, still lives in the Dallas
area. he lost his wife to cancer in 2012 and is rebuilding his life with children Bryce,
Justin and Brooke. i am so very proud of all of them; they are so very special to me,
of course, and my life.

i am still working part-time for the Rockford health System and enjoy the patient

contact. i am so thankful i still have the ability to do this. i am looking forward to
seeing my classmates from 1959, best class ever!

TALLEY

Carolyn (Talley) and Bobby Baker
8885 Reservoir Road
nashville, il 62263
616-327-8807
talley194169@yahoo.com

2009-2014 update: Since the 50th class reunion in 2009, there have been some

changes in my life. i never expected to meet someone, let alone get married again. in
october 2009 i met Bobby Baker through a good friend of mine. after falling in love,
we got married May 28, 2010 at Second Baptist church in DuQuoin, ill. i sold my
house in DuQuoin in March 2011 and in May we drove to alabama to visit Sharri
and Richard Roser. it was like our honeymoon as they graciously took us to the Jack
Daniels distillery in lynchburg, tenn. We also went to chattanooga—it was a great
trip. in May 2012, we took a trip to tunica, Miss with Bob’s daughter and husband.
that also was a fun trip. Bobby’s family members include 2 sons and 3 daughters.
one son and his wife live in Florida and one daughter and her husband live near West

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

Frankfort, ill. the rest live near us in the nashville, ill., area. Bobby has 5 grandsons,
2 granddaughters and 2 great-grandsons. Bobby has been retired 13 years from
ameren electric.

My family is all doing fine since the 50th reunion. My oldest son, Jeff, still lives

in texas and got married in September 2012. My daughter, Jean, and her husband
still live in Winnebago, where we enjoy family get-togethers with children and
grand-children, including our new grandson. My youngest son, Danny, still lives
in Rockford and is working in nursing. My oldest great-grandson, Jacob, 10, lives
in georgia. and a new great-grandson was born in august 2013 in Rockford. Since
moving to nashville, i joined the First Baptist church. i help deliver meals through a
home-bound program—it’s very rewarding service. i also joined the american legion
auxilliary #110, and am now Sergeant of arms. in my free time i enjoy doing
crossword puzzles, using the computer, reading and watching sports on television.

WALLER

Mike and Donna Waller
5 Full Sweep
hilton head island, Sc 29928
843-341-5814
mikeewaller@aol.com

2009-2014 update: Donna and i have been “cruising” through retirement.

We took our second cruise to the Baltic Sea, with stops in amsterdam, Berlin,
Stockholm, St. Petersburg (the most fascinating and historical impressive of all the
cities) and copenhagen. We then took a cruise of the Mediterranean, from Rome to
london with stops in Marseille, Barcelona, lisbon and Bordeaux. one of the neatest
trips was in March 2013 to Durand where i attended a reunion of old friends to
honor Bill haggerty, who was battling lung cancer. Joining the festivities were Jerry
and Marilyn Whisman, Mike and Pat Mulvain, Jim and cheryl Walsh, Jack and lisa
Walsh, Mo ostergard and Marleen Saelens, norm and tommy chilton and Dave and
Fran Waller.

in 2013, i was named alumnus of the Year at Millikin university, where i

served 9 years on the Board of trustees. We continued our life on the links, with
Donna winning back-to-back 9-hole championships at our club and me winning
the club’s President’s cup championship in 2010. i also was fortunate to play a few
more world-class golf courses, including Pine Valley in new Jersey, the number
one-rated course in the world for the past 17 years, Royal county Down and Royal
Portrush in northern ireland, tree tops and Forest Dunes in Michigan, the tPc at
Sawgrass and Bandon Dunes in oregon, america’s number one-rated golf resort.
Despite being on the Dl for shoulder, back and hip injuries, i’ll play my 3,000th
round of golf in retirement this year. in between rounds, i wrote another book, this
one about leadership entitled “Blood on the out-Basket: lessons in leadership
From a newspaper Junkie.” it discusses my experiences in the newspaper business
and includes mini-profiles of eight other leaders i have known, including Durand’s
Mike Mulvain. i am now working on a revision of my first book, about the Durand
Merchants fast-pitch softball team.

our daughters are still doing well — heather teaching in Ft. Myers, Fla., with our

three grandchildren, Riley 10, Sydney 8 and Fletcher 5, all attending the same school

55th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

with her; Katharine, who completed her second master’s degree, this one an MBa in
non-profit management, and is now operations manager for the Boston Women’s Bar
association; and Danielle in louisville running her Mitigation & Sentencing Services
business.

WALSH

Joan (Walsh) Didier
784 Donelda lane
Rockford, il 61102
815-968-2039
jjdidier@comcast.net

2009-2014 update: My life has changed drastically in the last five years. on

Dec.20, 2012, my dearly beloved husband Jerome passed away from cancer. he was
diagnosed just 2 ½ months before that on our 49th wedding anniversary on oct. 5.

We enjoyed traveling each fall. in 2009 we toured alaska for two weeks on

a cruise and train ride. What beautiful country! in 2010 we spend two weeks in
california, starting in carmel-by-the-Sea and traveling north on highway 1 seeing all
the sights. loved the wine country and lake tahoe. in 2011 we flew to Maine and
traveled the new england States. While there we drove up to Montreal and Quebec.
the autumn foliage was breathtaking. in october 2012 we had a trip planned for italy
but had to cancel just a week before were scheduled to leave. how quickly a person’s
life can change.

on oct. 9, 2013, i was blessed with my sixth grandchild. Baby grace Sarah is a

true miracle, bringing all my family such joy. especially her parents, Matt and Sarah,
who had been praying for a baby the last five years. My oldest grandchild, amanda,
is 13 and her sister Stephanie is 11. Jacob is 11 and his sister olivia is 9 and they live
in Peoria. aiden, my youngest grandson, is 8 and lives in Palos heights, ill. i’m so
thankful that all of my family lives close by. they have kept me busy this last year,
going to all of their school and sports activities thank god for a loving family.

WALSH

Julia (Walsh) Willkom
8722 Westlake Drive
greendale, Wi 53129
608-628-3145
JuliaWillkom@yahoo.com

2009-2014 update: Since i last saw most of you at our 50th reunion, many major

changes have happened in my life. in January 2010 our youngest daughter, colleen,
had her first baby, McKaela Julianne Smith. Jeanne’s two children, collin and emily,
were glad to have a new little first cousin living close enough to play with. When
McKaela was only four months old, she, colleen and her husband Kelly and Frank
and i went to the grand cayman islands for a vacation. McKaela was still a little
“bucket baby” so she traveled well and we had a wonderful time.

however, we noticed Frank was having trouble with confusion and anxiety.

During the following months he showed increasing signs of forgetfulness, confusion

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

and decreased mental capabilities. he reluctantly agreed to umdergo memory studies
at the university of Wisconsin hospitals and clinics. they revealed what we had
suspected: probable alzheimer’s Disease. as symptoms increased, Frank failed to
recognize me, asking, “Where is Julie?” and at times begging for me to take him
home even though we were in our house at the time. When my efforts to redirect
him failed, i would have to drive him around the city for a while and return home.
he then was content and happy to be home. When his demands for me to take him
home started to occur at 2 o’clock in the morning and i had to get him into and
out of the car after our travels, it got to a point where he was becoming a danger to
himself and others.

nurses and social workers from a hospice center helped with his care and with

finding placement for Frank in a memory-care unit. it broke my heart to have to trick
him into going into the nursing home locked unit. i will neVeR FoRget that
aWFul DaY! he did not think it was such a great idea to have to stay there and
escaped three times. luckily, he was found wandering and returned to the facility
before being injured or totally lost. From then on he had to be moved to a more
secure locked unit, eventually to Badger Prairie health care center in Verona, Wis.
it was a newly built, beautiful facility with a “state of the art” memory-care unit. We
visited him often and at times he knew us. But one time i remember particularly well
when he said sadly to me, “i wish you could have brought Julie with you.” When it
came time to leave, he always tried to leave with us, which was So PainFul for me.
i would have to sneak out without even saying goodbye. the staff tried to assure me
that he would be oK a short time later.

on Dec. 10, 2011, i attended Jean Rafferty Klus’ funeral with my sister, anne. it

was so hard to realize Jean would no longer be with us. i enjoyed hearing the many
tributes to her because of her tireless work in teaching the message of the Bible to
children and adults, many of whom spoke of how her leadership helped them deal
with challenging times in their lives. i felt proud to know her and be her friend.

living alone for me was not easy but i kept busy with visits to Frank, our children

and grandchildren. i did volunteer work at the food pantry, celebrated with friends
as they retired, attended too many funerals, audited uW classes, began warm water
aerobic classes and kept up-to-date with the happenings of our growing Walsh family.
our home since 1978 was on lincoln court in Sun Prairie and everyone living on
the court became “family” to each other. our wonderful neighbors helped Frank and
me as Frank’s health deteriorated. they took care of the lawn, shoveled snow and
even sat with Frank during his time of adjustment to new surroundings in the nursing
home.

i became friends with wives of some of the patients at Badger Prairie. We

continue to support each other by being together for lengthy visits and dinner as
often as possible. their husbands continue the progressive, slow decline in health
associated with alzheimer’s Disease. i can’t help to think at times that Frank was the
lucky one being spared further suffering.

early Sunday morning, aug. 26, 2012, i received a call from a nurse at Badger

Prairie who told me that Frank had had a very restless night and had developed a
fever. i rushed to the center and was told a chest X-ray showed Frank had pneumonia
and that an ambulance had been called to take him to the emergency room at uW

55th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

hospital. i helped him onto the ambulance cart and followed the ambulance to the
hospital. Frank became critically ill within a short time and went into what is often
called septic shock. he was then transferred to a unit that specializes in caring for
patients with end-of-life status and received excellent, loving care. My daughters,
their husbands and i began our over-night vigil. Frank passed away on Monday, aug.
27, only hours after arriving in the emergency room.

as prepared as i may have thought i would be for Frank’s death, i can only say i

don’t know what i would have done without the outpouring of support from our kids,
my and Frank’s extended families, wonderful friends and my strong faith. i’ll always
fondly remember the expressions of sympathy and gifts from my DhS classmates of
1959.

through my sadness, i am comforted in knowing Frank is no longer feeling

sad, alone, confused and facing the loss of the ability to swallow, talk or walk. his
visitation, funeral and burial all took place in Sun Prairie where we lived and raised
our family. So often i said, and sometimes practically screamed, a prayer written by
thomas Merton, which beings with, “My lord god, i have no idea of where i am
going, i do not know the road ahead of me. i cannot know for certain where it will
end.” the prayer ends with, “i will not fear for you are ever with me and you will
never leave me to face my perils alone.”

another beautiful thought i remember often that was discussed during grief

counseling is this: love lives beyond goodbye and our spirits shine long after we are
gone. Memories of our loved ones wrap themselves around our being and become
forever a part of us.

Four months after Frank died, my twin sister Joan’s husband, Jerome Didier,

died of bile duct cancer. his death was a shock to all of us as he had been sick only
a short time. Jerome was a devoted family man and a good friend. Joan was at his
side all their 50 years together—they would have celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary had Jerome lived a few more months. it’s hard to believe that Joan and i
are both widows now.

in november 2012, my little two-year-old granddaughter, McKaela, was

diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and will have to take insulin for the rest of her life.
her little baby brother, Mcintyre, arrived only five months later, so their parents
needed help with baby care and 24/7 monitoring of McKaela’s blood sugar and
insulin dosing. i have spent a lot of time helping them. i am meeting my own needs
as well by having the huge void of Frank’s absence be filled with caring for those
precious little children.

i have been lucky that i have been able to join my daughters and their families

on vacation to Disney World and the grand cayman islands. the Walsh family’s
annual reunion is another highlight of my summer. We stay at a campground near
the Wisconsin Dells in cabins, tents and motor homes. the 2013 reunion was
attended by 135 of 187 family members. Many of us also continue to get together for
christmas at St. Mary’s in Durand.

in the spring of 2013 one of our neighbors on lincoln court and his son told me

they wanted to buy my house if or when i thought i wanted to move. after thinking
about it and talking to our son and daughters, who all live in the Milwaukee area,
and knowing the house would be well cared for, i decided to sell. it was not an easy

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

decision, but the many trips back and forth from Milwaukee as well as the work and
expense of owning a house, led me to feel it would be the right thing to do. i know
Frank would be happy that such a nice young guy, who we watched grow up on the
court, would be living there with his wife and baby. i moved in late april to a lovely
apartment in greendale, Wis. i think it will work out oK.

i still go back to Sun Prairie and Madison often, to visit Frank’s grave and,

when he was alive, to visit Father Jerry Walsh, my cousin who died in September of
pancreatic cancer. he was a Dominican priest and a missionary in africa for many
years. he celebrated Mass for many of our family weddings, as well as funerals,
baptisms and reunions. the Walsh family feels a great loss with his death.

Just recently i had a wonderful visit and lunch with nancy greene Paz during

her summer visit to Durand. nancy never ages; she will be forever young! i look
forward to seeing her and all of my classmates again at our 55th reunion. thank you
to all who have worked on planning it.

WHISMAN

Jerry and Marilyn Whisman
12 lakewood Drive
goddard, KS 67052
316-794-8691
goWhiz@sktc.net

2009-2014 update: We made several spring trips to Florida, staying in inverness,

Punta gorda and on Pine island. With the exception of the small puddle we live
on in Kansas, we have always lived on the water: Mississippi River, lake Michigan
and grand lake of the cherokees in oklahoma. We miss the fishing and boating
that lake Michigan provided. We just sold our home in oklahoma after 10 years of
improvements and fun, and are looking into the possibility of moving to Florida. We
still have a number of rentals in Kansas that keep us busy. one real point of pride is
that our duplexes were featured in a 10-page spread in American Bungalow Magazine in
the fall of 2012.

We have re-landscaped our yard, replacing the deck on the back of the house;

goodbye wood deck, staining and slivers. as we have been in drought conditions for
the last three years, i built an island in our pond and planted a bald cypress tree in the
middle of it. i was able to do all in relative dryness using a wheel barrow and cement
bags for the “wall” surrounding it. the tree lived and so did i. this year (2013) we
have had a great amount of rain, filling up the pond. the tree looks great and healthy.

in December 2012, we spent a week on the western coast of Puerto Rico with son

greg and his wife Michelle. it was a llc meeting as we owned a retail/residential
building together and decided to look at the possibility of buying property in Puerto
Rico. other than the traffic in San Juan and on the “interstate” from east to west,
it was a lovely time. We stayed at a two-bedroom rental on tres hermanos Beach,
south of Rincon. life is much slower there and the natives are so friendly; they loved
to party well into the early morning hours. We spent our first day finding (with little
help from the rental g.P.S.) and touring the arecibo Radio telescope facility. it was
especially exciting because Marilyn and her father (D.J. Belcher & associates) were
there in the early 1950s on a mission for the u.S. government to select a suitable site

55th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

for this project. We enjoyed a great tour with the past director of the facility and
people enjoyed Marilyn’s story of hiking up the mountain and finding just the right
location, a natural dish.

i had an unexpected “vacation” on april 15, 2013—a quadruple bypass and

surgery to repair a hole (congenital) in my heart. What a way to spend tax day!
imagine my surprise to wake up to the news reports on the Boston Marathon
bombing. needless to say it was a memorable day! i was up and walking within 5-6
hours and home five days later. cardiac rehabilitation sessions began a week later and
ended last august. all is well!! nurse Marilyn can take a break any day.

We considered buying a home in Florida last year but never could work out

an acceptable deal. So we bought an RV and picked it up last December in Port
charlotte, Fla. We spent the next few weeks in various Florida campgrounds learning
how to operate everything.

We also have taken trips in illinois and Wisconsin, stopping in iowa to see the

haggertys at every opportunity. We attended a reunion at Walden iii alternative
high School last august. Marilyn worked there while we lived in Racine, Wis. greg
and Michelle are living in Wichita, staying busy with Whisman lPainting and their
rentals. Michelle continues to work as a stylist at an upscale salon. Son Jeff, who is
single, is in the Dallas area working for comcast. We have no grandchildren yet, just
grand puppies.

WISE

Ronald and Beth Wise
112 S. Water St.
albany, Wi 53502
608-862-3436

Ron’s health has been declining the past few years as he has been battling

alzheimers disease. as a youngster, Ron became an expert at things mechanical. he
could tear anything apart and put it back together. Jim Walsh and Mike Mulvain
remember that anytime they had problems with their bicycles they took them to Ron
to be repaired. in 1959, he married Sherrill caukins in Durand. they had three sons:
Ron Jr. in 1960 (he now lives in Durand), lester in 1961 (he now lives in custer, SD)
and Paul in 1964 (he now lives in Springhill, Fl). after high school, Ron worked for
John Walsh and ted haggerty at the Durand John Deere and chevrolet dealership,
which sent him to automatic transmission school. Ron also worked for louie thomas
at the Standard oil station before joining the J.l. clark company in Rockford in the
mid-1960s.

For 13 years starting in the ‘60s, he was in charge of Durand’s 4th of July

fireworks show. he taught Kim and Keith Steward how to safely operate a fireworks
display, and they’re been in charge of Durand’s annual show ever since. at J.l. clark,
Ron was a tool and dye worker and shift foreman until he started his own business,
first as an electrician and eventually as a car mechanic, in Durand, which he operated
for several years. in 1987 Ron bought a bar in Broadhead, Wis., which he operated
until diabetes forced him into early retirement in 1995. Years after a divorce from
Sherrill, he married Beth, who became his caregiver with the onset of alzheimers.
Despite his ailments, Ron still is able, with Beth’s help, to visit Ron Jr. in Durand.

55th REUNION

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

WILLIAM A. HAGGERTY (1941-2014)

William a. haggerty, 72, died on March 29, 2014, at his home in iowa city,

iowa, after an 18-month battle with lung cancer. he was born July 24, 1941 in
Rockford, the son of Francis “ted” and Bernice (Dailey) haggerty. he grew up in
Durand and was an outstanding athlete. he spent his summers playing baseball every
day at legion Field, built in 1948 to showcase the marvelous Durand Merchants
fast-pitch softball team. Bill was a member of the Foul Ball Brigade, chasing down
foul balls at Merchants’ games and exchanging them for a nickel or a Popsicle at the
concession stand.

Bill was a life-long Boston Red Sox and ted Williams fan. he was a member of

Durand’s first little league team in 1951 and was an excellent second baseman and
hitter throughout his school years. he played guard on all the school basketball teams
and was the sixth man on the 1958-59 championship team that compiled the school’s
best record at the time of 22-6 and won the Stephenson county conference, the
Durand holiday tournament and the state District tournament. he was an excellent
halfback on the football team and a star at the 100-yard and 220-yard dash in track.

Bill was a popular kid. it didn’t hurt that his family owned the town’s first

television set. his dad, who with John Walsh owned the local chevrolet and John
Deere dealership, won the tV in 1949 with a raffle ticket purchased for 75 cents at a
meeting of chevy dealers in chicago. all of Bill’s buddies would drop by often to
watch it, even though reception was fuzzy and snowy, despite an outside antenna that
was so tall you could barely see the top. the closest tV stations were in Davenport,
iowa, and chicago.

Bill also was a natural leader. he was class treasurer his freshman year, prom

king his junior year and president of the class his senior year. his leadership qualities
carried over into his college and military years. he graduated from the university of
illinois in 1964, where he was a member of theta chi Fraternity. he joined the army
in 1964 and served at nato in germany until he was discharged in 1966. he then
earned his MBa degree from northern illinois university and began a long career in
the railroad industry, mostly with the chicago & northwestern Railroad, where he
held many executive positions. Bill was an avid reader, a history buff and a sports fan.
More than anything, he loved spending time with his family and friends.

Bill and his wife of 42 years, nancy thieben, have three daughters: cara (Steve)

Brock of Brentwood, tenn., christina (Mark) hayes of iowa city, iowa, and cathy
(trevor) Dick of aurora, ill., two grandsons and two granddaughters. Bill is also
survived by his sister elaine (Mike) threlkeld of gulf Shores, ala.

Bill was buried in the family plot at St. Mary’s cemetery in Durand next to

his brother Bob, who died in 2008. the William a. haggerty memorial fund was
established at the Durand State Bank to support youth athletic programs for Durand
schools and local youth athletic organizations.

We the class of 1959 are deeply saddened by the passing of four more of our classmates since our 50th
reunion: Bill haggerty, Betty (Pederson) Sanders, Jean (Rafferty Klus) and Ray Keller. We hope that they
and all of our deceased classmates are enjoying eternal peace.

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

BETTY (PEDERSON) SANDERS (1940-2012)

Betty (Pederson) Sanders, 71, died on June 18, 2012, after a lengthy illness.

She was born Dec. 9, 1940, in Viroqua, Wis., the daughter of Joseph t. and anna
christina (olson) Pederson. She attended elementary school in harrison until she
was sent as a third-grader to the one-room Farmingdale School, where she became
friends with nancy greene and nancy Judd and enjoyed playing such recess games
as Red light, too late for Supper and Fox & goose. “She always was friendly and
ready with a smile,” recalled nancy greene. Betty moved to the Durand grade
School the next year and two years later was joined by the two nancys in the sixth
grade, when all the area one-room school houses closed and sent their students to the
new Durand grade School on West South Street. in high school, Betty was quiet and
reserved but nevertheless active in the girls’ and mixed chorus.

after graduating in 1959, she went into the laundry business. She married earl

D. Sanders in Rockford in 1964 but by then had started losing her eyesight. She was
blind by 1971. Still, she managed the household and raised four sons, one of whom
died of cancer in 1996. Betty was a member of trinity lutheran church in Durand
and loved her children and loved spending time with her grandchildren. confined to
her Durand home for most of her adult life, she wrote in the 50th class reunion book
that “my sons earl and John do a great job of taking care of me.” Betty died at oSF
Saint anthony Medical center in Rockford on June 18. two days later, her husband
earl died at age 80 in Rockford Memorial hospital.

JEAN (RAFFERTY) KLUS (1941-2011)

Jean (Rafferty) Klus, 70, died Dec. 10, 2011, at her rural Durand home after a

battle with cancer. She was born Jan. 3, 1941, in Rockford, the daughter of William
and Frances (albertstett) Rafferty. Jean moved to Durand elementary School in the
sixth grade, where she became fast friends with Julie Walsh, nancy Judd and nancy
greene. Jean earned a reputation of being a bright, cheery spirit and exceedingly
generous with friends. She once insisted that Julie, who wanted to enter the floral
arrangement competition at the Winnebago county Fair but had few flowers to pick
in the ailing Walsh garden, pick her flowers from Jean’s grandmother’s garden in
Rockford. Julie did, and won first place (over Jean’s entry) and a trip to the State Fair
in Springfield. Julie wanted Jean to go, but Jean insisted the Julie make the trip.

By the time the four girls entered high school, they shared their love of music

(they all were in the high school chorus), slumber parties and sock hops, many at
noon in the school gym where they kicked off their shoes and danced to rock ‘n’ roll
music. Students provided the 45 rpm records—lawrence Damon and Bill haggerty
had the largest collections. it was prime time for elvis Presley (“Don’t be cruel” and
“hound Dog”) but Jean and her friends were much fonder of Pat Boone (“ain’t that
a Shame” and “love letters in the Sand”) and tab hunter (“Red Sails in the Sunset”
and “Young love”). Jean and the nancys loved horseback riding and often saddled
up on weekends and rode into Durand, catching the eye of many of the boys playing
baseball at legion Field. though they all lived on farms, the girls occasionally
dropped by the Durand café, then owned by carl nuss, to drink cherry cokes and
listen to music on the rainbow-colored Wurlitzer Jukebox.

high school days soon ended with their graduation in 1959. Jean and the two

55th REUNION

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

nancys entered the university of illinois at champaign-urbana, where they roomed
together and Jean met her husband, Jim Klus. Jean graduated in 1963 with a degree
in elementary education, married Jim and spent the next several years raising a family
and teaching as a substitute teacher. She and Jim had two daughters and a son, all
of whom now live in Durand: nancy (Mike) Parlapiano, Susan coffman and Brian
Klus. She also had four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Religion was always prominent in Jean’s life; she was active in her church

everywhere she lived, serving as a Sunday School teacher and worship leader. upon
returning to Durand in 1994, she became one of the founders of the cornerstone
Foursquare church, helping to recruit her former pastor in Michigan, the Rev.chet
Burton, to Durand. She carried on several ministries, including Puppets in the Park,
using puppets to teach the Bible to children, and the good news club at Durand’s
elementary school. ever the modest soul, Jean wrote little of her achievements for
the class of 1959’s 50th Reunion Booklet and ended on this note: “as for leisure
time, Jim does e-Bay and auctions. i do good news club and Puppets in the Park,
all connected with our church. and i read and love my flowers. Some might say we
lead a dull life, but we love it.”

RAYMOND O. KELLER (1941-2011)

Raymond o. Keller, 69, died aug. 28, 2011, in his Durand home. he was born

oct. 18, 1941, in Rockford to orville and Reva (Wheeler) Keller. like many of
the youngsters growing up in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Ray spent most of the
summers at legion Field playing baseball nearly every day. it was there that Mo
ostergard tagged Ray with the nickname “King Kong,” after the Yankee outfielder
charlie “King Kong” Keller. Ray was an excellent second baseman and outfielder
and a good hitter. he was a regular member of the Foul Ball Brigade, chasing foul
balls at Durand Merchants’ softball games and turning them in to the concession
stand behind home plate for a nickel or free Popsicle. he also was a member of
Durand’s first little league team in 1951, which was coached by three members of
the Merchants—lloyd Mulvain, Wayne adleman and Don hubbartt, the high school
basketball coach. Ray also was a good basketball player and played on the Junior
high School’s seventh- and eighth-grade teams.

after leaving high school, Ray worked with corky cuthbertson and his dad in

the farm equipment business and then with Ray’s dad and uncle, who were painting
contractors. he then worked three years at Barber colman before joining the Miller
Vault co. in 1964. he married Pat lawson in 1963 (they had a son and a daughter)
and in 1965 was drafted by the army and sent to Vung tau, Vietnam. after his
discharge in 1967 Ray returned to Miller Vault, where he stayed until it closed in
1972. he then worked for the american Wilber Vault co. in Rockford until it closed
in 1983. Ray moved to arizona to help take care of his parents, who had both
undergone surgery. after his dad died in 1987, he returned to Durand and opened a
roofing business. in 2000 he moved to Dubuque, iowa, where he worked in a casino
until moving back to Durand in 2004. arthritis, cancer and diabetes slowed him
down but he still managed to get around in his motorized scooter. he loved talking
about his earlier years of playing sports and especially about his bowling experiences
at the Durand Bowl and lake Summerset. he was proud of carrying an average of

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

about 185 and of his highest game of 248.

NANCY (JUDD) HAWBAKER (1941-2009)

nancy (Judd) hawbaker, 67, died March 5, 2009 in her home in Decatur, ill.,

surrounded by her family, after battling cancer. although cancer took her life, it
could not dampen her spirit or vibrant personality. She was born on Sept. 14, 1941,
the daughter of DeWitt and Pearl Judd of Durand. She attended the one-room
rural Farmingdale School from first to fifth grade and became close friends with
classmate nancy greene. they and all the other students attending rural one-room
school houses were moved to Durand’s new grade school in 1952 when the school
districts were consolidated. in high school the two nancys hooked up with Jean
Rafferty and Julia Walsh and became inseparable.nancy excelled at music, playing
the slide trombone and the baritone in the band and singing in all the school choirs.
She also sang in the Methodist church choir, where she and Jean spent many a
Sunday morning writing notes to each other and laughing instead of listening.
nancy also was active in 4-h, where her sense of humor often showed up. one year
at 4-h camp the two nancys bunked in a tent with the supervisor of the program.
nancy loved to imitate the supervisor and finally got caught when the supervisor
walked in on the snickering girls. Jean spent many 4-h fairs with nancy, pushing
and pulling sheep from one end of the fairgrounds to the other. nancy and Jean
often would meet at the old crowe School on their horses and ride into Durand on
Sunday afternoons. nancy was famous for her curly hair, and she and Julie with her
straight hair often would wish they could swap some strands. after graduation, the
two nancys and Jean attended the university of illinois in champaign-urbana and
roomed together. nancy studied music for 2½ years, during which time she met her
future husband, Stuart hawbaker, on a blind date. they were married on Dec. 23,
1962, and went to germany, where Stuart was an officer with the 14th armored
cavalry on border patrol between east and West germany. Following their military
assignment, they returned to henry, ill., where Stuart began his employment with the
university of illinois cooperative extension Service. they then moved to havana,
ill., where they lived until 1975 when Stuart became the Macon county Farm
advisor in Decatur, a position he held until he retired in 2000. nancy worked 20
years in various positions, including on the accounts payable staff, in the office of
the Macon county superintendent of schools until she retired in 2000. nancy and
Stuart had two children: Debbie (Joe) Schniederjan, now 44, who lives in Mt. Zion,
ill., and is a graduate of the u of i in agricultural communications; and Scott, 42,
who also graduated from the u of i in agricultural communications, lives in Maroa,
ill., and owns greendell Publishing, a company started by Stuart. nancy had four
granddaughters and a grandson. She cherished her family, was a giving person and
was always willing to help others. She loved taking her children and grandchildren
camping, boating and horseback riding. She was an avid illinois fan, held season
tickets for basketball and football games and loved going to bowl games. her love
of music continued throughout her life (Stuart said her passing was a signal that the
lord needed an alto for his choir of angels) and she was a longtime member of the
choir of grace Methodist church. She and Stuart loved to travel and they visited
every state and europe numerous times. their longest trip was a two-month, 10,000

55th REUNION

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

mile motor-home voyage to canada and alaska in 2001. in 2007, after her breast
cancer surgery, she fulfilled her lifelong desire of traveling to australia and new
Zealand, an awesome experience, nancy said at the time. her humor showed up each
year in her often hilarious christmas letter to friends.

BRUCE R. HARRIS (1938-2008)

Bruce R. harris, 69, died of heart failure after battling cancer on nov. 27, 2008

in las Vegas, nev., where he lived for the past 10 years. Bruce was born on Dec. 31,
1938, and was a member of the Durand high School class of 1959 for several years
until he left school in his sophomore year. in 1959 he married Susan george, who
was a member of the class of 1958. they had three sons: Bruce Jr., who lives in
Pecatonica, Robert, who lives in henderson, nev., and leslie, who lives in georgia.
Bruce also had three grandchildren. When growing up in Durand, Bruce and Jim
cowan, who lived across fields from one another, became best friends and loved to
hunt squirrels. Both were excellent marksmen with a .22 rifle. Bruce also played
basketball on the grade school team for a couple of years. after high school he lived
for several years in Pecatonica and worked for Dean Foods for 22 years until he
retired in 1994. in 1998, he moved to las Vegas and joined the maintenance crew
at the country club at Valley View, where he lived. he made friends with everyone
he saw, whether at a bus stop or a casino. the seniors where he worked loved him
because he helped them with anything they needed. he always said he worked to
support his wagering -- he loved Keno and did very well at it over the years. after he
completely retired, he worked jigsaw puzzles when he wasn’t at the casino.

LAWRENCE (1941-2005) AND SUE (WALLER) DAMON (1941-2008)

larry Damon died at age 63 on Jan. 4, 2005 after a long battle with cancer. he

was born in Rockford on July 3, 1941, the son of Dale and Mildred (green) Damon
and lived his entire life in Durand. he was one of Durand’s best all-around athletes,
playing on the varsity basketball and baseball teams as a freshman. he was a terrific
hitter and pitcher and could score from anywhere on a basketball court. he was
the leading scorer on the 1958-59 Durand high School basketball team, whose 22-6
record was the best at that time in the history of the school. his soft and unbelievably
quick hands helped him become a star wide receiver on the football team. larry
married his high school sweetheart, Mary Suzzanne Waller, on aug. 26, 1961. he
was self-employed in the grain industry, a part owner of the Durand Bowling alley
for years and a stationary engineer for more than 30 years at Singer Mental health.
he was a member of the Durand united Methodist church, the Durand athletic
association, the Voyager Village country club, the Durand-lake Summerset area
golf association and the Big McKenzie lake association. he coached little league
baseball, was a time-keeper at Durand high basketball games, was an avid golfer and
loved spending time at their cabin in Wisconsin and with his grandchildren.

Sue (Waller) Damon, 66, died three years later, on Feb. 5, 2008, also after a long

battle with cancer. She was born in Monroe, Wis. on May 24, 1941, the daughter
of emmett J. and Margaret (tschabold) Waller. She was a cheerleader throughout
high school and, like larry, an excellent athlete, playing on the Durand women’s
softball team. She worked for Durand Publishers and then for car and truck Market
in Rockford. She and larry had four children — sons William (Sandra) and Mike

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

(amy) Damon and daughters cindy (Rowdy) adams and Jennifer (erik) Roessler,
all of whom live in Durand. larry and Sue had nine grandchildren. like larry,
Sue was an avid golfer (she and larry were members of the Monroe country club)
and enjoyed spending time at the cabin and with her grandchildren. She also loved
baking and attending her grandchildren’s sporting events. larry and Sue are buried in
laona township cemetery two miles north of Durand.

MELBA JEAN (OAKLEY) SNIVELY (1941-2004)

Melba Jean (oakley) Snively, 62, died Jan. 13, 2004 in Downers grove, ill.,

where she had lived for 27 years. She came to Durand high School her senior year
after attending Belvidere high School for three years. in 1959 as a senior, she was
named the school’s Betty crocker homemaker of tomorrow by earning the highest
score in a written examination on homemaking knowledge. a few years later, Melba
Jean married Jerry Snively and they had a daughter and a son: Julie (John) little
and Stephen. She was a member of the Society of Friends, commonly known as the
Quakers, and was a Reiki master. Reiki is an ancient method of healing that uses life
force energy to harmonize the physical, emotional and spiritual of patients. Melba
Jean also was an artist who made art quilts, one of which was an entry in a national
quilt show in houston, tex.

TERRY FOSS (1941-2003)

terry Foss, 62, of loves Park, died on July 20, 2003, of cancer five months after

retiring. he was born Jan. 28, 1941, in Brodhead, Wis., the son of charles and aline
(Yaun) Foss. he loved playing baseball and basketball and could be seen frequently in
his pantomime mode dribbling an invisible basketball and shooting. on rainy days, he
and his brother Ron would cut out the bottom of a wastebasket, nail it above the door
in the dining room and play basketball with two rolled-up socks. terry was always
making a Wilt chamberlain hook shot. he and Ron shared a newspaper route. as
soon as they finished collecting every Saturday from their customers, terry would
head to highlands’ or Bliss’ grocery store and buy a bunch of candy bars. You could
see him nearly every Saturday sitting on the front steps of the grocery eating those
candy bars. terry married gayle Klinger in Winnebago on Sept. 14, 1963 and they
had two sons, Michael and Randy (Jennifer), and two granddaughters. he worked
for invenys/Barber colman for 44 years before retiring in February 2003. he was a
member of St. Paul lutheran church in loves Park, was active for years in the Sons
of norway lodge and was a member of Don’s and Doll’s Square Dance. he loved
bowling and playing cards. For nearly 40 years, he and his wife were members of a
card club that included his uncle and aunt, Jack and Betty Yaun, Jerry and Juanita
Mulvain, carol and Duane Kinney, Shirl and Darlene langley and alice and allen
Roby.

LINDA (ENGEBRETSON) MILLER (1941-2002)

linda (engebretson) Miller, 60, died March 1, 2002, in Rockford Memorial

hospital after a sudden illness. She was born Sept. 13, 1941, the daughter of
Raymond and Florence (grenawalt) engebretson. linda lived most of her life
in the Rockford area. She was married to Dwayne Poulisse and then later to
Daniel aldrich, who died in 1981. She then married David Miller in 1982. they

55th REUNION

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

bought an 11-room farm house and spent several years renovating it. linda had
10 children, three of which preceded her in death. She owned linda’s tax Service
for several years and was involved many years in the food service and restaurant
business, owning and selling two restaurants of her own. She was a member of the
community Bible church. She was known for her generous spirit and for caring for
anyone in need, especially her family, friends and animals (at one time she had seven
dogs and about 40 cats). over the years, she and Sharri larsen Roser were the main
organizers of the class of 1959 reunions.

RICHARD C. “DICK” SWEET (1941-2001)

Dick Sweet, 60, died Dec. 20, 2001 from complications of bulbar amyotrophic

lateral sclerosis (lou gehrig’s disease). Dick was born Jan. 24, 1941, the son of
truman J. and Marie R. (egan) Sweet. he was a good athlete, an excellent left-
handed pitcher for the little league and PonY league baseball teams and a good
basketball player on the junior high and freshmen-sophomore basketball teams. after
graduating from high school, he served four years in the u.S. air Force. Following
his discharge in 1963, he worked six years at Barber colman. he married Judy
Prentice in Rochelle on new Year’s eve in 1966 and then rushed off with his new
bride to Red Welsh’s new Year’s eve party in Durand. Dick and Judy did not have
any children. in 1969, Dick joined the Winnebago county Sheriff ’s Department,
where he had a distinguished 24-year career before retiring in 1993. he was a charter
member of the FoP lodge 50 and a member of Durand’s american legion Post 676.
he enjoyed having a good time and partying with friends. Most of all, he loved his
work, especially being a detective.

GAYLON HORSTMEIER (1941-1994)

gaylon horstmeier, 53, a Rock city civic leader and businessman, died July

28, 1994, in Rockford Memorial hospital following an accident a day earlier while
working at a construction site. gaylon was born July 9, 1941, in Freeport, the son
of Kenneth W. and Maurine Wise horstmeier. he was active in several high school
organizations, including the Future Farmers of america (FFa), of which he was
president in his senior year. he walked with a bounce that some of his friends said
was a smile in his step. on Pearl harbor Day 1963, he married Sandra K. Kubatzke
in Freeport. a self-employed carpenter, he owned and operated horstmeier Building
Supply in Rock city. he was the former owner of the hardware in Rock city and
ace hardware in Pecatonica. he served the village of Davis as president from 1972-
1973. he was a firefighter, serving the Davis Fire Protection District, and was a
member of the organizational committee that formed the tri-District ambulance
association. he was a member of St. Paul united church of christ in rural Davis.
gaylon and Sandra had two sons, chad and Ray horstmeier, both of Rock city.

DAVID “RED” WELSH (1941-1980)

David “Red” Welsh, 39, died oct. 19, 1980, in Rockford Memorial hospital

after suffering multiple injuries in an automobile accident. he was born aug. 16,
1941, the son of John F. and Verna Mattson Welsh. During his school years he was
a Boy Scout and won several FFa awards and music awards in high school band

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

competition playing his saxophone. he played baseball in little league and was a
member of the high school track team, winning the Most Valuable award his senior
year. it was the first time the award was ever given. he also enjoyed boxing and
participated in golden gloves competition in Rockford and chicago. he married
Janice DeVries in Reno, nev., on aug. 30, 1965. they had two children, John and
annette. he was self-employed and owner-operator of Welsh concrete and Welsh
construction. he was the major concrete contractor for most of the first homes built
at lake Summerset and also installed the first water and sewer lines there. he was a
member of the united Methodist church of Durand, a volunteer fireman for 17 years
and active in the army Reserves.

RICHARD G. BOSSHART (1940-1971)

Rich Bosshart, 31, was found dead in the trunk of a car in chicago in october

1971. he had moved to chicago a couple of years after graduation to work at his
brother herbert’s junk yard on lake Street. Police, who never solved the homicide,
set the date of death as oct. 26. Rich was born in 1940, the son of Mrs. Mary
Bosshart, and had three older brothers and six older sisters. he was a good athlete,
playing baseball and basketball as a youngster until his love of cars and motorcycles
begin dominating his life. an original free spirit, he could have been a poster child
for the 1950s dressed in his leather jacket sitting atop his motorcycle. he once won
a palomino at a county fair and kept the horse in his brother lester’s backyard. But
the horse, named golden Sunny Boy, was so rambunctious that no one could ever
ride him. nathan Bartelt, who lived next door, said the horse “scared me to death.”
But even the wild palomino couldn’t erase the ever-present grin on Rich’s face. he
loved palling around with his buddies, riding their cycles up and down the streets of
Durand and raising cain whenever they could. Rich was the kind of live-wire guy
who, if you hadn’t known him, you never would have believed that he existed.

55th REUNION

CLASSMATE MEMORIES

1954 Little League baseball team at Trask Bridge Picnic. Front row, from left: Mo Ostergard, Ron Adleman, Ray
Keller, Ron Foss, Gary Tracy, Mike Mulvain and Mike Waller. Back row, from left: Doug Sweet, Shirl Fosler,
Coach Lloyd Mulvain, Dave McCartney, Dave “Red” Welsh and Jim Walsh. Missing were Larry Damon and Bill
Haggerty.

The Junior High 1954-55 Lightweight basketball team. Front row, from left: Ron Adleman, Mike Waller, Rich
Bosshart, Fred Clint, Dave McCartney, Russ Sarver and Ray Keller. Back row, from left: Coach Milt Truesdale, Ron
Foss, Doug Sweet, Shirl Fosler, Jim Walsh, Dave “Red” Welsh, Dave Alberstett and Mike Mulvain.

55th REUNION

CLASSMATES TODAY

Joan (Walsh) Didier, front center,
celebrating what would have been
her 50th wedding anniversary on
Oct. 5, 2013, with her daughter
Jackie (front left), son Andy (back,
second man from left), son Matt
(back, third man from left) and
daughter Michele (front right).

Left, The Adlemans, from left,
Wayne, Ron, Lois, Gary and Pat
(Adleman) Olander.

Lower left, Jerry Whisman in his
new RV.

Lower right, the new scoreboard
at Durand High School honoring
Lawrence and Sue (Waller)
Damon and Bob Haggerty.