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Lois emailed or delivered by hand . In June , they were able to restart the study for a short time , but after several people in the community tested positive , they once again cancelled the group until after the New Year . At the end of summer and into the fall , Dan had the opportunity to do more pulpit supply preaching in some local churches , as well as teaching an adult Sunday School class .
2020 was also a milestone year for both Dan and Lois . It was 50 years ago , in 1970 , when they were both “ born again ” and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior ! They say , “ What a journey it has been !” They went to Bible College , were missionaries in Puerto Rico , pastored three churches , and now continue serving the Lord in their retirement . Congratulations , Dan and Lois , on your life of service to the Lord and His people !
Dan Hengst — my “ roomie ,” Dan , is doing well as we go through this tough time . His children and grandchildren are doing well . His two girls , Tina and Tracy , are teachers and his son , Danny , is a dentist . They all had to make many changes and adjustments over these last 11 months . “ Roomie ” used to call me the Monday after Thanksgiving , one year at 10:30 in the morning , to tell me that he got his buck … this year , no call .
Fred Espenship — Carol and Fred are doing well out among the wildlife in Colorado . Their winters start a bit early there and I believe they had snow in September . They had a wonderful Christmas that was even more special when lived it through the eyes of their 3-year-old grandson , Edric .
Rob Sharer — Last fall , Rob Sharer and his wife , Edie invited Marsha and me out for a visit to their home in Tyrone . It was a wonderful couple of days , catching up for the last 50 years and meeting some of their family . They also took us out to Raystown Lake for a day on their pontoon boat . The weather was perfect and it was an all-around great day . Thank you so much , Rob and Edie !
Warren Speakman — Warren has had several nice phone conversations with Bernie Swank , who was “ Mrs . Mowery ” when we were students at Williamson . Apparently , Warren babysat their 3-year-old son , Shawn . Little Shawn , I believe , is now 59-years-old . WOW ! Bernie is the long time and much loved Mayor of Danville , Pa ., which is just down the road from us . If we ever get to have another picnic up here in Bloomsburg , I will certainly invite her and hope she will be able to join us .
Warren is still busy working at the funeral parlor and helping his church to serve / deliver 375 takeout meals once a month to those in need in the Marcus Hook / Chester area . Warren continues to have health issues , but told his doctors he is not concerned because he knows whose hand his life is in . I truly hope you can say that , too !
I do hope we get to eventually have our 55th reunion , but if not , there is one
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more coming … hope you will be there . In the Love of Christ , Dick
W 67W 68 Steve Nash 205 Red Fox Ct . Middletown , DE 19709 302-376-9680 Cell : 302-383-6860 snash999 @ cs . com
Happy New Year Everyone !
Let ’ s hope this year is much better than 2020 was . It has to be better … I can ’ t imagine how it could get much worse . So far , not too much to report .
I haven ’ t heard from anyone since the last issue went out . I take that back , I heard from Dave Parker and Ron Clark . They were both asking me how Joe Diggins was doing . I ’ m sorry to share the sad news with you , but Joe passed away Jan . 16 . He had the corona virus , but I don ’ t know if that was the cause of his passing . Joe was a retired regional manager for the Hitachi company , after working 36 years for Foster Wheeler . He was an avid traveler and visited all 50 states and 22 countries . He also was a great family man .
I also heard from Glen Artman just after Christmas and he gave me some bad news . As it turns out , our class ’ s most gifted basketball player Terry Ditzler passed away . Evidently Glen stays in contact with the boys from upstate and that is how he knew . He sent me a copy of the obituary along with his email , but I was unable to make it large enough to read . If any of you know a secret to that puzzle , please let me know . I then received a notice from the school telling me the same thing .
I also found out one of our classmates and his wife were hit by the COVID bug . They recovered , but it was a struggle . He had to spend some time in the hospital and his poor wife had to endure Shingles while she had the COVID .
This is all I have for now . Please let me know how you all are doing . Getting a notice from the school about one of our classmate ’ s demise is not something I cherish at all . Stay safe and healthy for this new year .
Steve
Edgar Speer 1600 Ulster Lane West Chester , PA 19380 610-431-7574 speerhouse7 @ verizon . net
Happy 2021 Good Friends , I hope all of you have been able to have a healthy , if not totally weird 2020 ! Here ’ s the news from some of your classmates :
Terry Leib sent this just before Christmas stating , “ Just a quick note to wish all of you and your families a fun-filled and peace-filled holiday season ! Also want to thank all of you who have subscribed to my blog and have taken the time to give me your honest feedback . The book is still moving along , but very
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slowly . My December post starts off with a comment by Ron Wildasin , who has been consistently sharing honest and helpful feedback !
If you want to check out what Ron had to say regarding my November post on persons that inspire us please go to Exploreyourgod . com and consider going to the bottom of the page and subscribe to get a notice of my new post at the beginning of each month . That would help me to build a “ following ” which my editor assures me will be very helpful when we began approaching potential publishers .
I just spoke with my roommate , Barry Lengle , and he was at deer camp for the week where he is the resident cook ! He doesn ’ t hunt any longer but really enjoys that week of fellowship with longtime friends . One of the many gifts I cherish about my years at Williamson ! Be safe my friends !” Got this great picture of Fran and Marge Monahan [ upper right-hand corner ), with the following news : Just a note to say we ’ re in good health for “ Old folks .” On Dec . 24 we met with Monte and Betty Lawley for breakfast . The restaurant was closed due to an electric outage . Since their daughter lived nearby we invaded her home and had coffee and doughnuts . Monte called Ralph Maiden and the three of them talked . We had a wonderful Christmas with our son and daughter plus their families . Blessings in 2021 .
Stacy Starr sent an email to Bernie Minor saying , “ I am still teaching at school , we made the first semester without shutting down . We have been virtual teaching in December . This week is finals and then they are off until Feb 1 . I spoke to Dan Maslanik a few weeks ago . He was trying to get information on applying to WTS . The other day for some reason when I was going to write to you I remembered that 1963 Impala you had . I believe it had a 427 engine . Every time I walk by the old CB room I think of summer shift . I often tell the kids what shift was like in our day . The CB is gone , replaced by a diesel generator .
Bernie Minor then replied to Stacy saying , “ Great to hear from you , Stacy . Rosalie and I wish to hear from you and we wish you and your family a Merry Christmas ! That ’ 63 Chevy had a 327 , not a 427 . Those were great times at Willy Tech . Yes , a lot has changed since summer shift . I ’ ve been retired three years and enjoying every minute . Between the kidney surgery last year and COVID this year , our time in Maggie Valley , N . C ., has been shortened both last year and this year . However , we ’ ve been blessed in not having any issues with COVID . I ’ m enjoying trout fishing in the Smokies and tying flies . Take care ! Bernie C-54 ”
George Miles sent me the following news . “ Hi , Ed , our best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year to you and your family as well . We decided
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Monahans ’ 68 Enjoy Some Time At Sea Marge and Fran 6W8 Monahan on a cruise .
early on to take only the minimum of precautions against the Wuhan Flu , but do wear our masks like good sheep must do . Other than avoiding kissing strangers , and in spite of the pandemic , we have had our entire family , including our six g-kids and their friends with us most of the summer , right through New Years , doing all of the beach things , boating , fishing , hunting , etc . Our daughter from Phoenix even stayed with us for a month , working from our home . In addition , we took a flight to and from Mississippi State to see our oldest g-son ’ s campus for a week since he is graduating this spring and starting his graduate work . In spite of that we have remained healthy ( for a pair of old geezers ), and did as much as we could within the civil restrictions , while many of our neighbors and family have had “ token ” flu illness and , thank the Lord , they have all recovered . If we aren ’ t actively fighting a Civil War , I am looking forward to seeing you all for the luncheon in May . PS : I can still see . Best Regards , Geo ”
My roomie , Dan Smith , writes : “ We are still kicking here . I believe I had a mild bout of COVID in November , but after about a week I bounced back . Linda did not get it . We are still going out to music events in Ft . Wayne each month . Music is part of the doctor ’ s therapy that was prescribed early on , and she likes it . Christmas and New Year was uneventful for us . This last snow and ice event was pretty cool , but it reduced the radio station signal from 4,000 watts to 1,500 watts until it melted . My cousin ’ s boy , Matthew , opened a restaurant in Halifax called “ Fire & Ice Smokehouse & Creamery . com ” in 2019 . I understand it is still going strong . They make their own ice cream and smoke the meat . It might be worth a look see if you are close . Have a blessed New Year to everybody . Dan Smith ”
Got a short note from Dave Griner
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