The Williamsonian Spring 2022 | Page 18

18

In Memoriam

Norman H . Cressman 4W8 Nov . 6 , 2021
Robert L . Rupert 4W8 May . 1 , 2021
Charles S . Rogers 5W4 Dec . 21 , 2021
William B . Raker 5W2
William Raker 5W2 , a retired industrial arts teacher , died Nov . 10 .
He taught in the Gunning Bedford School District , Delaware City , Del ., for 42 years , receiving several awards for teaching excellence . He had a general contractor license and did additions , porches , and repairs , and made beautiful bowls on a lath .
He ran his own painting and decorating business with a partner after graduation from Williamson .
He earned a bachelor ’ s degree in industrial arts at Millersville University and did graduate work at the University of Delaware . He also graduated from the Hixson School of Floral Design in Cleveland , Ohio , and the Troy Welding School in Troy , Ohio .
He served in the U . S . Army in the Signal Corp as an aerial photographer and was a member of the U . S . Coast Guard Auxiliary , serving as commander of Flotilla 14 in Newark , Del .
He was a Boy Scout leader , an amateur radio operator , and an active member of Englewood United Methodist Church .
William J . Harper 5W3
William “ Jack ” Harper , the retired
owner of Jack Harper Machine Work and Welding , LLC ., in Brookhaven , Pa ., died April 13 . He was 88 .
He was a member of Proclamation Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr , a lifetime member of Rough & Tumble Engineers , and the Train Collectors Association .
He was a champion driver and builder of Micro Sprint race cars .
Roland L . Miller 5W3
Roland Miller 5W3 , a carpenter , died Nov . 21 . He was 89 .
He was a carpenter / foreman for C . H . Klinger , Pine Grove , and a foreman for E . A . Reider , Wyomissing , and E . R . Stuebner , in Reading .
He served in the U . S . Army , was a life member of the Pine Grove Hose , Hook , and Ladder , Fire Co ., and an active member of Salem United Church of Christ in Donaldson .
George E . Keller 5W4
George Keller 5W4 , a minister and missionary , died Feb . 24 . He was 87 .
He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior in his early 30s and soon felt called into the ministry . He spent seven years as a missionary with his family in the Philippines , five of those as a dorm parent at Faith Academy . His life ’ s work included time at several bible camps , teaching bible in the public schools , and as a pastor at churches in Tennessee and Florida .
He enjoyed the outdoors , fishing , hiking , searching for arrowheads , and playing his guitar and singing with his grandchildren around a campfire .
Organizations that meant a lot to him were the Billy Graham Evangelistic As-
sociation , the American Center for Law & Justice , and the Voice of the Martyrs .
James J . “ Joe ” Haggerty 6W1
James “ Joe ” Haggerty 6W1 , a selfemployed contractor in Media , Pa ., died Dec . 21 , 2021 . He was 81 .
Before opening his own business , he worked as a carpenter , estimator , and foreman for several construction firms . He considered himself a jack of all trades with many local customers . His motto was “ If you break it , I can fix it .”
He was proud that he built the country ’ s first brick memorial to 9 / 11 in Cecilton , Md ., a fact that was documented by the U . S . Congress .
He was proud of his Irish heritage , being a jokester , and performing magic tricks .
Kenneth W . Bright 6W2
Kenneth Bright 6W2 , a retired police
chief , died Feb . 14 . He was 80 .
He began his career as a carpenter working with his father and then was self-employed . He then joined the Lower Gwynedd Township Police Department as a patrolman and worked his way up , retiring in 2003 as chief of police . He then was appointed township supervisor .
He was an active member of the Community Ambulance Association of Ambler .
He graduated from the FBI National Academy for law enforcement training .
He was a member of Horseways , New England Equestrian Center of Athol , and the Ambler Symphony Orchestra .
He moved to Massachusetts in 2007
and maintained a stable of horses on his property . He also liked woodworking , training his dog , and playing trombone in the Orange and Belchertown community bands .
Ralph N . Finkbiner Jr . 7W1
Ralph Finkbiner Jr . 7W1 , a retired self-employed general contractor , died Nov . 30 . He was 71 .
He was an active member of Zion Lutheran Church and Cemetery as a volunteer Sexton .
He was an antique button collector and belonged to local , state , and national button collecting organizations .
Mark Fair 7W2
Mark Fair 7W2 , a truck driver , passed away Dec . 24 . He was 70 .
Earlier , he was a mason and served in the Army National Guard .
Gertrude Irene Morse
Gertrude Irene Morse , who worked in Williamson ’ s kitchen from 1970-87 , died March 8 . She was 96 .
She worked under Marlin “ Doc ” Keller and Tim Burbage and worked summers to serve Rook students .
Over the years , she also worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Franklin Mint . She worked at the Media Court House until COVID forced her to retire reluctantly at the age of 94 .
She was a member of the Lima Fire Company ' s Ladies Auxiliary and the Eastern Star , West Chester Chapter 352 .
She loved dancing , growing orchids , and watching her granddogs compete in various dog shows .

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Steve Nash 205 Red Fox Ct . Middletown , DE 19709 302-376-9680 Cell : 302-383-6860 snash999 @ cs . com
Hi guys .
Hope everyone is OK and enjoying this nice warm February we are having . I ’ ve heard from a couple guys since last time . To start with : Jack Tinney . I am sorry I was not at home when you called and even more sorry that I have not gotten back with you .
Bob Kubeldis . I was surprised that my 10-year-old email still was valid . Bob has moved from Vegas to Florida and according to Louise , they won ’ t be there too long . Their daughter still lives in Vegas and Louise isn ’ t in the mood to miss her daughter that much . Bob is doing well and cleared up a long standing mystery I have had over the years . If you look at our official 6W7 photo where it shows all of us in front of the school , you might , like I did , miss Bob ’ s picture . In the second row , 3rd from the left , is Bob Kubeldis . All these years , I thought that was Al Roggio . My bad . Anyhow , Bob cleared that up for me . So now my
next question is : Where is Al Roggio in that picture ? Email me , Al , and tell me where you are in that picture . Just for the record , Bob Kubeldis was a heck of a lot thinner back in the day . Enough about that .
Jack Miles heard that Rich Strauss moved to Florida and was wondering where he is located . Jack is in the Villages and it turns out that Rich is not too far away . I ’ m sure they have gotten in touch with one another by now .
I heard from Dave Parker and my exroommate Pat Owens . We are all going to meet up on April 5 , at Delaware Park for our own mini reunion . Hopefully , we will still look somewhat the same as we did many moons ago so we can recognize each other .
There is some more news , but unfortunately it is not good news so I am not reporting it out of consideration for the people involved . May you all have a great spring and summer ... this year will be 55 years since we graduated . I ’ m sure we will be invited to the fall reunion . If you are in the vicinity of WTS come this fall and try to make it .
One last thing , Sam Ray 6W6 informed me awhile back that WTS was going to be showcased on the " This Old
House " TV show sometime in the future but more than that , I can ’ t say . Keep a look out !

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Edgar Speer 1600 Ulster Lane West Chester , PA 19380 610-431-7574 speerhouse7 @ verizon . net
Hello Classmates :
I did get some notes from some of your classmates and without a doubt ... Ron Wildasin wins the prize for the crappiest luck for 2021 ! I told Ron we could start a GoFundMe account , if needed !
Ron Wildasin writes : “ Possible news update : The day after our October Shady Maple luncheon , I headed up the Turnpike Northeast Extension and near Stroudsburg hit a deer at 4 a . m . My SUV was towed to a repair shop and it would take several weeks before it could be repaired . I rented a Hertz car to get back to Wisconsin and somewhere in eastern Ohio a raccoon crossed my path and caused over $ 2,000 in damage ( 2 insurance claims in 3 days ). In early November , I flew back to Newark , rented
another car to get to Stroudsburg and pick up my repaired SUV . After driving over four hours on I-80 , a stress crack in my alternator caused more damage and I spent the weekend in a hotel near the Ohio line waiting for a new alternator . That was an expensive luncheon meeting ! Ron ”
Tom Turnbaugh sent me the following news : “ Hope you and the family are safe . Marianne and I have been doing well and recently returned from a trip to South Carolina . We talked about a relocation to that area in our future , however , she is more excited about it than I am . I can see some advantages going south if you like warmer weather and a beach . Speaking of colder weather and no beach , this past Christmas holiday was spent at Shawnee on the Delaware near Shawnee Ski Mountain . Even with their free skiing pass for anyone over 70 , this is the first time in recent years that I chose not to ski . I guess it is another casualty to getting older and being concerned about falling . Tax season started last week for me as a volunteer in the AARP tax services program here in Lebanon . However , the senior center won ’ t permit us to use their facility due to COVID . Therefore , we are working