Occupation: simple contentment in retirement

What grade school did you attend?: Belle Sherman

What have you been doing for the past 60 years?:
Taught high school biology in Maine, then traveling the world with husband Ted who retired from the Air Force in 1983 after 20 years.
Parenting included den mother. Have twin granddaughters about to graduate in 2021.
My faith and church activities led me to teach bible study classes in assisted living centers. Ted and I also sang in the choir at church for 40 years.
Humorous spirit, kindness and joy are 3 of my traits. Husband and family are very precious.

Occupation: Professor Emeritus retired

What grade school did you attend?: Cayuga Heights

What have you been doing for the past 60 years?:
I finally retired and became Emeritus Professor of chemistry at Case Western Reserve University in 2018. I am busy with writing, woodworking, reading, hiking metro parks. Expect to get back to travel to west, particularly Idaho, this fall or next summer.

Added in 2020:
I was divorced from Emilia, my second wife, in March, so now I am single. I have a son, Tim, from my first marriage. He is an MD and married to Jane, a cardiologist. They are finishing fellowships at UCSF Medical Center and Tim joins the Harvard Med School Faculty this summer while Jane enters private practice in Boston. In late January their baby, Louise, was born so at last I am a grandpa.

Occupation: RETIRED

What grade school did you attend?: STAMFORD CENTRAL

What have you been doing for the past 60 years?:
Worked at NYSEG after graduation, married, stayed home and raised 3 boys until around 1968. Worked at Henry St.John Elementary school teaching art class until my boys entered Jr.High. From there worked at Deanco,Inc. (electronics distributor)as a private secretary and then moved into Credit and Collections. Needing a change, I worked my final years at Tompkins County Health Dept. in Healthy Heart/Health Promotion Program for 12 years. Am presently enjoying retirement with my husband, children, grand children and many great-grand children.

Occupation: Retired

Comment:  

What grade school did you attend?: Henry St John

Occupation: retired school district administrator

Comment:

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What grade school did you attend?:
Moved to Ithaca in 8th Grade from Connecticut. Attended parochial school.

What have you been doing for the past 60 years?:
Where did the sixty one years go since our graduation? For most of that time my working interests were focused on my professional field of education. Teaching and administering consumed much of my life until my retirement in 1998. Even in my early post-retirement years I was still active with my administrative activities at the state level. Today, I try to utilize my professional skills, as a volunteer with various organizations in New York and Florida.
We were very fortunate attending one of the top public schools in New York. It often takes the distance of years and places before we can even begin to appreciate the quality of instruction we received, the educational and cultural activities we were exposed to and the special gifts our classmates brought to the experience.
I cannot say enough how appreciative I am of the teachers who inspired me to do more with my life. I am equally grateful for the schoolmates who shared much of the adolescent growth part of this adventure with me.
My first 49 years away from IHS Alumni activities was my loss. I value having been given another opportunity to re-connect with many of you since 2009 by helping plan reunion activities, edit this website and coordinate our Facebook page. I look forward to continuing with this service, hearing from you, and seeing you at upcoming gatherings.

Occupation: Retired

What have you been doing for the past 60 years?:
God, has it been 50? Let's see, 4 college-slash-booze followed by 4 in the USAF; 12 years in the UK raising kids (two still wonderful "boys") and managing a plant for Barber-Greene Co. (road building equipment); back to the US (Illinois) as a CTO for Tellabs and AC Nielsen (12); then my own software company (sold it after 10 and retired). Went back to school at 60 for an MFA in writing (Bennington) and a flight instructor rating; caregiver for my father for 7 years, recently moved to WA after he passed to be nearer grandkids; published first novel a few months ago (In Search of Wings Lost), enjoying the hell out of family and a blessed life I really, really don't deserve. Still miss that egg salad sandwich and fries at the lunch counter in Whalens. And the blocking sled with Coach Joe barking Hit it harder. And...

Occupation: homemaker, mother

Comment:
John and I are looking forward to sharing memories with other classmates at the reunion in November. See you there!

My mother was the teacher who brought the art of the Maypole dance to our grade schools. See if you can identify someone in the pictures.

What grade school did you attend?: East Hill and Belle Sherman

What have you been doing for the past 60 years?:
Married John and lived in Owego for 15 years, raising twin boys and another girl and boy. We also had foster children for quite a few years. We moved to North Carolina in 1981 when the twins were in third grade.<br />
In 1998 we moved to Lake Placid, Florida where we enjoy retirement years. We are in the process of building a new home and will update classmates with our address shortly.

Occupation: Retired accountant, , Oak Ridge, TN

Comment:
Reading, landscaping, hiking are among his current interests.

What grade school did you attend?: Cayuga Heights

What have you been doing for the past 60 years?:
After retirement he and his wife, Linda moved to The Chapel Hill area to be closer to her family.
Keith’s daughter, her husband and their two very charming and gifted daughters live near Melbourne, Australia.
Keith pointed out how impressive the Australian health delivery system is compared with ours.
His “now” picture below, from ten years ago, proudly shows Keith with his daughter and first grandchild.

Is there a question we should have asked you? What's your answer?:
If you have questions about economics, history or politics perhaps he would be interested in discussing them with you,

Occupation: Office Coordinator

What grade school did you attend?: South Hill

What have you been doing for the past 60 years?:
After graduating from Ithaca High, I went to the University of Tennessee for a year. Never liked school and felt the same way about college although I sure enjoyed the parties. Returned to Ithaca for a year and worked at Irv Lewis, Inc. Sandy Young called and asked me to be her Maid of Honor. She was living in Washington, DC and the marriage would take place there. I flew to DC, stood up with Sandy, fell in love with the city, went home, packed my bags and moved to DC.

Eventually, I found a job with Congressman Bob Mathias of California. I started as a robo typist and ended up running his office and being his personal secretary. It was an exciting time to say the least. The Civil Rights movement was on its way and I was there when Martin Luther King made his “I have a dream” speech. I was there when he was shot and they burned the city. I remember leaving the city for the suburbs and wondering what I would come back to. When I did come back, I was escorted to work by four Marines with M-16’s. We finally passed much needed civil rights legislation. I was there during the Vietnam protests and finally part of bringing our boys home. The Congressman was an ex-Marine and we did a party every year for the vets…a sobering experience, seeing young men my age missing arms and legs or confined to a bed for the rest of their lives. I was there when Bobby Kennedy was shot and when they bombed the Capital. I was there when the astronauts presented one of the flags flown on the moon to the people of the United States. I have always felt that those seven years were my service to my country and I am very proud to be able to say that.

Bob Mathias was and still is the only man to win the Decathlon twice. I was honored to meet many of his friends, the most impressive being Jesse Owens. The list is very long of exciting and important people I met and worked with throughout those years. BUT, the most important person on that list is Walter Warren Buck, Jr., the absolute love of my life.
Warren and I were nagged by a mutual friend to meet; he was the only blind date I ever went on. That friend was right on. We were married seven months after we met. He placed one condition on getting married… the Florida Senator he had worked for retired, he had been in Washington for 14 years and after visiting Ithaca to meet my parents that Florida boy wanted to live in Ithaca and experience snow. A month after we were married, we moved to Ithaca. You can go home, you know. After working for other people, we bought the Convenient Food Mart in Cayuga Heights. Warren became involved in the Cayuga Heights Fire Department not only as a Fireman but an EMT – 2 and I (with the help of my friends) organized a Women’s Auxiliary Group.
We were lucky to have two healthy boys, Warren and Robert. Not being the least bit prejudice, these two guys are great. Warren teaches in a KIPP School (Knowledge is Power Principle). They take middle school age kids who live in ghettos but want to learn into the school. Those kids and their parents have to sign contracts. Their day starts at 7:30 am and ends at 5:00 pm. It is a great program and I could go on forever, but the bottom line is 80% of these kids will graduate from college. Rob on the other hand is my child who always marched to a different drummer; he lives in Seward, Alaska and works for an oil company delivering oil. He sits on the Harbor Advisory Board where they administer the activities of the port which serves cruise ships, research vessels, fishing boats, etc. He is married to Angela and they have two daughters who we adore, Elsa and Noelle. Rob is just an amazing father and I couldn’t be prouder! Five years ago we took a fabulous trip around the country and spent ten days in Alaska with him. It is unbelievably beautiful and life is the way it should be. I’ve been back and will go back again. Our country as a whole is beautiful and so diversified and we are so lucky to be living here.

Our store was very successful, however, after 12 years of seven days a week, we unfortunately found out our franchiser was taking our money. We along with many other Convenient Food Marts closed our doors. A lot of dreams were dashed but I am a firm believer that out of every bad comes good and it did.

We moved to Vero Beach, Florida near Warren’s family and have been here for 19 years. Warren is on disability because of Post Polio Syndrome. He started a caning business and works out of the house. He is amazing, does not let his situation get him down, has a great sense of humor and never complains. I have found my niche; I work at Heathcote Botanical Gardens and can’t seem to retire. Just absolutely love my job which is Office Coordinator better known as a jack of all trades master of none. There are two of us and we do everything…right now we are involved in building a Bonsai Display having been given 100 Tropical Bonsai, it will be the largest tropical bonsai in the US.

Our life is great and I have no complaints, we have had our ups and downs but as I look back, I smile and I wouldn’t trade one moment of it. My success is a wonderful family and having their love. I am a very lucky lady!

Occupation: Retired RN/Homemaker

Comment:
It's great to have our own website. I've not been in touch with very many of our class. I graduated from Wilson Mem Hosp School of Nursing in Johnson City in 1963 and worked at TCMH until I left NY in '64 for Texas and ended up in Green Bay, WI in 1967, married to Ivan, a Michigan farmboy I met in El Paso in 1966. He was serving his 2 years as a draftee in the Army, while I was working as an RN at Wm Beaumont Gen Hosp, a military hospital. We lived in Green Bay area for 19 years adopting 2 boys Jeff and Dave. I was busy being a mom, RN and SS teacher. Our spare time took us camping from WI to NY as well as traveling in England, Scotland, Mexico, Jamaica, Canada. In the US we visited MN, CA, AZ, TX, GA, FL, TN, IN, OH, PA, NJ and places en route. We traveled through the southern Great Lakes area between Green Bay and Ithaca then to Chenango Forks and Greene after my parents retired. In 1986 we moved to Woodridge, IL near Chicago and lived there until 2005. I kept up nursing until I retired 1 1/2 years after Ivan died. At that time. I moved to Hinesville, GA to be near my niece while her husband was in Iraq, again and stayed in the south. In May 2006 we relocated to Columbia, SC and where I plan to stay for the time being. Son Jeff is here with me, Dave in still in Woodridge working out of Chicago. I'm very busy being a homemaker, Aunt, and a Deaconess at my church. I have 3 cats and 2 baby kittens and several outside cats and kittens to watch over. I have family in all four corners of the US and plan to visit several this summer as well as family and friends in between. I'm a healthy cancer survivor. God bless all my classmates. Hope to see you in FL in the fall.