This website is maintained for the benefit of our classmates and friends by John White. It is intended to serve several purposes.

• Provide a central location for reunion planning and related announcements.
• Provide a repository of news that may be interesting to JHS '63 classmates.
• Keep track of classmates and hopefully locate lost classmates (this feature will be a key to keeping up our list of addresses).
• Collect pictures of reunions and class trips.

To take you back to high school, you can listen to the school fight song while you're browsing (words by Bud Mason, JHS alumnus).

Please contact John White at webmaster@jhs63.org if you have any classmate updates or website suggestions.

August 24, 2008

Eighteen members of the committee met this day. We discussed the 45 year reunion. Overall, there was agreement that everything went well. The new features (winery tour on Saturday and the tailgate breakfast on Sunday) turned out to be big hits. Notes were taken to help jog our collective memories as we plan for the gala 50 year reunion over the weekend of July 12-14, 2013. The tentative theme is "JHS Through the Years." A tour of the school is at the top of our list for planned activities.
Before that, we are planning on a train trip to Chicago in mid-September 2010 to celebrate our collective 65th birthday.
Our next regular committee meeting will be about a year from now, probably in conjunction with a JHS football game. Check back here on occasion for updates or contact John White at john.white@jhs63.org to join the committee's email list.

August 3, 2008

The last official act of the 45 year reunion will be a committee meeting to go over what went well, what we could have done better, wrap up the finances and share some thoughts about the next event. We will meet on Sunday, August 24 at 4:00 in the American Legion Hall (on Lansing Ave. just south of Parnall Road). We can order snacks and food from the menu. As always, any interested classmates are welcome to attend. If you can't make the meeting but have some thoughts to share, you can email them to john.white@jhs63.org.

July 14, 2008

The 45 Year Reunion is now in the hearts and memories of those who attended; a hundred or so classmates and several dozen spouses and guests. We enjoyed a casual picnic and bonfire on Friday evening, a drop-in breakfast on Saturday morning at Steve's Ranch, Wine-tasting or golf on Saturday afternoon and a banquet on Saturday night. Finally, we topped it off Sunday morning with a tailgate breakfast on the school lawn. We even painted "the rock" (see photo below).
In the near future, the committee will be holding a wrap-up meeting. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to john.white@jhs63.org. Also, there are a few booklets left. They are $5 apiece, including postage. Contact John if you want one.

Also, it is never too soon to start thinking of our next major event which will be the collective celebration of our 65th birthdays. One idea so far that seems worth pursuing is a train trip to Chicago for museums, theatre, etc. Stay tuned!

June 9, 2008

Bill and Janet Forbes have graciously invited the committee (and any other classmates, spouses and guests who wish to join it) to meet at their home on Sunday, June 29. The time is 3:00. It will be a potluck and we will grill outside. They will supply the meat, paper plates and silverware. Bring a dish to pass (appetizer, salad, side dish or dessert) to share, your own drinks, a lawn chair or two and a notepad to record whatever tasks you accept. Please contact John White at webmaster@jhs63.org if you would like to receive the full invitation which includes a map and contact information.

June 8, 2008

We have learned of the passing of Carol Hull Taylor. She died June 5, 2007. Please contact John White at webmaster@jhs63.org if you have an obituary or related information.

May 30, 2008

The final committee meeting in advance of our 45 Year Reunion will be held on the afternoon on Sunday, June 29. Details are still being worked out. Current committee members will be notified but if you are not on the list but would like to be, contact John White at john.white@jhs63.org. This meeting will be the one where details are worked out and assignments made for the individual jobs.

May 28, 2008

A letter to each classmate with the invitation (including registration form) and the list of "lost" classmates was mailed out today. The events and activities are as described below in the entry for May 20. If you do not receive your letter by early June, you may print out copies by clicking on the links above. Also, please contact John White at john.white@jhs63.org with your current contact information. Thanks.

May 26, 2008

Richard Schultz passed away on May 19. For the obituary as it appeared in the Jackson Citizen Patriot, click on his name above.

May, 2008

Sue Ann (Scheiffler) Kawakami passed away on April 15, 2008. Click on her name for the obituary as it appeared in the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

May 20, 2008

The invitation to classmates is being finalized and will be mailed out after a meeting at the home of Sara and Larry Finton on Tuesday, May 27 at 7:00. A copy will also be posted here. In the meantime, we would appreciate your help in locating anyone on our list of "lost" classmates.

As a preview for the reunion weekend, the current lineup of events is as follows:
Friday night (7/11) - Picnic dinner and bonfire
Saturday morning (7/12) - Drop-in breakfast at a local restaurant
Saturday afternoon - Winery tour for some, golf outing for others
Saturday evening - Socializing and dinner
Sunday morning (7/13) - Tailgate breakfast in the school parking lot

May 9, 2008

A total of 28 classmates and spouses met to finalize the details needed to send out invitations to the reunion. The meeting to stuff the envelopes will be on the afternoon of Saturday, May 24. Contact John White at john.white@jhs63.org if you want to help out. Look for your invitation in the mail during the last week in May and plan to send in your reservation by mid-June for the events on July 11 and 12.

April 24, 2008

Since our 45 year reunion is coming up soon (July 11 and 12), we will be holding a committee meeting to finalize the information for the invitation packet that will be mailed out near the end of May.
Jeanette and Gary Childs have graciously invited the committee (and any other classmates who wish to join it) to meet at their home in Grass Lake. The date is Friday, May 9. The time is 7:00. They will provide coffee and soft drinks. Please bring a snack or dessert to share and your own adult beverages. Please contact them (517-522-4389 or childs@dmci.net) to let them know you are planning to attend.

March 2, 2008

Ron Mees passed away on February 28. For the obituary as it appeared in the Jackson Citizen Patriot, click on his name above.

February 18, 2008

October 11, 2007

There were about two or three dozen classmates on hand for the homecoming parade and football game on October 5. Photos and details will be posted in the near future. The Citizen Patriot has been more prompt. Jake May, a reporter for the paper, came out that evening and published his story on the front page in Saturday's edition. Here is the text of his article:

J-High's Class of '63 joins homecoming parade
Saturday, October 6, 2007
By Jake May
jmay@citpat.com -- 768-4945

The Jackson High School Class of 1963 was already out of school for more than 25 years before this year's graduating class was even born. But the classmates are still having the same kind of fun they did as teens. They even built a float for Friday's homecoming parade.

``Someone came up with the idea of going to homecoming and having a tailgate,'' said John White, 61, who lives in Ann Arbor. ``Then someone suggested if we were going to homecoming, we should march in the parade. It wasn't long before someone said, `Heck! Why don't we build a float.'''

The three-week project was put together by a crew of 20 that included 1963 graduates and their spouses. The float rolled down the streets of Jackson with the title `Vintage Vikings,' joining the parade with a float that looked like a theater with a headline in lights proclaiming ``The Final Curtain for NW Mounties.'' That fit the parade's Broadway theme. Pulled by a classic John Deere tractor, the float made its way to Withington Stadium along with current students' floats, including ones with ``Grease'' and ``Stomp'' themes.

White said the Class of '63 is very active. ``You talk to most people, and they never see each other, never have a reunion. Not this class,'' White said. ``With this class, everyone gets together for things like this, and we have fun with it.''

Janet and Bill Forbes of Jackson helped build the float, and while they stood around Friday joking with former classmates, they described how they first met. ``He was captured in high school,'' said Janet Forbes. ``We were in the same homeroom, so I used to wait for him to walk out of the classroom, and that was it.'' Bill Forbes said the year was 1960, and they were in the same homeroom. ``She always hid in the back of the room, waiting for me to walk out of class because she liked to check out my butt,'' he said.

Howell's Mary Maneikis, 62, said the classmates always have a ball reminiscing about high school days and more recent memories of trips the class has made together.

Maneikis said everyone is welcome to join in with the group: Classmate spouses and parents, and of course, classmates themselves. ``When I first saw this float, my jaw just dropped. You see something in your mind and you never think it can uphold to that standard. This is clearly not the case. This is an amazing class, and we never cease to amaze ourselves.''

October 4, 2007

Our thoughts and prayers go out to classmate Val Baylor Baldwin. Her husband, Dave Baldwin (JHS '62), passed away suddenly on October 2. Here is the link to the obituary in the Jackson Citizen Patriot: http://www.legacy.com/jackson/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=95619658. Val has recently joined the Reunion Committee and was involved in the construction of our float for the parade.

Our 45 Year Reunion is just around the corner! The dates for the celebration are July 11-13, 2008 . Please mark your calendar. More information will be coming out as the dates approach.

As a “kick-off” for that milestone event next year, your Reunion Committee is organizing a tailgate party as part of the homecoming football game on the evening of Friday, October 5 of this year. Since that activity may not be enough excitement for us, we are also planning to participate in the Homecoming Parade! I am pretty sure it has been a long time since you have helped build a float.

A subcommittee has met to discuss the concept and design of the float. Thanks to Jeanette and Gary Childs who will provide the trailer and a vintage tractor. The major part of the construction will begin on Saturday, September 29 at 10:00am in the pole barn at the Burden Funeral Home, 1806 E. Michigan Avenue . Everyone is welcome to drop in and lend a hand. Thanks to Wayne Lawrence for allowing us the use of this facility.

Friday, October 5 is Homecoming. We will gather in the west parking lot of the high school at 4:00 for a tailgate party. Look for our class banner on an RV. Bring a snack to share and your own soft drinks (no alcohol on school grounds). At 5:30 , we will go to the Immanuel Lutheran Church (1505 W. Michigan at Brown St .). The parking lot is the staging area for the floats. The parade starts at 6:00 and travels north on Brown to Daniel and then onto Wildwood to the school. Jerry Brinkerhuff is also planning to tow his 1924 Wurlitzer Band Organ to make our participation even more special. The football game starts at 7:00 . Tickets will be available at the gate. We are trying to get a block of seats together. After the game, we are all invited to the home of Tom and Michele (Mike) Pahl to cap off the evening. We hope you can join us for one or all of these activities.