(9/10) We have just learned of the passing of classmate Howard Jeffrey, of Lansing, on September 9.

(9/9) Just posted is the obituary for classmate Robert L. VanCamp. Bob passed away on March 27, 2003 in FL. He and his wife, classmate Margaret Woehlert VanCamp, had just moved there only a few months earlier.

(9/1) Bill and Janet Forbes will again be hosting the "World's Largest Wienie Roast" on Saturday, October 11th beginning at 5:00pm. All JHS '63 classmates and friends are welcome. They will be providing the bonfire, hot dogs, buns and hot beverages. You need only bring your lawn chairs, a dish to pass and any other drinks. Their address is 3469 Hoyer Road, Jackson, 49201. The phone number is (517) 764-9791 and their email is forbesjanetbill@yahoo.com. Click here for a map. A call or email would be nice to let them know you are coming.

(8/11) What a weekend! The 40 year reunion is now part of class history. Overall, we reunited about 110 classmates and half again as many spouses and guests. Below is a brief wrapup. I have posted the photos but would appreciate any help on some of the captions.

Friday night: Our picnic and bonfire at the American Legion drew about 120 for beer, hot dogs, side dishes and toasted marshmallows. Dennis and Jean Peyton Weathers made the arrangements and hosted the event. Tom and Marlys Peck and other committee members brought the food and drink. Bob Trumbull (husband of classmate Linda Stroup Trumbull) cooked over 200 dogs and Penny (wife of Dennis) Hatt's cookies were a big hit. Bill Forbes moved a lot of firewood.

Tour of the School: Over 50 attended the tour to see what $24 million can do to restore a classic structure. The results are spectacular. Our guide was the superintendent of the general contractor with a few words by the incoming principal. Rick Croy set up this event.

Golf Outing: A total of twenty golfers hit the links for a nine hole scramble at Hickory Hills Golf Course. The winning score was four under par but fun and fellowship were abundant. Tom Peck worked with the course to get us the tee times that allowed us to squeeze in this event between the tour and main event.

The Main Event: About 150 attended the socializing, dining and dancing at the Gene Davis and Sons Banquet Center. The food and accommodations were well received. Linda was our primary liaison. Decorations were the inspiration and perspiration of Janet Eberle Forbes and a small subcommittee. Janet also organized the several contests she and Bill had a part in the "surprise" entertainment for the evening. John Truszkowski, a professional DJ, provided his expertise and decibels to make the party even merrier.

Behind the scenes: There were a number of other committee members who also helped greatly to make the weekend-long festivities successful. Jeanette Wing Childs handled the registrations, paid all the bills and kept the books. Planning meetings were hosted by Sandy Tison Rubert, Carol Campbell, Libby Preston Warner, the Pecks and the Forbes. Other committee members not already mentioned above were Mary Breitmayer Pachella, Jerry Brinkerhuff, Mark and Anne Friske Lee, Mary Layhe Maneikis, Ken Mills and Marvin Thomas. We would also like to thank Greg White, JHS '81, for his splendid website, www.yearbook.net. It was his prior work in scanning our senior pictures that facilitated the assembly and printing of nametags.

Overall: The committee had a great time planning the events but would truly like to thank all the attendees, some of whom came from as far as Hawaii, California, Texas and Florida. The committee will be holding a wrap-up meeting within a month. I will announce the details here soon in case you would like to attend (everyone is welcome on the committee). You may also send your inputs to me and I will make sure they are on the agenda. If there are comments you want to make to everyone, you can post them in our on-line guest book. (Note: Guestbook has since been disabled due to spam.) We hope to see you all (and many more) for our next event (a collective 60th birthday party, perhaps).

Thanks again to all who participated in the reunion.
John White, your webmaster and data cruncher

p.s. One other item. I have a pair of reading-style eyeglasses that were left behind on Saturday night. I can't tell whether they are a prescription or drug store model but if they are yours, you probably would like them back. Let me know and I will mail them to you.

(8/4) The events of our 40 Year Reunion this weekend are rolling along. We are planning on over 100 for Friday night's picnic, about 75 for Saturday's tour and about 150 for Saturday night. If you haven't made your plans yet, you can surely show up for the picnic and tour. The dinner requires a guaranteed count that was due a week in advance. We will probably know Friday night if we can squeeze in a few more for dinner on Saturday.
If you want to help decorate, we can use some help on Saturday afternoon. Let me know.

(7/19) The next meeting of the reunion committee will be at Libby's as noted below. I apologize for not posting any details about. If you want to attend, you are welcome, even at the last minute. The format for the food and beverages is the same as earlier meetings (see the write-up below for the May meeting).

We were sorry to learn of the death of classmate Anna Claflin Lefferts-Mitkov as a result of a traffic accident on April 9, 2003. Click on her name for the complete obituary.

(6/17) Classmates and friends should have their invitations by now. Print out the documents below if you need one. The next reunion planning meeting will be Sunday, July 20 at 3:00. Libby Preston Warner will be our host. Details will be posted here later.

(6/1) The invitations to the reunion should be mailed out in early June. The envelope includes the invitation letter, the registration form and the list of "lost" classmates. The letter and registration form are .pdf files. The list is an .html file.
We hope to see you in Jackson on August 8th and 9th!

(5/14) At the committee meeting on Sunday, 4/27, those present helped gather the plans for the weekend of August 8 and 9. We still need to work out some details but are confident that we will keep attendees pretty busy from Friday evening through Saturday night. The next meeting will be held at the home of Janet and Bill Forbes on Sunday, 6/1 at 3:00. The main purpose of that meeting will be to stuff and mail about 500 invitation letters.

Janet and Bill will provide the main dish and hot beverages for a light supper. For the rest of us, we are to bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert to share plus any cold drinks for ourselves. Everyone is welcome but please give them a call at (517) 764-9791 or email them at forbesjanetbill@yahoo.com to let them know you plan to attend.

(4/18) The committee will be meeting on Sunday, 4/27 at 3:00 to discuss details of the reunion weekend of August 8 and 9. We will have the draft of the invitation that we will mail in June. For those of you who are working on different aspects of the weekend, please come with any costs that we can use to come up with prices.

Tom and Marlys Peck have agreed to host and will provide the main dish and hot beverages for a light supper. For the rest of us, we are to bring an appetizer, side dish or dessert to share plus any cold drinks for ourselves. Please let them know if you are coming, either by email at martom@modempool.com or by phone at (517) 789-6876. All interested classmates and spouses are invited.

Here is a current list of lost classmates. It totals 116

(4/9) We were sorry to learn of the death of classmate Anna Claflin Lefferts-Mitkov as a result of a traffic accident. Click on her name for the complete obituary.

(4/3) Plans for the reunion weekend are beginning to fall into place. Rick Croy reports he is in negotiations for a Tailgate Brunch on Saturday morning followed by a tour of the school. The Tailgate event will be a first for us. We will hear more at our next meeting on 4/27.

(3/17) Thanks to Carol for hosting the meeting mentioned in the paragraph below. Sixteen of us shared ideas and took on tasks to prepare for the next meeting on Sunday, April 27. Everyone is welcome to help us finalize the plans. We will meet again in June to stuff envelopes with the invitations.
The plan for the weekend is shaping up as follows:
Friday night, August 8: An informal cookout and bonfire at the American Legion. This event was a big hit last time.
Saturday during the day: Several ideas are being studied. One is a Tailgate Brunch at the stadium. Another is a tour of the school. A third is a "walk-a-thon" around Ella Sharp Park. Finally, a golf outing is under consideration.
Saturday night: A buffet dinner and dancing at the Gene Davis Banquet and Convention Center on Francis Street.

(3/5) Our next reunion planning meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 16 at 3:00. We will meet at the home of Carol Campbell in Jackson. Anyone (and their spouses) interested in discussing plans for the reunion on August 9 is welcome. Contact me for details. Thanks to all of you who returned your orange cards or otherwise updated your contact information. Unfortunately, we received a number of letters as undeliverable. Our list of "lost" classmates is up to 117. If you would like to help find them, let me know and I will send you the latest list.

(2/2) Our reunion planning meeting today resulted in the stuffing of about 450 envelopes. The contents included a letter (in .pdf format) announcing the reunion weekend of August 8 & 9, 2003 and a list of "lost" classmates. Also enclosed was a reply postcard which can be used to update contact information. Classmates can also update online. Here are two photos from today's event. The date for the next committee meeting is Sunday, March 16. Everyone is welcome to join us.

(1/13) Planning for our 40 year reunion is about to begin in earnest! Sandy Tison Rubert will be hosting a committee meeting at her home in Jackson on Sunday, February 2. We will be stuffing envelopes for a mass mailing which will alert classmates to the dates of August 8th and 9th. The meeting will begin at 4:30 and will include a light supper. All classmates and guests are welcome. Please contact me to sign up. I will get back to you with details.

(1/7) Other than Happy New Year, there is not much to report. We are still signed up for a reunion weekend this summer with the main event scheduled for Saturday, August 9. Our next committee meeting will be in late January or February. At that time, we will send out details of the event and begin the process of tracking down our "lost" classmates. All are welcome to join the committee. If you want to be involved, please let us know by sending a message to committee@jhs63.org. Thanks.