Rest in Peace, Walter

Thanks to BILL KING, who sent the following to me, we now have an obituary for the late WALTER THOMAS:

"Walter H. Thomas, 81, of Alpine, Texas, passed away July 22, 2021, at UMC in El Paso, Texas. His ashes will be interred in the Old Runnels Cemetery in Ballinger, Texas, at a date to be determined. Walter was born the youngest of six siblings on Aug. 16, 1939, in Ballinger. His parents were the late Leon and Jewell Thomas. On July 2, 1964, he married Diana Martin in Midland, Texas. After graduation from Ballinger High School in 1957, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a heavy vehicle operator. Upon his discharge, he was employed by the Texas Department of Transportation. He later began a career in the freight business from which he retired. Walter enjoyed music and friends, bringing a smile to most people who knew him. He loved listening to the Alpine Cowboy’s games while sitting on his front porch. Walter is survived by his wife Diana Martin Thomas; his son Charles Wayne Thomas; two sisters, Dorothy Burke and Francis Shiller (Leroy); daughter-in-law Imelda Thomas; grandchildren Makenzie Bledsoe, Owen Thomas, and Mary Thomas; and great grandchild Graham Dyer, along with many nieces and nephews.

Mr. Thomas was preceded in death by his son Gregory Allen Thomas; brothers Billy Jack Thomas and Archie Thomas; and brother-in-law Ken Burke."

Condolences to Diana and family.

With love, 

Marilyn and BHS Class of 1957

Got a Pet? or a New Car?

I love to hear updates on everyone's lives. Of course, I wish to know of health issues that we are sending good wishes and prayers to. I think JAMES HAYS and a crew of six recently met to discuss a class reunion in October. I will keep you informed as I learn more.

In the meantime, I can always count on DENNY HILL to answer my requests with something interesting from his home in New York. 

"I can easily understand how you might be thirsty for any news. For me it is like so; these days I am happy to get any news, or especially any juicy gossip, from my friends. This is of course because of the long isolation due to COVID. So here are some small drips and drabs from my rather uneventful recent life:

"I officially retired on June 1, 2021, at age 81. It means I do not have to teach any more! I was planning to take the option offered to me to become, after retirement, a so-called 'Toll Professor' {named after some guy named Toll who was the founding president of my university} for an additional 3-years. It would have meant that I would still be paid some small amount from university funds, but I would have to teach one course per year for the next 3-years, and I could keep my large beautiful office at my university. But COVID convinced me to not take that option. I was still working over the summer on an important committee, but now that is also over. I have not been on campus, or to my office for about one and one half years. Sometime this year I will have to clean it out, which will be an enormous pain, since I have had that office for 48-years, and a big part of my life is/was there.

"The result of all this, plus not being able to travel, is that I have been forced to rediscover my house, and actually enjoy living in it, instead of just using it as a giant closet in which to stash my stuff while I was elsewhere. It has been amazing; like discovering that all my plumbing needed to be replaced because it was old and leaking and neglected. And finding many things I had forgotten I even had that had never been used, or books and things I once thought about reading, but had forgotten even existed, etc......

"Another funny thing is that by retiring I no longer get paid by the state of New York; hence I was forced to start to tap my retirement accounts {the US government makes you take out some so called 'minimum disbursement' each year as soon as you retire, so that they get paid the income tax not yet paid on it before you expire and pass your retirement accumulation on to your dependents}. So I had to do that, and it meant before taxes that I got a $53,000 raise per year over my usual salary. [Isn't it a pi** that you get all this money only when it is much too late, and you are much too old to enjoy it!]

"As far as traveling anywhere, I do seem to be screwed completely. I have not been able to visit my place in Warsaw for a year and a half now, and was hoping to go around Christmas time this year; but now I am afraid that the Delta variant will be in full swing there then. At the moment it has not hit there hard yet, but I am sure it will arrive. Just look at what is now happening in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, etc. Here in my Suffolk County the Delta variant is exponentially increasing, even when 58% of the total population has been fully vaccinated. I think it will take 80% or so to stop it."

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VIRGINIA EGAN answered my request as to how she and Mike are doing lately: "Mike is still going to dialysis in San Angelo and gets very tired of going. We have had the vaccines and will get a booster as soon as they have them. Be sure and be careful. I know two young men in their 30s who were fully vaccinated and did get COVID. One of them had a friend who was exposed at the same time, same source and wasn't vaccinated. Had a severe case."

I can only imagine making that trip to San Angelo two or more times a week and sitting in a chair with medicine pumping into my veins for hours. I hope you take a good book to read with you, Virginia! Here's wishing Mike good health and lots of patience for both of you!

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JIMMY COWLISHAW wrote that he and Betty have recently moved back to Paris. "Not doing any work at this time, but will start a job in Kerrville soon. Stay cool." 

I said that I hoped he meant Paris, Texas! He followed up with his new address, which I will forward to you all to put in your handbook.

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It's fun to use these photos --- some of which are several years old. I'm not sure about you, but I have aged considerably since we last saw one another. If you wish to have me post a more recent one, please send them to me. Of course, it's good to remember how we once were. In the case of those who send me new ones, thank you. 

Stanley

 

I also checked on my good friend TRUMAN CONNER as I had not heard from him in quite a while. I was happy to receive this: "All is well here with lots of well appreciated rain.  Have been playing some golf but not as motivated when the weather is hot. David and I have taken a few short trips just to get away. Stanley goes with us and travels well on road trips. Can't leave him at home, and the vet says pet kennels are more stressful on cats than on dogs. No surprise there."

How about an update from those of you with pets - and maybe some photos? I have really longed for a pet during 

Nimbus

these COVID isolation days. I've settled for occasional visits from daughter Carajean's dog Nimbus and son Matthew's frisky dog Nala. I do not have a fenced yard, and I'm no longer able to walk a dog. My oxygen tank is a wee bit too heavy!

Nala

Nimbus is getting older and loves to have his back rubbed when he visits. He is deaf, but looks you in the eye and watches for hand signals! As soon as he comes through the door and spies me sitting on the sofa, he trots over and backs his little rump up against my legs, looking over his shoulder with those expressive eyes as if to say, "Back rub, please." And of course, I comply. Touching that beautiful, soft fur is pleasing to me as well.

Nala, an Aussiedoodle, is still a pup. She will play "fetch" as long as you will toss a ball.. even catching it in the air. When she cannot get anyone to play with her at home, she drops a ball off the 2-story deck into the yard, runs down the stairs, "fetches" it, brings the ball back upstairs and does it all over again!

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(2020 Suburu Outback dashboard)

Are you looking for some excitement in your life? If you are one of those folks who love to ride dangerous roller coasters or the like, this may interest you. I'm not a big fan of carnival rides, so my recent experience of riding with my son Matthew on a trip to the doctor was a little scary. The photo looks like the dashboard of his auto. I think I had a television with a screen not much larger than that! The GPS on it proves to be useful in finding the address you are seeking, and of course, the voice giving you instructions when and where to change lanes and/or turn helps as well. However, this car has one feature that makes it dangerous in my opinion. Automatic driving! Imagine driving on a busy freeway, cars lined up in front and rear and both sides of you, and your driver takes his hands off the wheel! (I was wishing I had ordered some of those "Depends for Women"!)  

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The news is terrible as usual so I turn to some of my humorous authors for relief. One is Garrison Keillor. This quote was from an article he wrote today. (The World is Not My Home) You football fans reading this will get a chuckle. I think he is right on about the violence in sports. If it is truly satisfying man's (and woman's) taste for violence, I'm all for it.

"I’m an old liberal and I do think that America has been spared a great deal of trouble by the fact that so much hostility that might go into terrorism is expended instead on competitive sports. Christians aren’t influenced by the Sunday sermon so much as by the NFL game afterward, the sacking of the quarterback, repeated in slo-mo, his arm up to pass and three behemoths hit him amidships and the helmet flies off and he crumples to the turf, a broken man: thus our lust for violence is sated." Garrison Keillor

If there is something here that jogs your memory of a story or two you wish to share with us, please send it. We all need to keep our connection. Go Bearcats!

Peace and much love,

Marilyn 

Time to Give Thanks...

 

Good news! I inquired about RODNEY FLANAGAN'S health and his wife Carolyn was kind enough to send me the following:

"Rodney was released from Shannon Encompass Rehab July 30, 24 days after the stroke. Seven of those days were spent in Shannon Hospital.  The remaining time was spent in rehab, which was crucial in his recovery. He spent time in Occupational, Speech and Physical therapy almost every day.  He is working to regain his strength by walking and doing exercises at home, which he does not enjoy.  He looks good and there are no obvious physical effects. There is some short term memory loss, and he gets tired easier.  He laughs and says that being 82 years old is part of the problem.  We are so thankful that he is doing so well and give God all the glory. Thank you all for the calls, cards and prayers.  The class of '57 is a special bunch of people."

Love to you all,

Rodney and Carolyn

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Back in May, NANCY BAKER'S grandson Rei suffered a serious brain injury in a skateboard accident. His sister Kara

set up a GoFundMe page for him and updated his condition from time to time. Last week NANCY told me that he was home with his mother Lynn in Winters, and accompanied them on their garage sale shopping! He is still on the path to a full recovery. His sister Kara wrote the following on his GoFundMe page:

"Rei has made a truly miraculous recovery. He was released from the hospital on July 16th. He was hospitalized for 7 weeks. 5 of those weeks he was kept deeply sedated, on a ventilator, and on a feeding tube in ICU. During that time the Doctors and Nurses could not tell us that he would ever be okay. Then once Rei's brain could handle coming back from sedation he literally started making a full recovery in 2 weeks and got to go home! Every other day my mom told me about a big milestone Rei overcame. I kept driving to the hospital to see for myself. God has been so good to us! Thank you all again for your support! We know many of you wanted to come see him but you didn't because you understood how important it was for him to have a completely calm and unstimulating environment for his brain to heal. We thank you for your understanding and for supporting us from afar! We love you and God bless all of you for your kindness!"

This truly was a miraculous recovery. 

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Back in June I wrote about my and BOB BURTON'S grandson Branch Tanner Archer and the 70-day bicycle ride he was participating in to raise money for cancer research, I Love to Ride My Bike. Last Friday the riders completed their 6,000 mile trip, arriving back in Austin. Guess who was there to greet him? As his parents were waiting in Alaska for him to join them, Papaw, aka BOB BURTON was there with a big grin and a hug! Uncle Matthew took the photos. We are all "busting our buttons" with pride for this young man.

BOB BURTON, Tanner, Aunt Amy, Cousin Kelly

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"Ask and ye shall receive." I recently asked DENNY HILL what he has been up to in recent months. I was tickled to get a quick, funny response from him. During the pandemic, he has been experiencing some of the things that we all can relate to. Stay tuned. I will share these with you in my next post!

In the meantime, if you can keep us all updated on classmates who need our attention and/or prayers, please drop me an email. I am finally able to do a little writing, and of course, I love to hear from you all!

Peace and love -- and may you all experience "good stuff"!

Marilyn