Thank you for the time and effort that you have spent in creating the web site. I finally got around to looking it up and am very glad I did. It was nice to read about the lives of some of our classmates. Also, I just received the invitation for our class reunion You have put together a great weekend and I am looking forward to seeing everyone. Job well done.

I have been married to David for 34 wonderful years. We have lived in Willow Springs for the past 28 years and 14 years ago we built our home on a farm located 2 miles south of Willow Springs. We raise horses and Angus cattle. I’ll admit that David enjoys the animals much more than I do. We have one son, Erik, 28 years old. Erik has been married to Katie for 2 years. Katie is a delight and the daughter I always wanted. Erik returned to Willow Springs 5 years ago after college graduation and joined David in the business. David is still working. We own and operate a petroleum distribution company, which markets asphalt, fuel, gasoline, and ethanol in the Midwest. This does require a lot of travel, which we both enjoy, however we are the happiest just being at home. We are both very active in our church and community. Needless to say we stay very busy and love every minute. In short, God has truly blessed me with a wonderful life.

YIKES!!!!! 35 years??? How can we be having our 35th reunion when we’re just 29? I hope to get to see a lot of you in October and catch up on a few years. We’ve had an eventful 5 years since our last reunion. Our daughter, Ashlea, was married to Josh Adams in December, 2003. Now they are blessing us with our first grandchild in December, 2005. We’re excited but a lot of you already know how much fun grandchildren can be. Our son, Derek, is not married yet and stays busy on the golf course. I just began my 20th year teaching preschool (part-time) at the Methodist Church. I’ve had several of our classmates’ children and grandchildren in classes. Norman has worked 27 years at Howell-Oregon Electric. We are members of First Baptist Church and enjoy being active in it.

It's hard to believe it has been 35 years since we walked across that stage. Where has the time gone. I have been working at Vocational Rehabilitation since 1990 as a billing specialist. Stephanie is currently a 4th grade teacher at Gainesville and was recently married to Ray Gross, an attorney in Ozark county. Justin is employed at the Howell County Health Department and can tell you the good or bad places to eat in the area. No grandchildren yet.

Hope we can have a great weekend of celebrating with our great class. GO ZIZZERS!!

35 years....... one month after graduating I became Mrs. Leigh Stevens. I am proud to report, 35 years later, Leigh and I are still enjoying our busy lives together. This summer on a cruise to the Caribbean, along with our three grown children, their spouses and four grandchildren, Leigh and I renewed our vows. It was a very special occasion for us. We were also fortunate to have Linda, and her son Justin join us to celebrate, along with Leigh's Mom and her long time friend. It was a great trip and memories we will always cherish.

Leigh and I still reside in Southern, MD, where Leigh works as Marketing Director for Lear Siegler Services Inc. I am not employed at this time, but over the years I have worked as a volunteer in many communities, as we have moved numerous times in our 35 years of marriage. I also have worked in the medical profession. Leigh and I are looking forward to retirement.

I’ve been in Bolivar for the past 22 years basically raising three children. Our youngest, Lindsey is 17 and a senior at Bolivar High School. Nathan, 22, graduated from SBU this spring, got married in June, and he and his wife Rachel just moved to LaMirada, Ca., where Nathan is attending graduate school at Biola University. Luke, 26, graduated from Rockhurst University this spring and he and his wife Rachel live in Liberty, Mo., where Luke works as a physical therapist in an outpatient clinic. My husband of 31 years, Herb, teaches in the physical therapy dept. at SBU and works part time as a PT in outpatient rehab at Cox South. I’ve stayed busy with volunteer work and keeping up with all the kids activities. We have no grandchildren yet—only two grand dogs.

For the most part, not a lot has changed since our last reunion. The hair may be a little thinner and a little grayer but that’s just a part of getting older, right? I am still employed as an adjuster with Shelter Insurance and my wife, Danonne, still works for the US Department of Agriculture. Both daughters, Shawna and Amy, have graduated from MU, both are living in Springfield and both have JOBS! Shawna was married in October of 2001. On April 5, 2005, Shawna and her husband Mark blessed us with our first grandchild, Colton Rex Feuerbacher. He is the cutest, smartest, most wonderful little boy ever!! Although we don’t get to see him on a daily basis, we are doing our best to spoil him every chance we get. We still enjoy boating and golfing when we can work it in between work and trips to Springfield. I am in my third term as City Councilman and have enjoyed the challenges of political life. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the reunion!

Jim and I retired in May of 2004 after teaching school for 28 years. I taught one semester at SMU here in West Plains and then I went to do part time at Howell Valley where two of my granddaughters are in school this year. I will go back in January and teach part time for the second semester this year. Jim bought two tractor-trailer units and has drivers that keep them on the road for our Son-in-laws trucking firm. I am his official book keeper but the pay is minimal. We have four beautiful grand daughters ages 7,5,4,2 which we enjoy immensely. Both our children live close to us and God has blessed us with great health. We love retirement and still enjoy each others company.

Well how in the world did you find me out here in the Arizona desert? I must say I was quite surprised to receive the post card in the mail about the reunion this year. I have at times wondered if anything like this was going on with our school. Have there been reunions in the past? I doubt if many of the class remember me since I was a kind of under the radar kind of dude. I came to that school in about the middle of my sophomore year and I lived all the way out at Siloam Springs so it was get up milk the cows runnnnnnnnnn to the bus stop do the school thing catch the bus home and yes milk the cows again so I wasn't involved in any extra curricular activities which I would like to have been. There are only a couple of names I remember which were the Holt twins and I remember them cause one of them whipped me in wrestling one day in P.E. and a boy with the last name of Johnson and I can't remember his first but his nickname was horse head. I would like to purchase a year book if anyone has an extra. I called the school a few years ago to see if they kept copies of these and they said no. I come back to Mo. about once a year cause I still have a lot of family there and always enjoy it. I work for Southern California Edison in Laughlin Nv. which is a power plant where I wear two hats one as a mechanic and one as an ISO 14001 internal environmental auditor I've been with them for 20 years. Thanks very much for sending me the card and if I can swing it I will try and make this reunion.

I have been married to my wife, Marletta (Bryan), class of '74 for almost 32 years. We have been living in Woodstock, GA for about 8 years. We moved here because of my job with Binswanger Glass. I am manager of the Marietta Branch and Marletta is the Office Manager for Pilkington Glass in Smyrna, GA. We have 2 sons, Joe who will be 30 this month & Corey, 24. Both live in Tulsa, OK. We have 1 daughter, Carrie, 22 who still lives at home and is going to Kennesaw State here in Atlanta. We were back in WP for Christmas to visit my parents and sister. We do not get back very often. I am amazed how many of our class still live around WP.

We were married in the fall of 1970 and have just celebrated our 35th anniversary. We have one daughter, Darla, who we adopted from Korea. She is now 31 and currently lives in Oklahoma. We have no grandchildren.

Cody is serving as the pastor of grant Avenue Free Will Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo., and has been in the ministry for almost 30 years. He has served as pastor in Kansas City and Thayer, Mo., Ada and Stillwater, Ok.., and now in Springfield.

Vona, in addition to working as a mother and homemaker, has also worked as a preschool teacher in Oklahoma and as a receptionist for a newspaper in the Kansas City area. Her health has declined in recent years and she now is very limited in her activities.

Linda Hanna Batson

My husband Kent & I have lived in WP for the past 30 years and most of those years I’ve worked in accounting at Marathon Electric which manufactures electric motors. Our oldest daughter, Sara, lives in WP and teaches at Gainesville and the youngest, Jennifer, lives and works in WP. No grandkids or son-in-laws yet—just our pet cat Cooper. I still enjoy reading and Kent & I enjoy traveling. Sorry we won’t be able to attend but look forward to reading the reunion book.

I have spent the past 35 years married to Beverly, who was my wife and best friend. We have 2 children, both boys, and one granddaughter, age 10. I lost Beverly to cancer this year, July 23, 2005. Our 35th wedding anniversary was July 4, 2005.

I’ve been married for 32 years to Patrick who is a supervisor at Paducah Power. My oldest daughter, Heather, is a graphic designer. She designs books for a publishing company. She has two girls ages 13 and 11. My youngest daughter, Kara, is a high school social studies teacher. He has two boys, 5 and 7 weeks. We take our vacation in October. We are blessed to have good friends to travel with. This year we are going to South Dakota.

Hello Classmates of 70 and friends! Not much has changed for me in the past 30 years. I have worked at Tindles (West Plains Farm Center) for the past 22 years. I sorta made it my life so I never married or had any children. (typical old maid with about 25 cats, once it was over 50!) I have lots of nieces and nephews that have children who call me Grandma or Aunt Nanner! Gotta love those grandbabies!!! They grow up so fast.........just as we did I suppose? I have noticed that as my friends children grow up and leave home it has brought old friends back together again. Boredom and a common bond of growing older. Hello to all those who did not make it to the reunion! Maybe more of you will be able to attend the next one. God Bless you all!

A big thanks to you and all involved in the reunion for your hard work. Following is what I have been up to since high school:

1971-started at SMSU at West Plains; 1973-enlisted in the Navy’s delayed program to become a Hospital Corpsman and Pharmacy Technician at Camp LeJeune, NC; 1977-Married Lynda Lea Clark of West Plains and sent her back home until I finished my tour of duty; 1978-Honorably discharged from the USN, I returned to West Plains, my wife and SMSU. Subsequently, I also joined the USN active Reserves; 1979-we moved to Springfield, Mo., for work and for me to continue at SMSU. The GI Bill, weekends at the Reserves, along with a Distribution Representative job with the Red Cross helped Lynda pay the bills as a hair stylist (until I got her on at the Red Cross); 1984-got my B.S. in Environmental Chemistry with minors in Biology and History from SMS; 1991-got brought to Active Status by the USN and went to the Emirate of Bahrain with Fleet Hospital-22 for Desert Storm; 1995-retired from the Navy and the reserves as a Hospitalman Petty Officer

First Class. Lynda and I became staff at the newly formed Community Blood Center of the Ozarks—she as a Laboratory Technician and I still as a Distribution Rep., at which we continue; Present-Try to maintain cordial relationships with my sister and three brothers. We were so often back to West Plains to see Lynda’s (cont.)

Grandmother, Ruby Clark (now at West Vue Nursing Home) that we became members of First Baptist Church there (where I serve as user and substitute teacher) and the Heart of the Ozarks Car Club (vice-president). We love to see the USA-have been to Florida several times; Colorado; saw Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone; spent time at the Grand Canyon and made it to Las Vegas (as tourists only-not a cent gambling). We are heading again to Florida in October for Disney World and Universal Studios as well as the MOPAR Fest at Ocala (we are Dodge enthusiasts with a modified ‘95 Dodge Dakota pickup and a Neon—38 mpg, and yes we foresaw the big gas price increase coming.)

There you go-probably more than wanted or needed, but you can pick and choose. Thanks again for your efforts.

Calva and I got married April 9, 1977. We had Dusty, Travis, and Wendy. I have 3 grandchildren, Austin, Ashlyn and Brady. All live in West Plains. I have owned and operated Leroy’s Body & Paint Shop since 1980. I also raise beef cattle. My hobbies are muscle cars, wildlife management, and I still play softball. I have a ‘64 1/2 Mustang convertible, a ‘65 Chevy Impala Super Sport, and a ‘67 GTO, one mean, lean street machine. We have a Kawasaki Voyager 7 motorcycle, a touring bike. We ride it a lot and go to many places. We stay busy 24/7, still like a bunch of kids!

Married to Ruth Ann Sympson (class of 73) in August 1976. I spent 10 years in the US Navy on active duty (1971-1981). Duty stations include: Galeta Island Canal Zone (Panama), Adak (the Aleutians), Okinawa (Japan) and Skaggs Island, California (near Napa). After active duty, we moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma and I worked in the computer field in the repair division. In 1989, we were transferred to Abilene, TX where I maintained the simulators to the B-1B at Dyess AFB. Due to contract cutbacks, I was laid off in December of 1990. Just before turning 40, I retrained in the truck driving field and have been driving ever since. I have enjoyed my new line of work. We now live in The Colony, TX which is north of Dallas on the east side of Lake Lewisville. It is a small town of approximately 30,000, but it is growing very fast. We have been here since June of 1996.

We have 2 sons. David is 27 and Adam is 24. Adam married Michelle in August 2002. On December 6, 2004, they gave us our first grandchild, Lisa Ann. She is a happy baby and has brought us a lot of joy.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the reunion.

Hello Friends, Monte and I are still enjoying retirement and our 4 grandchildren. Luckily our daughter, Trista (mother of all 4) and her husband live 15 minutes away so we’re able to properly spoil our “perfect” little angels. There are 3 boys, Jackson is 8, Carter is 6 and Grant is 5, and little Emily (finally a girl!) is 3. Their school and athletic activities keep our schedules full trying to be attentive grandparents! Our son, Derek, lives in Austin, Tx., is still single and seems to be set on staying that way! Early this year I finally talked Monte into buying a small RV and we’ve put a lot of miles on it this summer. We are enjoying it far more than he ever believed we would! When we’re not on the road, we both stay busy with work around our old house, and helping out with all kinds of projects and causes in our community. I established and maintain a website for our neighborhood, as well as the one for the Class of 1970, and between the two, I feel like I’m attached to my computer at times! But it’s been a lot of fun! I look forward to seeing everyone in October!

Well, here we are, AARP members. Where did the time go!
As you know, if you read Nancy’s website, my life was put on hold. July ‘04 I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I had surgery for this on Sept. 13, 2004. Like Trudy says, I have one up on all of you—at least they know I have a brain, they’ve seen it. The tumor was benign and they didn’t get it all. St. Louis doctors are watching it through MRIs for growth that I pray never happens. (If so, I have to have more done.) I’ve learned to appreciate life more and feel like my physical life is falling apart that turning 50+ is NOT what I wanted to do. I have learned a lot during this last year. I am first convinced that I would not be here if it weren’t for all the prayers offered on my behalf. I had a stroke during surgery and could not wake up from the anesthetic. Thank you to all who prayed for me. Thank you too for the visits, food, gifts, emails, etc. A group of “our” girls came to visit me before I went to St. Louis for the surgery. It meant a lot! I learned what it feels like to be elderly and go into a nursing home only to have nothing. I had no money, no credit cards, no driver’s license, no car, no key, limited clothing. Heck, we live in the U.S.—land of opportunity—we can do better than that for our elderly. I think God tried to teach me patience. I’ve not mastered that—I’m still learning. Trudy stayed with me most of the 10 weeks. (I was in the hospital St. Louis for two weeks and rehabilitation center in Springfield for 6 weeks.) I am very thankful I had her. My super renters kept my house and yard in order. All in all, I am very blessed. Experiences like this teach us what is important: God, family and friends. It has been a real hard year and a half, but I’m alive without too many after effects. NEVER, NEVER let any doctor convince you that health problems are due to age! (No doctor tried to convince me of this—I’d just remembered being told “You are getting older” so long that I believed it. I didn’t WANT to know that I had serious problems so I lived in a state of denial for two years. I do NOT blame any doctors—if I’d told my doctor of symptoms he would have caught this sooner. I just didn’t want anyone to know and didn’t want to believe myself).

I am retired since ‘98. Both my kids are married. My daughter has a 3 year old so I’m grandma and am very happy to babysit. My son got married June 4, 2005. I am divorced so I know well what an empty nest is. Both kids live here, work here, and have college degrees. I have a good son-in-law and good daughter-in-law. All kids are in relatively good health. (Life has treated me well—with a few rocks along the way—only to help me grow.)

During this last year and a half, I have thought about US, class of ‘70. Each of us should be thankful that we come from such a close, caring class. Remember we are strong. (I don’t believe there was too much that our class couldn’t accomplish!) The caring and strength has stood out in my life and helped me get through it—how thankful we should be—to be a part of it! What made us strong? I think that we all stood united. The caring we got by having good parents and caring families. May we continue to have such a caring attitude toward one another and give each other strength and instill it in our families!

The only updates I have are that we still live in Dallas and I'm still working for J. Renee' selling shoes. The hurricanes Katrina and Rita have played havoc with my territory because New Orleans and Houston are two of my biggest areas...but it's nothing compared to what all those people have gone through. We have lots of family in Houston...grandkids, etc. They all evacuated from Rita and luckily their houses avoided the brunt of the storms. My friends and customers in Beaumont and Port Arthur weren't so lucky. For my 50th birthday, Ron took me to California to play golf at Pebble Beach. It was the highlight of my life. The weather was beautiful and it was so neat to stand on the deck at the Lodge looking out over the 18th green and the pacific ocean. Sadly, my Father passed away in July of this year and it will be bitter/sweet coming back to the reunion. The college is going to buy the house and I'm sure they will bulldoze it. I dread when that happens. All those wonderful memories of slumber parties and coming down the stairs in my Homecoming and Prom dresses will just be that, memories. I hope to keep coming home after all this and not just every 5 years for the reunion. I do, as always, look forward to seeing everyone and going to a Zizzer Homecoming Game. It's been 35 years for me. See you then!

It’s me again, Brenda Mayberry, just a little about me. I married Ricky Collins from school, my school sweetheart! Anyway, we were married for 16.5 yrs., had three children, Jody, Vance, and Scott. Jody is a girl. She has 4 children. Vance has 1 daughter. Scott has 1 son. I am married to a nice man and been married to him for 19 years. We raise qtr. horses, and coon dogs. We have kitty cats, and live 5 miles from Cabool, Mo. I work at the Cabool D.Q. I am the store manager, work with teens a lot, starting to think I’m almost ready to retire too. Ha ha. I drove a bus for 16 years. The kids just got to be so unruly, and the parents were so strange that I’d had enough so I went full time at the D.Q and been here for 10 yrs in Feb, 2006 We are both Christians and love the Lord. Well that’s about it. So anytime you are in or passing by Cabool, stop in at the D.Q.

I can’t believe it’s been 35 years since we graduated from high school! I’m glad that I’m not the only one getting so old—I see my old buddies, & they’re suffering with me, too. It’s nice to grow old together, class of 70!

Since our last reunion, our kids have all definitely flown from the nest & scattered. Our eldest, Andy, is married & lives in West Plains, but Jake is in Kansas City, & Meg is in Maryland. Rob & I are enjoying this stage of our lives-but it sure hasn’t slowed down any! Rob still runs our business, farms-& is now preaching at the Methodist Church’s satellite church that we opened two years ago. I’m a speech-language pathologist for Early Childhood Special Education, which means I work with 3-5 year olds from this area who have delays in their communication skills. It’s very challenging, but rewarding to work with the little ones and their families. Rob & I have taken up swing & ballroom dancing & love it! It’s so much fun & something we do as a couple. It’s supposed to be good for us mentally…… we’ll see. I just wish we could remember what we learn from week-to-week.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the reunion! There is truly a special

bond with our classmates—so I hope that all of us make the effort to get together.

My family and I have moved back to Springfield, MO after being gone 25 years. My 20 year old daughter Beth is a sophomore at MSU where she is a Recreational Management Major and is riding on the Equestrian Team. My 18 year old daughter Sarah is a senior at Kickapoo High School and is planning on attending MU next fall. My wife of 31 years Jill is working at a local CPA firm and I have become a bum. I am planning on teaching a couple of night classes at MSU, buying and selling some stock, and building a cabin on Table Rock Lake. I am going to be able to come to West Plains on Friday and I am looking forward to seeing many of you. Best of luck for you and your family.

Skip and I are still hanging out together after 36 years. We love the farm and cattle but have recently bought a fifth-wheel trailer and are going to become snow-birds. I used to think only OLD people did that! Our four kids are great! And in-laws! We have been so blessed with healthy, adorable grandchildren, Scooter, 7; Patricia, 2, and now our oldest daughter is having twins in March.

Faith, Family, Friends… the three most important words to me. God Bless you.