Classmate Profiles
Instructions: Hello, Classmate! Our once-in-a-lifetime GOLDEN class reunion is coming soon, and your classmates hope to see you in August! Even if you aren't able to join us, please share below about your after-high school life (~350 words), favorite high school memory/ies, and include a current photo of just you, with your face and hair - or lack thereof. And although your contact information won't be visible on this website, your classmates can contact you via email by clicking on "send [name] a message" link at the bottom of each classmate's profile. Enjoy reading the profiles!
One classmate per profile. To change your profile click Log in. Username = your email.
Don Finch
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Retired |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | Married Michelle James in August 1975. I joined the Marine Corps in November 1975. I liked it and ended up staying for 20 years. Lived in Iwakuni Japan for a year and went to Saudi Arabia for the 1st gulf War. After retirement we returned to Ames and I was employed in the ACSD, facilities department for 21 years. We have two children, Dawn a special education consultant, married, no children and James a tattoo artist, single |
Robin Fletcher (Haugland)
| State / Province: | IA |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Retired? Teacher |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | I attended UNI and graduated in 1978 with a BA in Education. I was certified K-8 and over 40 years have taught every grade except Kindergarten!! 4-5-6 were taught most often and were my favorite grades. I married Kim Fletcher, from Crawfordsville Iowa in 1979. We lived, and I taught for 34 years in the Eddyville-Blakesburg School District. We had two daughters, who now live in my two favorite towns. Amy and husband, Corey Mellies, live in Ames with Lily (14) and twins, Claire and Oliver (12). Linsey and husband Kaleb Zimmerman, live in Cedar Falls with Henry (12), John (10), Kate (6), and Sam (4). Amy works for the Episcopal Dioces out of Des Moines. Corey is a civil engineer and works for the City of Ames as the fleet director. Linsey teaches math at CF high school, and Kaleb is a mechanical engineer at John Deere Waterloo. I lost Kim to lung cancer in 2006. In 2012 I took early retirement and moved back to Ames. I then, through the help of Bill Ripp, taught at St. Cecilia for 6 years. I was reconnected to Mike Rolling in 2017, and we married in 2020. Now I substitute teach at St. C, usher at Hilton Coliseum, and work election polling when necessary. I love attending the grandkids sporting events, piano recitals, and band concerts. Mike and I are putting pins in our map traveling quite a bit. In 2023 we went to England, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as a roadtrip to the southeast. (GA, FL, AL) We also have an annual fishing trip to MN every summer. In July 2024 I will finish my bucket list of getting to all 50 states! I'm taking a two week trip to Alaska with a friend from Blakesburg. |
| Share a high school memory: | I had a brief stint on drill team. (Remember when we were on the floor of Hilton at halftime of an ISU basketball game and our music wouldn't play?) AHHH! I also loved the UN trip our junior year, for different reasons than some of you! I therefore later became the adult tour director for 7th-8th graders to Washington DC for 9 years! I loved it! I now work with Bill Ripp on the Ames High Alumni Association. I've enjoyed writing some articles for the newsletter, and encourage all of you to join!! It's a great way to stay in touch with classmates, older and younger! |
Patty Foster (Strain)
| State / Province: | IA |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Realtor |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | Like many of us, I stayed and attended ISU. Auditioned to be a music major, and at the audition was told by faculty that I was clearly not an alto (after 3 years alto in All State). Changed to 1st soprano, and have remained since. Even though I switched to "Consumer and Family Sciences" after freshman year, I continued to spend most of my time and heart in the music department, singing in the touring choir, the Iowa State Singers and in Madrigal Dinner. I got to sing with a small group in the office of Gov. Ray as he signed the bill giving ISU a new music building. ISU Singers tour to England in 1979 was the first overseas trip of my life. Years later, there also was the privilege of singing as an alumni on the Singers' tours to Australia and Italy. (The travel bug is also evident later). I had to pay for myself to live on campus, my parents told me. Took a while to save enough, so I moved into the dorms the second quarter (remember the quarter system?) of freshman year, with a rommate I had never met. As a prank, this roommate set me up with a handsome farm boy/wrestler/horticulture major from Mason City named Bryan. June 5, 2024 is our 48th wedding anniversary. We took turns going to school. I received my B.S. in Family Environment in 1978, and continued grad school in Housing/ Gerontology while Bryan finished his B.S. in Horticulture in 1983. 2 weeks after his graduation, our first daughter was born. We moved when she was 8 days old to his first job. I received my MOM degree, but never my M.S. (no online classes back then!) We now have 2 married daughters, within 2 hours of us, 1 grandson finishing a deployment to the Middle East, and 1 granddog. I believe no experience is ever wasted. We build on each thing we learn. And who you are is more important than your college major or whatever you have "been" in the past. I always knew I wanted to be a wife and a (stay-at-home) mother. So, until age 42 I worked parttime as a Physical Therapy Tech, trained on the job, and cleaned houses for sweet, elderly ladies so I could be there when the girls came home from school. And there were many church and volunteer gigs in there, as well. I loved those school girl years. At age 42, I had friends who encouraged me that I was capable of doing more. Our girls were in high school, my family supportive. To make a long story shorter, since that time I have been: a contract Pharmaceutical Rep. A Flight Attendant, domestic and international. The Patient Services Coordinator (house mom) for a hospital Stroke/Chemo/Hospice floor. And now, a Realtor. All these helped me grow. The most exciting was Flight Attendant as our company contracted with the military to transport troops to and from the Middle East. I'm the only girl on my block that has been to Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Germany, Ireland, Turkey and Cyprus. Now I am enjoying a career as a Realtor who truly believes it is not about sales, It's about relationships! I love helping young people get their first homes, or seniors relocate for a new chapter. Our church is central to our lives. Bryan runs rec for 120 kids in our Wednesday night program. And he runs the coffee service on Sundays for up to 500. I sing, serve on committees, and help with a "care team" for encouraging members going through hard times. It is a privilege to sing and be a Board member of an auditioned 40-voice chorale called Bel Canto Cedar Valley. The majority are 30 years younger than I, and music grads of Wartburg, Luther and the like. The mission statement includes "promoting music as a lifelong passion." I joke that I am the "lifelong part! Many thanks to the committee for organizing our reunion. I'm looking forward to seeing you! |
Nadya Fouad
| State / Province: | WI |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 3 |
| Occupation: | Professor |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | I went to Iowa State after high school, knowing I wanted to be a psychologist. I graduated in Psychology in 1977, and then went to the U of Minnesota for a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, deciding in the end to be a professor, researching how gender and race influence career choices. I ended up joining the counseling faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1984 and will finish my career here this June as an Endowed Chair and a University Distinguished Professor. I've been fortunate to get to work with great students and will graduate my 51st doctoral student this May. I met my husband, Bob Leitheiser, in graduate school and we were married in 1981. Our first son, Nick, was born in 1982, our second, Andrew, was born in 1988, and our third, Patrick was born in 1992. They are all married and doing well. Nick and his wife, Erin, have two children, and live in Denmark. They moved there for Erin to get her doctorate at the Copenhagen Business School, fell in love with the culture and stayed. Although they are a long ways away, we are getting to know Copenhagen and they get home at least twice a year. Andrew and his wife, Delia, just moved back to Milwaukee (after stints in Atlanta for graduate school at Georgia Tech for Andrew and a year in England at a furniture making school for Delia), and just had a son last August. We love having them in town. Patrick and his wife Katie live in Madison, where he is a lawyer and Katie is a graphic designer. I'm looking forward to retirement this summer. Bob's been retired for 5 years and we can finally travel, spend more time in Europe with the kids. I'm also becoming a master gardener, finally having the time to take the courses to do this. |
| Share a high school memory: | Lots of memories--dances, parties, Brookside Park and the Ledges--and skipping Chemistry to go to the park! Sorry I can't be at the reunion (those kids are coming from Denmark) but hope everyone has a great time! |
David Frederick (Frederick)
| State / Province: | UT |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 3 |
| Occupation: | Aerospace Engineer |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | College at the University of Wyoming, met my wife, Leslie and were married in 1978. Graduated in 1982 with a ChE degree. First job, as a civilian working for the USAF moved to Oklahoma, Tinker AFB (Oklahoma City area), lived in Harrah. 1985 had an opportunity to move back to the mountain west and work at Hill AFB, UT (Ogden area). Lived here since, culminating a career with the USAF end of March with 41+ years of service. Three children, 9 ('last'? one in the oven) grandchildren. Volunteered / Involved with my oldest son in scouting. Have enjoyed motorcycling, skiing, golf. Retirement plans to move to Nebraska. Travel and enjoy family. |
| Share a high school memory: | Swim team, the Kegger that never was!?! |
Kevin Frey
| State / Province: | MS |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 0 |
| Occupation: | Music Educator/Retired |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | B.A. Music ISU 1980 Master Music, University of Colorado, Boulder Doctor of Musical Arts, University of Wisconsin, Madison 4 years Band Director Dumont Community Schools 1 year Band/Choir Director Half Moon Bay Community Schools, CA (the job from hell) 25 years Music/Humanities Instructor San Jose Community College, San Jose, CA (YAY! The job of jobs!) During those years racked up some 300 some units of coursework in as many topics of Music/Dance as I could find, including Laban Movement Studies; certainly one of the perks being married to a Modern Dancer/Choreographer. Retired: 30 years to grow up; 30 years to career/teach; now - 30 years…… Moved to Oxford, MS area for retirement (My wife, Ms. Jimmyle, hails from these environs with, as a dancer would understand, another production in the works as you read this…). I played Horn locally in blues based bands until Covid hit and the local live music scene dried up. Yet, I continue to play my (French) Horn daily. In retirement, I get to do the “woulda/coulda/shoulda” from 50 years ago: learn to actually navigate playing Jazz tunes; actually learn piano repertoire and, finally pick up on playing the guitar (no wonder I didn’t get anywhere with it until now - not easy.) . Continually love working the seasonal (and non-sexy) work of keeping up our MS acreage (repair gutter, paint shed, thin trees, balance HVAC unit…). |
| Share a high school memory: | Band Rat stories: The “VolksWagon in the Bandroom for rehearsal” episode was covered at the 45th Reunion (shout out to Vickie Sims). KMA. I also recall the spring Iowa State Solo/Ensemble Music Contests, annually giving opportunity to demonstrate our musical skills while teaching us the rubric of musical form, decorum, discipline and etc. — And now, the rest of the story — I found my ‘Red Headband’ each of us in the Trumpet Quartet entry wore for 1974 Iowa State Music Contests - the ‘attitude’ of wearing a headband pushed against the decorum of the event; in addition, we broke form and added ‘our own’ Coda/Ending to our performance - the “bang-bang-abang-abang” ending of “Get It On” by the brass-rock group Chase. Very silly; the adjudicator chuckled. But, Milton Trexel (AHS Band Director) was apoplectic seeing our transgressions as a type of terrorism. He served us a meeting with Dr. Farrar on grounds we laid waste to AHS and the tradition of Iowa State Music Contests, even though, at the meeting, Dr. Farrar chuckled also. .… keep the stories coming. |
Jim Gammon
| State / Province: | IA |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Retired |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | I was fortunate to stay in Ames and work for the City of Ames Engineering Department helping reconstruct and build the many streets that I walked/drove in my youth and several public works projects. Unfortunately, one of these projects also included the demo of Carr Pool which was a sad experience for me as I remembered my youth. I volunteered for the assignment as I wanted a hometown person to oversee it and give it the respect it deserved. I took many photos of the process. During my career I was able to help garner state and national awards for the City of Ames, helped train many future engineers through the City's intern program, and enjoyed visiting with many classmates' parents as I inspected construction projects. I sometimes helped the City's survey crew as they prepared the projects and I responded to the monumental flooding Ames is prone to and other weather events. I spent many hours at a time assisting residents and businesses. For several years, I was on the production crew for the Ames High Football Show (including the Jimmy Burrow's Show) on the local cable network. My wife, Jan, is retired now too and we have lived in Nevada since 1980. She grew up in the Okoboji area and has 2 degrees from ISU. Our daughter, Molly, lives with her family in Urbandale and our son, Zachary, lives south of Carlisle on an acreage. We have one granddaughter and two step-grandchildren. I enjoy fishing, being outside, and being with my family. |
| Share a high school memory: | The "We Ride" during Homecoming and the many parties I attended or helped organize. |
Mike Gardner
| State / Province: | SD |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | VP Operations @ Voyage Federal Credit Union |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | I have lived and worked in Sioux Falls since 1980. Currently VP of Operations at Voyage Federal Credit Union. 43 years now. Married to Shelly for 38 years. 2 boys and now 7 grandchildren. HS was a blur. I remember fondly playing on the tennis team. Also enjoyed attending all the sporting events - except when I was in marching band and my friends made fun of me. I was so glad I quit but now I wish I still played the trumpet. ???? I can still play the fight song though. LOL.I enjoyed my time at AHS. Go Little Cyclones!! |
Bruce Gartin
| State / Province: | IA |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 5 |
| Occupation: | Sure Safety Environmental Manager Continental Manufacturing Chemists. |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | Married Brenda Zimny 30 years ago 5 Kids, 5 Grandkids number 6 on the way in May 2024. 3 girls, 3 boys. Still working and having fun everyday with a great team ! Retirement date 04/04/2025. LOL maybe. Live in Ames Addicted to Motorcycles and restoring old cars. Spend a good deal of time on the river in Nashua Iowa. Life is good, faith is strong. (Thanks to my friend Ed for putting this on the 50 year reunion website) |
Kathy Gourley (Marley)
| State / Province: | IA |
|---|---|
| Marital status: | Married |
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Archaeologist |
| Highlights of your last 50 years: | Life is good. A 350-word-limit to summarize 50 years is challenging! In 1973, I became friends with Chris Gourley, whose family moved into the house two doors down from my house. Many of you may remember his brother, Gregg, who was in our class. Chris and I were friends for a time, started dating in college, and got married in 1978. It was a good decision! We have two awesome adult sons, Jonathan (born 1982) and Ryan (born 1985). In Fall 1974, I started at Iowa State. During my sophomore year I took an archaeology course, fell in love, and found my calling. I earned my BA and MA in Anthropology and spent 30+ years at the State Historical Society of Iowa, working to preserve significant historic places. I retired in 2017 and find time to pursue my passion for Irish genealogy and other historical research. Chris majored in television production at Iowa State and spent 32 years at Iowa Public Television (IPTV) as a camera operator, video editor, and producer. His work allowed him to travel throughout Iowa as well as occasional assignments in other states and countries. He retired from IPTV in 2014 but continues to film events for other vendors on a freelance basis. Through the years, we have had great fun and made lasting friendships. We have two vintage convertibles and have made road trips with other car enthusiasts. It is much more about friendships than cars. Chris learned to sail as a teenager in Hawaii and has honed those skills throughout adulthood. We owned a Hobie 16 catamaran for 42 years but finally concluded in 2023 that it needed to be passed on to people who were younger and more agile! With three other couples and Chris as the skipper, we have chartered larger catamarans for a few trips in the Caribbean. Again, it is not about boats as much as it is about friendships. In 2019, Chris had the opportunity to participate in an eight-month sail from St. Lucia to Australia. I enjoyed the experience vicariously, as he posted videos of the trip: https://www.youtube.com/@svsky6080/videos. |
| Share a high school memory: | As a result of spending my 9th-grade year in Dublin Ireland, I was a year behind most of my peers in math. I took Beginning Algebra as a sophomore; Geometry as a junior; and Advanced Algebra as a senior. I was the only senior in Mr. Hilmer’s Advanced Algebra class. Most of my classmates were juniors, and a few Advanced Algebra students were sophomores. As it was, I felt out of place. Mr. Hilmer made the point more glaring by the way he assigned homework. When we finished a chapter, he would say “sophomores, work together to do the problems on pages 1 and 2; juniors, work together on pages 3 and 4; seniors, do the problems on pages 5 and 6.” I would groan: "Mr. Hilmer, that’s not fair. You know I’m the only senior.” He would laugh and say, “you should have taken the class last year!” We all knew he was doing this in good fun—there was no malice involved. Although I would groan in class, I always did all my assigned problems. (My dad is an engineer and was always willing to help me solve the tough math problems). Despite my groaning, I always liked Mr. Hilmer. He was an excellent teacher. |