Classmates

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Pete Horton

Marital status: Married
Children: 6
Occupation: Executive Director
Comment: Dianne and I live in El Cajon, California - just outside of San Diego.  We have six children, and five grandchildren.  I owned my own accounting practice for 20+ years before going to work as the Executive Director for the California-Nevada-Hawaii District of Kiwanis International.  We both enjoy travel and travel frequently for work. We lived close to Napa for 10 years and became hooked on red wine; so Napa is a favorite travel destination for us along with Paris.

Cheryl Houk

Marital status: Committed Relationship
Children: 2
Occupation: teacher
Comment: I've been living in Colorado for 20 years now.  I love it and am just north of Denver. It's a great city with all the major sports teams.  GO Broncos!  I get back to Connecticut a few times a year as my Mom and brother live in Litchfield now.  I'm a teacher.  I got divorced after a long term marriage and am now in a committed relationship.  I have two children.  They both have their masters degrees.  My son, Justin, is a systems engineer and lives south of Denver, and my daughter and her husband are moving to Germany next month. They are taking my 2 grandsons away from me!  Her husband, Curt, is an oral surgeon in the Air Force. We will be going to Germany to visit!  Dennis and I enjoy camping and go a lot of places in our RV. Hi to everyone from the class of 1967!

Robert Hughes

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Mechanical Engineer
Comment: What I've been up to for the past forty years!!!...after a 13 year "on again/off again" courtship that started at DHS, Cindi Birchfield (DHS Class of 1968) and I married in 1978.  We settled in Woodbury, CT where we still live today.  We have two children-Laura-age 24 -is a nursery/preschool teacher; Matthew - age 20 - is a photographer.  My high school part time after school job as a draftsman for an engineering company has turned into my vocation.  For the past 42 years, I have been in the mechanical engineering field.  At present I am an Associate with Thornton Tomasetti, Inc., a large engineering firm based in NYC; I work out of the New Haven office.  My family still has our cottage on a lake in Maine where we spend as much time as possible each summer.......life has been good!

Ellen Hyde (Libby)

Marital status: Married
Children: 4
Occupation: Preschool Director
Comment: It has been fun to read what everyone has been doing for 40 years.   I haven't spent any time in Darien since my parents moved to Cape Cod  in 1983.  I  keep in touch with my pal Paddies (Johnson) Austin but would love to hear from other DHS friends.

In 1971 I married my college sweetheart.  After 10 years we separated and divorced.  In 1985 I married my soulmate Jim.  We each had two children from our previous marriages, all quite close in age.  They are now grown adults and we are experiencing the excitement of grandparenthood.  My son, Ben, 31, and his wife are expecting their first child next month.  They live in Portland, OR so we will be travelling to see the baby the moment it is born.  My stepdaughter, Gabe, 32, had her first child, in July.  My stepson, Jeff, 29, is getting married  on the Cape next month (hopefully before our trip to Oregon).  My daughter Amy, 25,  is single and lives and works in Boston.  We are fortunate to have  three out of four children living close by.  

Jim and I both still work fulltime.  I have taught at a local preschool for 19 years and have served as its director for seven years.  Jim is a licensed mental health counselor at an agency in Hyannis and is working to develop his own practice as well.  Our lives are rich, happy and busy.  We love living on Cape Cod surrounded by the beautiful ocean.  We enjoy going over the bridge to Boston but are happiest on this little piece of land sticking out into the Atlantic.

Michael Johnson

Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Artist/ Painter
Comment: 6/15/12

Time flies. It seems like we just met up a short while ago and at the same time I'm fully aware that it's actually been almost five years. In the photo are Eva, fourteen, soon to be a ninth grader at Hunter College High School, NYC and Leila, eleven, will be a seventh grader in the fall. Great kids! Also pictured, my dear wife Francie who still works as a reading specialist/administrator at PSIS 187 here in Washington Heights, NYC, my four year old pup Jax, a rescue from a shelter in Little Rock Arkansas, and me, with my beat up Yankee cap..  

This past year was an incredible one in that I was able to assemble and hang a show of 43 of my paintings selected from works from 1980 through 2011. The show ran four five months in the gallery space of a bank here in Washington Heights. Because the show was local, it gave me a chance to reveal to many friends and neighbors exactly what I do. A bunch of sales came out of it as well. I always think fondly of our art teachers, Mr Levine at Middlesex and Mr Matt Stampalia at DHS, who spurred me on back in my school days. 

My Mom is 93 and living at Atria, Darien. She's had her ups and downs but continues to be an inspiration. 

Best Wishes to Everyone,

Can't wait to see you at the reunion.

All the Best,

Mike

Douglas Jones

Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: retired attorney
Comment: After graduating from Dartmouth, I spent 3 years on active duty in the Army.  MaryAnne  (Smith '73) and I got married in 1973.  After the Army, I went to law school and then into practice in Rochester, NY.  I was an Assistant DA for 5 years and then went into private practice.  After 17 years with the same firm, I retired from the active practice of law in 2000.  Since then we have done some travelling and spend a lot of time outdoors, hiking, kayaking, hunting, etc.  We have two sons, Trevor (26) and Cameron (22).  Trevor is in graduate school and Cam works in advertising in NYC.  We look forward to seeing old friends again.

Peter Jones

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 1
Occupation: Potter/Cave Photographer
Comment: Life is still much the same as it has been for me over many years, only better.  Still a potter with many awards for my work, still a cave photographer with a print in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History as part of the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service.  Retirement?  Why should I give up doing exactly what I love to do for a living?  Will I move to Florida and take up golf?  I hate golf and don't particularly care for Florida (except when I exhibit at some of the best fine art shows in the country down there during the month of February) so I don't think so.  The only thing is that when I wake up in the morning and look at the vanity cabinet, there's this face that looks back at me and mimics everything I do.  It looks vaguely familiar to me, only older.  My brain says I'm around 35, but that face that looks back at me doesn't look like I think of myself.  Does anyone else have that problem?



I come back to Darien nearly every year for a brief, one hour trip down memory lane while doing a fine craft show at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich.  Some things never change, others change dramatically.  Half the homes on the road I grew up on have been torn down and replaced with huge mansions (not McMansions but the real thing...).  Jem Lee Laundry and The Sugar Bowl are still there and haven't changed much, other things have morphed into places I don't recognize.  We were all lucky to be raised in a location that put a high value on education.  I wouldn't want to live there now, but I do have some good memories of that time.  Much happier for having lived in Colorado for six years and Maine for forty four years.  Others I know who have lived in Maine (John Okie, Creighton Drury, Sharon Duffield and probably others I don't know about) all agree that it is a GREAT place to live.



I plan on coming to the 50th Reunion and my wife even said she'd like to come to it as well.  What a hoot that will be.  Hope to see some old friends there.  My thanks and gratitude to Sharon for putting on this event for us all.

Dave Kenney

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Occupation: Tennis Pro/ Builder
Comment: Not sure about Sat because of a wedding commitment but I will be in the area soooo... you never know. I really would like to see everyone. I'm planning on Being in town Fri and Sat AM and it's killing me I'm going to miss dancing with all those great looking women from the sexiest class ever to graduate from Darien High. Then is now.

Alan W. King

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Divorced
Children: 2
Occupation: Retired/Freelance Writer
Comment:
"Why are our days limited on Earth? To make each day special!"



The Passages Of Time

Mitch Albom's latest Novel: The Time Keeper

It was a pleasure seeing former classmates at our 40th reunion, and learning what everyone has been up to all these years.  In fact, I was recently in contact with Howie Thompson, and had the privilege of reading his latest novel, 'OverTime.' Who knew that Howie could write! 



Class of '67's Thompson

    goes into 'OverTime'

 





If you are interested, you may read my book review for 'OverTime' in our Guess Book section.  I finished writing and editing the screenplay for  'OverTime' and Howie and I are currently looking for an agent.



GARRETT  M. BROWN'S 'AMERICANA'



Takes you back  to 1958 New England



 


Darien native Garrett M. Brown's one-act-play, "Americana,"

was performed for the first time this spring.  In this scene,

Mr. Self, the encyclopedia salesman played by Chris Ceraso,

looks on with the Dad (Michael Cullen) as they gaze at the

son, Garry's (Miles Berger) sketchbook of drawings of his

models -- the various Playmates of the Month, from

Playboy Magazine."

 

I have also kept in contact with Garrett/aka Garry Brown, and had an opportunity to read his play, "AMERICANA."   We all knew that Garry could act, but did we ever suspect he was such a gifted writer too.  If you would like to read my review of 'AMERICANA,' you may also check it out in our Guess Book section. Both reviews appeared on the front page of The Darien Times.



I retired in 1996 from the corporate world of technical marketing and sales within the computer software industry.  Since I had been writing for some time, I decided that this would be a great opportunity for me to pursue a life-long dream.  In 1997 I returned to graduate school and was surprised to see so many baby boomers attending classes.  I subsequently earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in English & Writing from Long Island University: (Summa Cum Laude & Merit Scholar) and a Master of Arts degree in Creative and Non-Fiction Writing from Manhattanville College: (Magna Cum Laude).  Who said baby boomers are too old to learn?   



I have two children, Jenifer, age 44, and Chad, age 41, both are married, and each have 2 children (boy and girl) and graduated from the University of Maine. Chad also earned his Master's degree at Bath University in Bath, England (Sociology: Death  & Society).



Nancy and her supporters (including her husband, Jay) did an outstanding job putting together and organizing our successful 40th reunion, and for this I am most indebted and grateful. 



My twin brother, Rand (deceased) is on the red Honda 50 cc and I am on the blue one.  Picture taken in 1967.  As you may recall, Rand was Captain of our first  D.H.S. undefeated Gymnastic Team under the guidance of  Coach Isadore Battino, and voted the senior with the best physique. And my younger brother, Jeff, was Captain of the '69 D.H.S. Gymnastic Team and Connecticut's All State Gymnastic Champion.



I loved sailing and sailed out of the Rowayton Yacht Club for many years to destinations like Martha's Viineyard, Nantucket and Woods Hole.  Such wonderful memories!  In the meantime, I continue to keep in touch with a number of  classmates, and would enjoy hearing from you. 



P.S.: Anymore writers out there?







 

penelope kirchofer (fenn)

Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: registered nurse
Comment: a year of change.  my husband of 41 years, ken, retired on april first and proceeded to have rotator cuff surg. not the best start to leisure life! but healing is going well just too slow.  my oldest son, kevin, who is a veterinarian and his wife amanda moved to glasgow scotland where she will be attending university of glasgow stugying vet med.  my younger son gregory now has master plumbers lic. and his own business in rochester nh and still works for water co. in somersworth nh. his wife michelle is a dispatcher in dover. and the love of all of us , my grandson riley is now 7 and so much fun.  me well i still work in maternal/child health and see retirement on the horizon.  technology makes some jobs a little harder for dinosaurs like me so don't want to stay too long at the dance and not be viable.  look forward to the 45th hope my date nancy leone jordan does too.