Classmate Profiles
Sixty Plus years since we graduated!
Please create or update your biography.
Tell classmates about yourself! Click on "Add Your Profile" and fill out the form so that we have up-to-date contact information. You may also wish to add a short bio about what you've been up to the last 50 years. It's a great way to "reacquaint" ourselves with one another. Please note that there is a limit of 220 words - about 22 lines.
It's recommended that you not share upcoming vacation dates, day & month of your birth, financial information and other sensitive information on the internet.
Important: Your contact information will not be posted on the site (however, others will be able to send you an email if you include your email address in the setup information of your profile).
Some ideas when writing: Did you attend college/where? What do/did you do for a living? What kinds of things do you like to do for fun? Have you done any traveling? Any other thoughts/memories would be great too.
Don't forget to add a recent picture (can be individual, with significant other, family, etc.)! We will upload your yearbook picture for the "then" picture, but if you would prefer to use an alternative picture, you may do so as well. Just click "Edit Entry."
"Reflections"
Our paths began as a blank page to be written on by experience. Our parents and friends escorted us down the path that curved and rose and fell shaping the person we are today. Like the proverbial moss we gathered acquaintances and life longfriends to traveldown our mutual paths. Each footway had epiphanous moments perhaps changing our path.
A pivotal event in our lives was graduation from our twelve years of education - from there we looked toward the future with hopes and dreams. Within this set of reflections are some of examples of how these dreams manifested themselves into fruition. Stories, memories, education, family, activism, etc. all of that brought us to here pondering is that all there is?
...pondering by Patricia Strot and Carolyn Turner; Photo by Loren Nelson
Gail de Marcken (Marcelius)
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 3 |
| Occupation: | illustrator |
| Comment: | After graduating from the U of M, I went to Borneo with the Peace Corps. There I met and later married another volunteer, Baudouin (Belgian background). What a marvelous time we have had since! He continued a career with Peace Corps and USAID and I tagged along, raising three kids and having adventures. We lived in Malaysia, Chad, Mali, Zaire, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Zaire again, Latvia, Tunisia, and Latvia again. There were wars, evacuations, coups, riots, pet crocodiles parrots and monkeys, elephant hunts and musical theater in the living room. The kids and I returned to or met in northern Minnesota each summer. (The kids went off to boarding school age 11 or 12) Baudouin retired in 2000 and he and I now live year-round at our lake home in the woods near Babbitt. Unfortunately, our children liked Africa so much that both daughters work there; Natasha and her family with the State Department in Uganda now, and Paya in and out of the Congo basin for WWF. Carl (Seattle) added much interest to the family with a wedding in Bucharest. Most years kids, spouses, grandkids, St. Paul and Romanian in-laws meet at the lake for Christmas...but we have all met in Riga or Bamako also. Spring break will be Kampala. Sometime in our first tour in Latvia I hit that "what do you do when the kids are grown and really gone" crisis and tried illustrating books for children. It has been a rewarding late career. My sixth book, ETA Hofmann's Nutcracker and the Mouse King is just out. My granddaughter Nina was the model for Marie.(Google or Amazon Gail de Marcken if you are interested.) Holy Angels made a musical out of another, The Quiltmaker's Gift. I have been going into schools across the country telling both about our and our kids' adventures in Africa and about illustration. It has been fun reading about what has happened to some of you. Baudouin's health is bad but perhaps we will see you at the reunion. |
Gayle DeLay McDermott
Robert Diercks
Sharon Dierksen (Samuelson)
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Retired |
| Comment: | In the fall of 1960 I left for school at Denver University, in pursuit of a degree in Music Education. Instead, I met the love of my life, quit school and got married. We married in November,1961, beginning my thirty year career as an Air Force wife. They say it’s the best job in the Air Force, and I would agree. We have two wonderful children and six really great grandchildren. Along the way, I sold real estate in Virginia, gave music lessons in California, finished college, and worked in Health Information Management. I finally retired as an instructor in Health Information Management with a consortium of local colleges. Also, performed a great deal of volunteer work. One such job involved purchasing a water buffalo for a needy family in the Philippines. Much of the time I just enjoyed the activities available wherever we moved. Favorite places to live were Taiwan, the Philippines and Hawaii. Presently, I live on Lake of Egypt in Southern Illinois. I play much golf and quilt many quilts. It’s been a great ride! Lord willing we’ll have a few more of these wonderful retirement years. |
Lawrence Doerfler
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 3 |
| Occupation: | Retired |
| Comment: |
Leota Donaldson (JOHNSON)
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 7 |
| Occupation: | Retired |
| Comment: |
Maybeth Downer
| Marital status: | Divorced |
|---|---|
| Children: | 1 |
| Occupation: | Educator/Paralegal |
| Comment: | At the encouragement of my high school business teacher, and after an encounter with university education, I accepted Federal employment with the IRS. With wanderlust at my feet, I transferred to San Francisco in 1965, commencing what would be several varied assignments over time with the IRS, VA, Department of Education, and Social Security Administration. Two marriages later, the birth of a daughter, one return to the homestead, and another flight to California set the stage for change. Achieving a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Management and a Master's degree in Vocational Educational Leadership afforded me opportunities to make a difference, as I accepted educational leadership positions with community organizations, Job Corps, and as Adjunct Faculty teaching paralegal and computer applications for ten years at the local community college. Since retirement last year, I have authored an educational proposal entitled A Business Approach to Educational Reform. Supporting me in this road traveled have been my daughter, Bobbi, who is a school counselor and university instructor, and granddaughter, Cozette, whose talents never cease to amaze me. |
Wendell (Dell) Draves
| Marital status: | Single |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Retired |
| Comment: | I graduated from the U of M in 1967. I served in the US Army in 1964 and 1965. I started my computer career at Fairview Community Hospitals where I help start a service bureau for hospitals throughout Minnesota. I also worked for Sperry Univac's Mpls Marketing office and Control Data. In 1975 I started DataMax which was a contract design and programming company. I then renamed the company to Draves & Barke Systems and with my partner we developed 26 Applications for food processing and distribution industry. Our software (Innatrack/Foodtrack) had complete profitability tracking throughout the entire system and was on the razor edge of modern technology. I sold my half of the business in 1998 and retired. I now live in Nisswa on Upper Gull Lake and truly enjoy God's Country. I travel with my sister Kay and friends to places like Tahiti, Australia/New Zealand, Alaska, Panama Canal, Hawaii, Palm Desert, Arizona, California, Florida. For sure I have been fortunate and I am enjoying life. I have been an active volunteer in the Nisswa/Brainerd area; such, as Nisswa Area Historical Society (Treasurer), Nisswa American Legion (Treasurer), Nisswa Chamber of Commerce (Treasurer), City of Lake Shore Planning/Zoning, Shriners Hospital, Nisswa American Legion Event Planner, and I am very active at Grace United Methodist Church. I am also the District Coordinator for 3 counties for Minnesota AARP Safe Driving Classes and I teach Computer classes. |