If you have trouble using the email program that comes up after clicking on one of the classmate email buttons, just hold your cursor over the button and the address should be shown somewhere on your screen that you can write down and use in your own email program.
Howard Brief
Sorry to say PK and I will be unable to attend the reunion luncheon. We had the opportunity to stay at a house on the Indian Wells Country Club, and it turned out to fall in the same time frame as the luncheon.
Please give all our best to everyone and keep us in the loop for any future gatherings.
10/04/25
Carol (Nelson) Thomas
I won’t be attending the reunion, but I do keep in contact with some of the gals that I knew in school, and that’s great at 88 years of age and still going strong ... well not that strong. We forget things we do. My family is all over the country, but we do get together ... two of my daughters from New York and one from Alaska were here recently. We just had a good time visiting. It has been two years since my sweet Gary passed away, but we had 65 wonderful years together. I keep busy and slow down once in a while. I just got my driver's license renewed. Didn’t have to wear glasses or anything, and it’s good until I’m 96 years old! My goodness, will I still be driving then?
10/04/25
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Darlene (Gremmel) Goetz
Darlene became a widow 3 years ago and no longer drives. She lives alone in Bullhead City, AZ, with 2 dogs, 2 snakes, and 6 tortoises. Her daughter and son-in-law live 6 minutes away and do a wonderful job as her caregiver. 10/04//25
Joanne (Cline) Taussig
Joanne has a new email address and wants you to record it and write to her (See the link under her photo). This is the third reunion she has missed and won't be attending this one because the freeway is getting more difficult for her from where she lives in Del Mar, CA.
10/04/25
Marlene (Shimmings) Suval
I’m very sorry I will not be able to attend our 70th reunion this month.
Bill and I just returned from a one-week trip to Kauai, HI to celebrate Bill’s birthday. We had a wonderful time. We’re still recouping from that adventure. At our age now, traveling that far is an adventure in itself.
I hope everyone who is planning to attend have a marvelous time. I’m looking forward to seeing all the pictures.
Best regards to everybody 10/04/25
Charles Dayton
I recently turned 88, as probably most if us have. I told my big brother (he's 90) that according to my calculations, I have about 10 years left as our dad made it to 98. He corrected me, that our dad only made it to 96. Then he added that I favor our mom, and she died at 84, which leaves me with a big problem: my wife, Silvia, is really good at throwing out anything that is beyond its expiration date.
10/04/25
Ben West
I recently returned from a trip of a lifetime with my two daughters and one of their husbands. They joined me with a group tour organized by my church to visit ancient sites where the Apostle Paul started and influenced churches. We began in Greece, visiting Phillipi, Thessalonica, Athens, and Corinth.
From there, we flew to Turkey to see sites of the seven churches Jesus had special messages for in Revelation 2 & 3: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The New Testament will never be the same when I read it now.
10/04/25
My family at the Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens
Pat (White) Strobel
No, I will not be there, but congratulations to all to of you who do appear! Is there a prize for the person who knows the most attendees without looking at name tags?
10/06/25
Kurt Ludvick Haveman
Kurt passed away peacefully in Santa Cruz from complications of Parkinson Disease on Jan. 6, 2024, with Kit, his wife of 50 years by his side.
Kurt was born in Santa Monica, CA, close to the ocean and the only child of Dorothy and Victor Haveman. He and his mother later moved to Long Beach, CA. There he attended Wilson High School and graduated in 1955. Kurt then moved to Seal Beach to pursue all things ocean, fishing and diving for abalone and lobster on the CA coast, Catalina Island, and Mexico. He made a living as a Tiki carver and luau party host and began decorating local Polynesian bars and restaurants.
During the 60’s Kurt did 2 stints in the Army and came home to live in Hermosa Beach, Ca. He met Kit there while attending the local junior college in the early 70’s, and together they continued the theme restaurant business. They moved to Mendocino mountains on 100 acres for a short adventure and then came to Santa Cruz, where they bought a big rundown Victorian house and restored it.
Kurt and Kit began selling antiques in Santa Cruz at flea markets, Collectors Corner, and Modern Life. They then started their own shop in the 80’s: Mr. Goodies with partners that went on for almost 30 years.
He leaves behind 5 children: Hans, Niki, Jacob, Jonas, and Jamaica. Thay also had 10 grandchildren and 1-1/2 great grandchildren. Kurt had a long life of adventure, fun and love. He loved endless yard sales and flea markets, shopping and having interesting things to sell. A celebration of life was held on his 88th birthday.
10/10/25
Sue Ellen (Dikeman) Holleman
Thank you for the reunion news and headline events of 1955 when we graduated. I will look forward to hearing from Shari (Ballough) Penny about the event when she returns. Marcia (Swope) Foley also told me she enjoyed the reunion and seeing everyone there.
October has been busy here, so I have been out of touch, but all is well and I see my daughter and grandsons often. They live on the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, NC, and I live on the IntraCoastal Waterway across Wilmington from her area. I missed being there for the reunion but still love California and our friends.
10/17/25
Carol (Nelson) Thomas
Carol writes from southern Washington, "I want you to know that I'm still kicking and miss you guys."
10/18/25
Bruce Brown
Loretta (Hause) Elliott saw this posted on the Facebook group, "Growing up in Long Beach," and forwarded it so that we could remember our famous classmate, who passed away in 2017.
Bruce Brown, Wilson High Class of ’55, discovered his lifelong passion for surfing early - at just 11 years old, he was already paddling through Alamitos Bay on a ten-foot board. That same spirit followed him into the Navy, where he was stationed in Honolulu and began filming surfers with an 8mm camera. After his service, Brown briefly attended Long Beach City College before trading textbooks for a lifeguard tower in Long Beach.
His filmmaking career quickly gained momentum with Slippery When Wet (1958), Surf Crazy (1959), and Barefoot Adventure (1960). But it was The Endless Summer (1964) that redefined surf culture, turning Brown into a legend behind the lens. He later expanded his storytelling with On Any Sunday (1971), featuring Steve McQueen, and returned to the waves with his son Dana in The Endless Summer II (1994).
