ClassmateNews

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Sue Ellen (Dikeman) Holleman

I just returned from an awesome trip with Road Scholar on the Queen Anne ship. We began in London and boarded the ship in Southhampton. There were 25 of us from all over the USA. Dave, our British guide, was excellent and we had lectures each day on upcoming ports and cultures. The highlights of my voyage were many, but seeing my brother, John and Susan Dikeman, in Sydney, Australia was timely. Sarah and John picked me up in Sydney harbor where the ship was docked, and we drove to their town, Glenbrook.

Sadly, Susan is not doing well but her spirits are good and John has support from his adult children there. Then, after Pearl Harbor and Hawaii, we docked in the LB/LA harbor where Jean Bixby, Merideth Wiberg and Marcia Foley met me at the ship to go to lunch in San Pedro. How wonderful it is to be with these friends and to be in beautiful California. Our RS group also got to ferry over to Catalina, and it was great to get the back-stage tour of the Casino, and see some Catalina-made tiles. The ship then headed south, and we went through the Panama Canal. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it is and what an engineering feat. We reached Miami then, and I flew home to North Carolina!

There another surprise awaited me! My daughter, Erin was grinning ear to ear when she picked me up at the airport in Wilmington. Her “birth father” and she have connected and he is coming here to visit us this Mother’s Day weekend. What happy news! It will be wonderful to meet him.

So, the months have gone by with new places and surprises. I hope you all are doing well. It was great to just be in California again, and in our wonderful USA!

Cheers friends, Sue Ellen 05/09/26

George Cleaver

I drove 2500 miles to Washington State and back to spend time with my 90-year-old sister in her assistant living apartment. The reason she was there was balance problems; she kept falling and was in a wheelchair. She still had perfect memory and was articulate. Something kept telling me I should go, so my 31-year-old grandson went with me. We spent two days with her, and l did some shopping for her.

Two weeks after I got home to San Clemente, CA, I made my normal weekly phone call to her, and we talked for about two hours in the early evening. The next morning, I got a call from the manager of the facility, saying that she passed away that night. I was the last one she heard say, "I love you," and the first one they called, even though her husband who can't drive anymore and her son that she lived with are an hour away.

I believe the voice telling me to go see her was divine intervention. My grandson who went with me lives in NY and just happened to be visiting me for a week. I raised him and his younger brother.

George 05/09/26

Linda Myra (Wood) Strong

Jean (Bixby) Smith shared this information about Linda's death:

I got a call on Saturday morning from a tearful Jeff Strong telling me that his mom, Linda Wood Strong, passed away Friday.

05/20/26

Ben West

I had a wonderful end-of-the-month trip to Minnesota to experience and be a part of the weddings of two granddaughters and the college graduation of a grandson, all in the same family and all within 8 days of each other. I was even privileged to officiate one of the weddings.

06/01/26

Ron Watts

It's always good to hear news about our fellow classmates, both the good and not so good news. Helen and I celebrated our 68th wedding anniversary in April. We are both very active and get around fairly well. Our eldest granddaughter, Amanda, graduated from the University of Texas, San Antonio, with a PhD degree in micro- molecular biology. She received her master's degree from Portland State University and followed her professor to Texas where she worked in the lab at the university.

Friday we are going down to Plymouth, Indiana, about an hour's drive from Mishawaka, IN where we live, to see the Big Boy steam engine that's stopping there. Should be neat seeing a steam engine that huge. We don't do a lot of traveling anymore but enjoy going to Shipshewanna and fill up on Amish food. Helen still makes quilt tops, and I still enjoy wood working. All in all, we are doing well and enjoy living in Indiana.

06/05/26

Sam Crilly

Every year, Sam spends two weeks in Kauai, Hawaii in his two time-shares. This year, he is there with his son and wife. He posted these two photos on Facebook and asked to have them posted on our class website. One has him relaxing at the rooftop grill overlooking the landscape and ocean. The other is Sam swimming in the ocean off the Na Pali Coast.

06/12/26

Nelda (McMichael) Gruenthal

I'm soon to be 90 and I'm cleaning out all the old stuff that I've kept for many years. Most is going into the trash because my kids and grandkids have very little interest, if any, for any of my collections. Here are a few photos of Dance Bids I found. They will be going into the trash. It's really a shame, but they just don't want "things." I've enjoyed keeping these, and now I

need to let go. If I find anything else of interest, I'll send it along. I wish the best for all the remaining class of '55. Sorry I couldn't make it to the last reunion. I am just not up to the long drive any longer. Still enjoy checking out the web site now and then.

06/23/26