IN THIS POST:
Announcement of final 1959 class reunion, Sept. 25th
Message from Tom Woolsey
Celebration of Life Memorial for Todd Grant, Oct. 18th
"ONCE A DON, ALWAYS A DON!"
Welcome to my blog for Santa Barbara High School Class of 1959 Reunions. You can find me on Facebook, too. LINK
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards ~ Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and theologian. [Background photo is the Bitterroot River Valley, Montana, one of the last best places on Earth]
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FINAL SBHS 1959 CLASS REUNION
CHECKS ONLY PLEASE!
https://santabarbarahs50threunion.blogspot.com/
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FINAL SBHS 1959 CLASS REUNION
You are cordially invited to the
66th and Final Class Reunion for the
Santa Barbara High School Class of 1959
To be held Thursday, September 25th, 2025
From 12 Noon to 3 PM at
Mulligan's Cafe and Bar
in the Santa Barbara Golf Club
3500 McCaw Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805) 682-3228
$35.50 per person, includes an assortment of
hors d'oeuvres, non alcoholic drinks, (coffee,
Ice tea & lemonade) and gratuity.
Let us celebrate our high school years together,
66 years of life after graduation, and the memory
of those classmates who have already passed on.
Let us celebrate our high school years together,
66 years of life after graduation, and the memory
of those classmates who have already passed on.
CHECKS ONLY PLEASE!
Please make your check payable to:
Katherine Bart
On the memo line write SBHS Reunion
On the memo line write SBHS Reunion
Mail to: Katherine Bart
P.O. Box 30456, Santa Barbara, CA 93130
RSVP to Katherine Faulkner Bart gokbart@aol.com
P.O. Box 30456, Santa Barbara, CA 93130
RSVP to Katherine Faulkner Bart gokbart@aol.com
https://santabarbarahs50threunion.blogspot.com/
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Tom and Karen Woolsey are, regrettably, unable to attend the final SBHS Class of 1959 Reunion, so he sent this message:
Tom Woolsey, then and now, September 1st, 2025
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Tom Woolsey, then and now, September 1st, 2025
Tom and Karen Woolsey, then, July 9th 1966, Garden City, Long Island, NY and now, July 9th 2025 at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO, their 59th Anniversary.
"Peter Bock was kind enough to send me links to various class blogs which I perused with interest, especially the Then and Now pictures of our classmates. As I look at the pictures, the words of the Apostle Paul come to mind:
16
Therefore
we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our
inner man is being renewed day by day.
17 For
momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of
glory far beyond all comparison,
18 While
we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are
not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things
which are not seen are eternal.
(2 Cor. 4:16-18)
At age 84, my focus is all the more on the things which are not seen.
May each and every one of you have a wonderful time together at this last reunion. And may God grant you many more years of quality life."
Yours
truly,
Tom Woolsey
CELEBRATION OF LIFE MEMORIAL SERVICE
for TODD A. GRANT
October 18th, 2025, 2 PM
South Coast Church
5814 Cathedral Oaks Rd., Goleta, CA.
for TODD A. GRANT
October 18th, 2025, 2 PM
South Coast Church
5814 Cathedral Oaks Rd., Goleta, CA.
If you have any photos from this year's 66th reunion, or from past reunions, that you would like me to post on this blog just let me know at mauipeterb@hotmail.com.
Photos from last year's reunion are on the next post.
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WHAT ARE OUR CLASSMATES DOING NOW?
Robert (Bob) Lucas is a physicist who has spent years in the study of our sun. One of the ways he does this is to study the sun's corona during solar eclipses. So, he will not be at the October 14th reunion because he will be in Monument Valley imaging a solar eclipse. Here is a global map of some of the eclipses he has observed, both total (T) and partial (P).
Amoretta Amie Mathews Hoeber has been an artist most of her life. Here is her website: amiehoeberart.net
Are you a fan of early Tom Hanks films, like Splash, The Money Pit and Big? In 1986 he made a romantic drama in Israel titled Every Time We Say Goodbye. I was disappointed in the film's ending, so I was inspired to write a sequel. It covers the period from 1942 to 2024, our life spans, and it is titled Sarah and David: The Sequel. It's a love story. If you read the intro you will know if it is something you might enjoy.
If you are doing something interesting with your life these days, and you feel your classmates would enjoy hearing about it, send me an email (mauipeterb at hotmail dot com) or send me a Facebook message. LINK
At the moment I am reading a fascinating book about the future of the American Empire:
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If you have a memory and/or a picture of a deceased classmate you would like to share, you are welcome to email it to me and I will post it for you on the Deceased Classmates page. mauipeterb at hotmail dot com
July 20, 2025: Robert Looney reported that Todd Grant, SBHS '59 passed away recently from leukemia.
William Ernest Celaya, Jr., (b. March 28, 1941), SBHS '59, passed away May 17, 2025. Thanks to Robert Looney for this information. LINK TO THE OBITUARY
March 27, 2025: Robert Looney just emailed me that George Jones, SBHS '59, passed away this morning.
March 26, 2025: I have just learned from Robert Looney that Barbara Cuellar's brother Ernie Cuellar informed him that Barbara had passed away on Sunday, March 23rd. Barbara and her daughter had recently moved to Coeur d'Alene Idaho. Barbara had suffered from diabetes for years.
November 28, 2024: Lorraine Drammer Serena passed away on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28th. She and Frank are soulmates; they met at Santa Barbara Junior High when they were fifteen, and enjoyed sixty-eight years together. Lorraine, it was an honor and a joy to have known you, and I wish you Godspeed on your journey, as I am sure we all do. And Frank, our hearts go out to you and your family; you have our sincerest condolences. Santa Barbara Independent Obituary
August 30, 2024: I just learned from Linda Bales that her husband, Roger Bales, passed away April 14, 2024. My sincerest condolences, Linda.
The Women Beyond Borders archive, Lorraine's lifelong project, is part of the permanent collection of the Art, Design and Architecture Museum at U.C. Santa Barbara. I do not know the status of the Women Beyond Borders website and the Lorraine Serena website.
August 30, 2024: I just learned from Linda Bales that her husband, Roger Bales, passed away April 14, 2024. My sincerest condolences, Linda.
March 28, 2024: I just learned from Betty Jo (BJ) Gerdes Reed that Gretchen Haug Davis King recently passed away. Apparently she had suffered from dementia for the last five years and BJ said it was a blessing. Thanks for being a joyous part of our lives Gretchen, and Godspeed on your journey.
March 6, 2024: I have just learned from her daughter that Prudy Tevis (full name: Tamar Prudence Tevis Handelman) passed away in 2023. If I get any details, I will be sure to post them.
In this group photo, Prudy is in the first row, fourth from left.
January 4, 2024: I have just learned from Robert Looney that Joseph Joe Jimenez passed away on Christmas Day, December 25, 2023. Here is the link to his obituary.
October 12, 2023: I have just learned from Robert Looney that Addie Slaughter Greene passed away last month, on September 11, 2023. Here is the link to her obituary.
September 19, 2023: Robert 'Bob' Looney just reported to me that he had received a phone call that Diane Ponce passed away a few days ago.
September 6, 2023: Last Saturday we lost one of my dearest SBHS friends, Dale Ellen Stromer Bailey. Dale succumbed to Parkinson's disease dementia. Here is the link to the obituary notice. I posted several photos of Dale on my Facebook page. It was an honor to have been your friend, Dale, and I wish you Godspeed on your journey.
August 5, 2023: Robert 'Bob' Looney reported to me that these classmates are deceased but are not included on the Deceased Classmates page. Mike Larralde and Eugene Shands graduated with the Class of 1959. Roger Burnett, Dale Cromer, Don Earl Holmes, and Ed Middleton left SBHS before graduation, so they will be in the 1957 or 1958 O&G but not in the 1959 O&G.
August 4, 2023: Robert 'Bob' Looney emailed me that he received a message from Jane Runyen and Mary Alice Morris that Margi Connolly passed away sometime in 2021. She and Mary Alice had been friends.
July 30, 2023: Robert 'Bob' Looney just reported to me that Sue Anne Haight Watkins passed away last week in Santa Ynez, after a battle with cancer. Sue had been a long-time resident of the Santa Ynez Valley.
July, 2023: I just talked to The Ridge at Kapalua (Maui) and learned that classmate and long-time friend Tom Long passed away this past spring. Tom had suffered from late stage multiple myeloma, a plasma blood cell cancer. Tom's wife Gregoria had passed away last year.
June 30, 2023: Robert 'Bob' Looney just reported to me that Paul Uyesaka had told him that Linda Uyesaka '59 had passed away in 2022 while in hospice care in Santa Maria. She had been ill for some time.
John Rifferro passed away the night of June 4-5, 2023 at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. He had been battling advanced prostate cancer.
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One truth about keeping a memory book or blog about events of sixty years ago is that eventually everyone who participated in them or remembers them will pass from the scene. And while we may still be here, being human means that we will lose someone we love... or we already have. I don't know what your spiritual beliefs are but, personally, I believe that our spirit lives on after we have shed this mortal, physical body. And so I offer you this:
The links to the Facebook photo albums should work, whether or not you are on Facebook. Please send me an email if they do not. mauipeterb at hotmail dot com
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The SBHS Alumni Association is where you can find recent quarterly newsletters, and other alumni-related information. For more information send email to SBHSAlumniAssoc@gmail.com
SBHS Class of 1959 Scholarship Fund Contribution Form:
Classmates.com has digitized the Santa Barbara High School Olive & Gold Yearbooks for 1958 and 1959. Here are the links:
If you have any updates, such as classmates who have passed away, and you'd like them posted to this blog, please send email to: mauipeterb at hotmail dot com
OTHER LINKS OF INTERESTLOST IN THE FIFTIES TONIGHT:
A YouTube video that will bring back memories of Fifties sock hops:
THE LUCKIEST GENERATION:
Were we? Maybe so...
LISA'S NOSTALGIA CAFE:
REWIND THE FIFTIES:
Facebook page
Way Back When in Santa Barbara,
Mesa Memories and
Silent Movies Made in Montecito
Blog Link
Way Back When in Santa Barbara,
Mesa Memories and
Silent Movies Made in Montecito
Blog Link
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