As I mentally thought back over the last 40 years I realized that I really have had a connection with many of you most of my entire life. Some of our relationships go back 58 years when we lived near Robert E. Lee Elementary and we 'met' in strollers and played in the area behind the Virginia Museum. Several of us spent our afternoons and Saturdays together at Elinor Fry School of the Dance. Some of us went to Robert E. Lee together and as we 'graduated' to Albert H. Hill Junior High we worried about getting Miss Thompson for math. At Albert Hill our principal, Mr. William Brock became our friend. He always took an interest in us, and we were pleased that he was going to go with us to Thomas Jefferson. Many of us continued with our dancing, playing in the school orchestra, and even attending religious school together. Then in 1961 we graduated, but many of our relationships continued as we entered Mary Washington College together. After graduation in 1965 I married Gary Webne whom I had met my Senior Year at TJ. We lived in Norfolk for a year and I taught at Northside Junior High. We moved to Richmond the summer of 1966 and I began teaching at Tuckahoe Junior High. My first day at school I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face - a blast from my past- Cynthia Shelhorse. Over the years we have watched others come and go and we are still there. Wayne Clark has joined us in the maintenance area. I have really enjoyed my 34 years at Tuckahoe (now Middle School - TMS). During the late 70's and early 80's at several Meet the Teacher Nights I reconnected with some of my TJ classmates when I was the teacher and they were the parents. Melanie Anderson Baskerville's son and Jebbie and Bobby Payne's daughters were in my classes. Also, to my surprise I realized at our last Reunion that I had taught Mrs. Sue Lambert's son, Jim. Gee, it is fun to reminisce. To catch you up on my personal life - Gary and I have been married for 36 years. He is a Real Estate Broker with Prudential Slater James River, Inc. We have two children. Joel is 31 and he and his wife live in Richmond. He works for K.W. Poore and Associates where he is a graphics coordinator in mapping and design. His wife, Randy, who is like a second daughter, is the Human Resource Manager at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Our daughter, Karen, is 29 and lives in Chicago where she is a Sales Manager for Minolta Business Systems. Last spring when she was awarded a trip to Paris she asked Mom to accompany her and it was an awesome experience. Life seems to be good, and Gary and I try to 'roll with the punches' with whatever little glitches come our way. Next year I will begin a new adventure because I plan to retire. I am not sure yet where that road is going to take me, but Gary and I like to travel, so- It has been fun working on the Reunion and I think it is awesome that we have been able to locate most of the class. The committee has done a wonderful job and Cynthia Shelhorse gets lots of accolades for the website. I agree with Carol Emory that we should keep it up and running if possible. I am looking forward to seeing some of you at the Reunion and to those of you who can not make it, perhaps next time. To each and everyone may your lives be filled with good health and happiness.

I spent much of the morning at the website catching up on what many of you have been doing for the last 40 years -- such a variety of accomplishments! After TJ, I graduated in 1965 from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College) and went to work at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. On my first day I had the extreme good fortune to meet Jeff Carr who had just finished law school there. We married in 1968, and he retired from Vanderbilt last year as Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, Emeritus. We have two daughters. Ellen is 30 and graduated from Harvard in 1994 and the Kellogg School at Northwestern in 1999. She is an investments analyst with the Capital Group in Los Angeles. Anna is 26 and graduated from Belmont University in Nashville in 1998. She teaches at a pre-school in Nashville and recently moved back to our farm to live in an old log cabin which we've restored. Yes, farm -- we raise cattle here in Burns, Tennessee, and I am (as they say in this part of the country) a Farm Wife. I can do an amazing number of things which I barely even knew existed 40 years ago -- i.e., drive a Massey Ferguson tractor, deliver a calf, rake hay, mend fence, use a chainsaw, and round up the occasional bovine escapee. Particularly in light of all the tragedy of the past 3 weeks, I feel extremely blessed to be right where I am in this peaceful corner of this wonderful nation.

After leaving T.J. I went to work for (VEPCO) Virginia Power as a member of the system surveying team. Three years later I was in the Army and spent 13 months in Korea as a supply sergeant and small arms specialist, stationed only about one mile from the DMZ. On returning to the States, I was stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., working as a supply sgt. in an O.C.S. company. Upon leaving the Army, I returned to Richmond and went to work at A.H.Robins / Miller-Morton companies, as a quality control inspector / supervisor, and the ChapStick purchasing agent until the ChapStick company was downsized and I left to work at Philip Morris as a quality control supervisor at the 20th Street factory. Not wanting to transfer to North Carolina and with cutbacks at P.M., I left and started my own company for a few years. Then I went to work for Henrico County Schools in the maintenance department, and have been at Tuckahoe Middle School for the last 10 years. I have two daughters and one granddaughter. My older daughter teaches high school history in Greenville, N.C., and the younger works as an office assistant manager at a hospital supply company in Kinston, N.C. I've traveled around the country, and to Guatemala, Canada, and Alaska, and revisited Korea and Japan as a member of the Friendship Force International. I'm hoping to retire within the next few years so I can do more traveling and spending more time with my granddaughter.

After TJ and University of Richmond, Tom Yeaman served in the US Army and taught missle electronics to NATO troops before transfering to Army Intelligence and living as a civilian in Germany. Later after traveling extensively throughout Europe, he moved to Washington where he worked for the US Government before returning to Richmond. Back home again and after serving in various management and consulting roles for several political campaigns, he began a 30-year advertising and public relations career with several ad agencies, private corporations, banks and public utilities. He was general manager for Campbell-Ewald's Richmond office handling advertising for Reynolds Metals Company and numerous other regional and national accounts before forming his own ad agency in Shockoe Slip. He also dedicated more than 15 years in various volunteer, fund-raising, and board positions with the American Red Cross, and has served as chairman or board member of numerous civic and community organizations, including the Richmond Jaycees, Central Richmond Association, Downtown Richmond Inc., Richmond's Chief of Police Advisory Council, Virginia Commonwealth University's Academic Community Advisory Board, the Carpenter Center, Theatre IV, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra League, the Virginia Association of Fund Raising Executives, the Old & Historic Broad Street Association, Downtown chairman of the Richmond Neighborhood Team, Leadership Metro Richmond, Westhampton Preservation Association, and both the Harbour House and Bland Point Homeowners' Associations in Deltaville, VA. After a divorce several years ago, Yeaman decided to retire early and is spending time traveling to Europe, Asia, Cuba, and just returned from a month-long adventure throughout South America. He enjoys photography, cooking and entertaining and spending time at Fishing Bay on the water.

I am really upset/sad/unhappy/disappointed about having to cancel my trip to Richmond for the reunion...............I have been so excited and looking forward to it so much............I have had the opportunity to get back in touch with some of the people I went all through school with (from Ginter Park to Chandler to TJ)...........and we were going to have such fun getting together after so many years apart...........finding them again (through the TJ website you started)..........and having a way to communicate with them through email/phone/mail has been great! We had totally lost contact until we found each other again through the website........I was as excited as a teenager over the upcoming reunion weekend and hotel pj party/gab fest we had planned. I have had two planes cancel..........one stop flying into Richmond...........and went to the airport to board my flight, only to be told that there was a mechanical problem. My husband decided that he was not comfortable with me taking this trip...........that "someone" was trying to tell me something............I had been feeling timid about flying after two planes had cancelled and one stopped service into Richmond, but felt I was being silly...........when my husband said that he would prefer that I not flirt with fate after the cancellations/rescheduling/mechanical delays...........I thought he might be right........I do feel silly.........He is a former Navy Attack Pilot and I am a former American Airlines Flight Attendant (I used to fly flight #77 all the time)..........and, I worked at the airport in Richmond for three years, as well...........if anyone should be comfortable with flying, we should be! We flew our daughter home from college last weekend ! for a long weekend and were not at all timid about her flying.............maybe because it was two short flights within Texas on Southwest.........I don't know, but for some reason this trip has seemed so complicated with the cancellations and changes and mechanical delays that we felt timid about it. I hope that it is not too late for you to cancel the two reservations made in my name for the buffet/brunch..............and, that you can put that money towards the expenses for the reunion planning, etc. I appreciate so much all the fine and hard work you all and the whole reunion committee have done. Thank you! And............please don't forget me for the 50th...........I'll be there even if I have to walk............. Enjoy the weekend! I'll be thinking about you all and wishing I was there.

Greetings from one of the "Hamblet Twins"! I am so sorry to be so late in wishing you and our classmates the happiest of all reunions- but "Better late than never!" as the old saying goes. I just want to thank you for all of the hard work you both have done - I know you will be rewarded with a fabulous week-end! I am so sorry that I won't be able to be there to share in all of the festivities. And I know that Bobbie is too! I'll e-mail Pat Roop and tell her that we'll do a "Jeffettes" number at our 45th reunion! :-) I just wanted to add our e-mail addresses to the list you have going: Carol Hamblet - cshell@naisp.net Bobbie Hamblet - bobbiewilkinson@earthlink.net Can't wait to hear ALL about the fun you have! It's great to be in touch again after all these years. And it wouldn't have been possible without YOU! Thanks again for everything- HAPPY, HAPPY 40th!!!

Sunday, January 11, 2004

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year.

SUE AND VINCE HAVE MOVED TO COLORADO.

Sue's daughter Ilene, her husband Craig and Sue's grandson Mark all live here therefore it was a natural for her to accept a very nice position at the Veterans Hospital in Denver.

We left Virginia the Sunday before Thanksgiving and headed for Denver. Our new home is wonderful and we made an offer on it site unseen. Of course Ilene, Craig and his parents loved it so we figured we would. How about that for taking chances? We moved into the home on December 2nd but we just closed on it December the 29th.

Vince is planning a late trip to Florida this year due to the move and all the work required for a new location. He can't wait to get to the warm climate. Sue is very very busy at work and also at home trying to arrange everything to her liking.

We were very late this year with Christmas cards as they were packed by the movers so for those few of you that we mail too, we are sorry.

Sue's dad, Mark Schneider, fell and broke his leg on September 27th and he passed away 37 days latter on November 2, 2003. He was 95 at the time and his body could bring him back. He never gave up, just his body did. We had to sell his condo, sell our home and buy a home all in a short span. This has been the busiest time of our lives.

R. Susan Penn
Vincent C. Howard (V.HOWARD@COMCAST.NET)
8300 Fairmount Dr. Unit FF104
Denver, CO 80247-6533

Jim Oates

After traveling the World my wife Carole and I now live in Churchville, VA.

I graduated from Virginia Tech in 1966 and joined Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh that year and married Carole the following year. I continued working for the same company for 37 years even though the business I worked for was sold to ABB in 1981. I started up new manufacturing plants early in my career in Jefferson City, Missouri, Coral Springs Florida, Deerfield Beach Florida and Port a Prince, Haiti. After this period the mission became reworking existing plants rather than building new ones In Puerto Rico and Mexico. We later moved to Florence, South Carolina, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to rework facilities located near there and then I retired and we moved to Virginia.
Today I continue to work part time establishing lean enterprise solutions in manufacturing environments. This means building teams to run plants effectively. The other part of my time is spent carving, restoring antiques and wood turning.

266 Taliaferro Drive
Churchville, VA 24421
email: jimoates@adelphia.net