Catching Up, The Sad And Glad

Summer has been busy, so now that there is some time to relax, we can catch up on some of the latest.  Had dinner with Carol Bork last night.  Had not seen each other in a long time.  It was enjoyable to find out what we have each been up to over the years.  Sadly, she informed me that Connie Lee's son was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident.  His obituary was in the local papers, but I never made the connection.  His complete obituary can be found at http://www.skrochfc.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1534185&fh_id=13431 

Jason's father, Dana Elston, was a year ahead us in school.  Dana's dad, Wayne (Slush), was a long-time baseball coach in town.  He coached Little-League, and then was Legion coach for a number of years.  His older brother Danny was in my brother's class, and they played a great deal of baseball together under Slush.  I even hung around Dana one summer, and spent much time at the Elston house. 

The mother of Mike McClemans, who was also a year ahead of us in school, also passed away recently.  Her obituary can be found at http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=670625McClemans  Mike was in our Cub Scout troop.  If memory serves me right, also in that troop were Jim Wakeman, Greg Graff, Lynn Roberts, Arnie deBlonk, Jim Egeberg, and perhaps one or two others.  Mike has been very active in Brookings, and has served on the city commission. 

A couple of other people who have passed away are Quentin Kingsley (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=675357Kingsley) and Gary Omodt (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=670423Omodt).  Mr. Kingsley was the father of Gary, who was a few years ahead of us in school.   I believe he was a lifeguard at the pool.  When they used to have the water carnival at the pool, one of the contests was to see who could do the best cannonball.  Gary seemed to be rather good at that.  Another competition was to see who could swim the longest under water.  Sue Quass was also a lifeguard, and she could swim almost the whole length (from the deep end to the shallow end).  She was standing there marking her distance, when Gary came swimming by, and she just smiled and waved as he continued on, made the turn, and started back toward the deep end.  He didn't get much farther, but he made over a length of the pool under water.  Perhaps I remember these two because I would often see them in church.  Mr. Omodt was in the pharmacy department at SDSU.  Undoubtedly, he knew Bernie Hendricks rather well.  Deanne Hietbrink's father was also in the pharmacy department, so they were likely close colleagues.  I also saw the Omodts quite frequently in church. 

Another local who passed away was Hartley Nordbye (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=675254Nordbye).  Some of my older brothers worked for him laying block.  I believe Mr. Nordbye was pall-bearer at my brother George's funeral in 1965.  His son Don helped me to get my old Chevy restored. 

Also passing away was Gary DeKraai (http://rudesfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/RudesF1/obit.cgi?user=656758DeKraai).  He was little older than we are, but was also quite a fixture around town.  His younger brother Gordon was a year older than we were, but they must have moved in jr. hi.  I remember Gordy and his younger brother Randy from grade school and little league baseball, but have no recollection of them much after that. 

Just saw in the Argus-Leader that Tom Bates passed away.  He was a couple of years older than we were, and was the older brother of Patsy Bates.  His obituary can be found at http://www.georgeboom.com/sitemaker/sites/George3/obit.cgi?user=677584Bates

Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to to Connie Lee, Mike McClemans, Patsy Bates, and to the Nordbye, Omodt, Kingsley, and DeKraai families.