Classmates

Hello, Classmates! We've been here for 10 years now... We would love to have you update your profiles to include any changes during this time. For those of you just joining us, please include answers to the following questions:

1. What would you like to tell us about your life over the past 60 years? High points, unusual experiences, travel, career(s), jail time, family, passions, regrets, etc.?

2. What are your plans for the next years of your lives?

Select the "Add Your Profile" button below. Fill in the info (NOTE: PLEASE TYPE YOUR COMMENTS DIRECTLY INTO THE COMMENTS BOX. DO NOT CUT AND PASTE FROM ANOTHER WORD PROCESSING PROGRAM) and please upload your favorite "Now" photo. We will upload your "Then" photo from the yearbook for you when we receive your information.

We're looking forward to hearing from all of you!
 

Velma Pugh (Riley)

Then Then
Comment:  

Steve Pulver

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 4
Occupation: chemist-consultant semi-retired
Comment: After graduating from OHS, spent four years at UC Berkeley (BS Chemistry) and four years in New Haven, Conn. (Yale University, MS, PhD Chemisty). In 1967, joined The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan where I held many managerial and executive positions in R&D.  After retirement from Dow in 1999, I formed Value Creation, LLC, an intellectual asset management, licensing and commercial development company. Served as Director of Licensing at Michigan Molecular Institute(1999-2009) and currently serve on the board of the Field Neurosciences Institute.



My wife, Barbe, and I spend time between our homes in Michigan and Incline Village, NV. We have four children between us and many grandkids- all of whom downhill ski or board.  The family passion is the outdoors with skiiing on top!  Other interests include biking, hiking, boating  and travel.



Fifty years from OHS have sped by and have been great! Looking forward to many more great years!

Carol Reeve (Roland)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Single again
Children: 3
Occupation: retired
Comment: As I look back on 67+ years, I am grateful for every moment of my life - the painful as well as the joyful! Highlights: three great children, and now six beautiful grandchildren as bonus gifts! Two careers: one post-graduation from Cal at the U.C. Placement Center, and one post-divorce (the cup-half-full versus the cup-half-empty can only survive so long) at my local middle school. There have been many wonderful travels on several continents (my perennial favorites: London and Kauai), and - in the realm of oddball information - money-winning appearances on "Jeopardy" in two different decades. I am still living in, and loving, the home that Linda Decker Lewis's father built for my family more than forty years ago. My life is full of treasured friends and family, and I am looking forward to a few more decades of adventures!

Betty Jo Reichlin

Then Then
Comment: 1. The past 50 years has been filled with many things.  I still live in the house where I grew up in.  My church family remodeled the house for me while I was in the hospital last year for nine months.  It is like a new home.    I’m a retired home care worker for Alameda County for over 30 years.  Plus I took care of church members, neighbors and parents until my health started to go bad.  I also worked on the election board for Alameda County for 25 years.  I’m still active in my church for over 60 years.  I have done everything that a good church person does.  I leave the preaching to my pastor.  I hope to be more active next year after my knees heal from my double knee replacement this spring, plus other health issues.  My parents have passed away.  They lived to be 92 and 85 years.  I was able to meet one of my father’s brothers and sister-in-law when they came over to visit my father from Switzerland.  They had not seen each other for over 54 years in 1970.  It was a wonderful time in my life.  I was glad my father lived to see him again as Dad was 80 years old at the time. 



As part of my Swiss-German heritage, I belong to the Excelsior German Center of the Altenheim.  We’ve just celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the building the 15th of August, 2009.  My parents both worked there in the 1930’s and 40’s and I’m the only Altenheim baby.  The Altenheim is housing for low income seniors now.  Since I don’t have any family living my church family has taken that place, plus two men.  One is older than me and the other is younger.  They are my big and little brothers, both named Paul.  One I have known for over 60 years through church and the other Paul I met 10 years ago through one of my home care people.  He is a funeral director here in Oakland; his chapel is Colonial Chapel on High Street.  I’m blessed to know both of these men. I enjoy classical music, sewing, reading good books, cooking and taking care of my cat, Katrina.  She keeps me in line.   



2. My hope for the next 50 years is that we will live in a peaceful world where we can live together as brother and sister and not hate each other and that everybody will have enough food to eat.  My wish for myself is that I stay well and happy and am able to help others if I can.  God has given me a second life since I almost died last year as my heart stopped beating.  So I still have some work to do down here before I go.  I’m sorry I won’t be able to be at the reunion, but I have other plans that weekend.  I wish you good health, peace, happiness and love. 

Barbara Reikes (Karsh)

Then Then
Comment: I’ve enjoyed a wonderful family, terrific friends, good health, and a great career.



Now in retirement, I will be traveling, golfing, and playing for the next 50 years. 

Karen Relph (Smith)

Then Then
Marital status: Married
Children: 3
Occupation: retired
Comment: There were two Karen Smith's in our class.  I am the blonde one (was) with glasses.

I married Norm Barber, who some of you remember, in 1961.  Actually married him twice but sadly we ended up divorced twice but we have three great kids from that union and we are still good friends.  I'm now married to a Iowa farmer who is semi retired.  My husband has brought me much happiness . . . it's great to be in love and not alone in this journey of life.  We go to south Texas for the winter.  We plan on doing doing a lot more traveling.  Enjoyed the photos of the 50th reunion.  Saw several old friends.

Ann Renz (Kinsey)

Then Then
Comment: 1. I’ve raised four wonderful children, mostly in the mountain regions of California. I’ve enjoyed my travels to Australia and the Caymen Islands, having been to both places several times. I have been widowed twice.  



2. Live and enjoy each day, plus do something special each day. 

Barbara Sanderson (Holcombe)

Then Then
Marital status: Married
Children: 3
Occupation: Real Estate Broker
Comment: After graduation from Oakland High, I attended San Jose State University majoring in teaching and Home Economics.  

 I loved sewing and I always had wanted to go into fashion design so I decided to attend a design school in San Francisco.



After finishing design school, I worked in the fashion industry for a number of years with several different designers.



During these years, I had 3 beautiful children Deborah Bowers Philips, Brad Bowers and Kathrine Bowers.They are a great help to me and I have enjoyed watching them grow into adults.



I've worked as an Administrative Assistant for my then Oakland City Councilman, Carter Gilmore during the Oakland earthquake and fires. That was a great experience woking for this honorable man and for my city.



After politics , I decided to become a Real Estate Broker working for Prudential in Montclair, and Remax in Brentwood. I have owned 2 real estate companies in California, one near Bear Valley in Dorrington above Arnold and currently own my own company in Brentwood with my husband Ted Sanderson. I have been in real estate since 1992 both investing, and buying and selling for my clients.

My daughter Kathrine helps me in my business.



I currently specialize in buying and selling in the Brentwood Active Adult community of Summerset in Contra Costa County where I live.



I have 2 grandchildren, David Philips, Jr. and Daniel Philips and love being with them as much as possible. David will attend Wyotech this fall and wants to have a career in the auto industry.

Danny is in middle school in Union City. They are wonderful boys.



The next 50 years will be full - I can't retire. I'm having a good time. I plan to travel more than I have been able to do in the past and just enjoy the rest of my life.

Arnelda Sawin (Lindmark)

Then Then
Comment: 1. Graduated from Simpson University in 1963, married on November 28, 1964, raised five children, three boys and two girls, have 14 grandchildren, and lived in Cambodia and Hong Kong for a year.   



2. Spend time with my husband in Viet Nam and Cambodia and with our family. 

Howard Schirmer

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 3
Occupation: Civil Engineer/Management Consultant
Comment: Following graduation from high school, I attended the University of California (Berkeley) for my BS (structural engineering) and MS (soil mechanics/engineering geology) degrees. Later, I did post graduate studies at the University of Hawaii and University of Michigan.



While in graduate school, I worked part time in San Francisco for the consulting engineering firm of Dames + Moore. As luck would have it, I was transferred to their Honolulu office upon graduation where I  worked for sixteen years. I became a partner and was promoted to the position of COO, but had to relocate to Los Angeles. The firm had about 1500 employees and 100 partners around the world. As a result of a reorganization, I took over the responsibility for the international operations in the mid 80s.



In 1989, I resigned to start the international subsidiary for a much larger cconsulting engineering firm, CH2MHILL and relocated to the Denver area. I was the President, part of the firm's top management team and became an owner of the parent company. My role was to extend the US practice of the firm into major cities around the world. I left in 1997 to start my own company consulting company, Transnational Associates Inc., where I currently work part time from a base in Colorado. TAI helps clients develop strategies for international and US engineering and environmental work, market goods and services to the world lending organizations such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, trouble shoot distressed operations, recruit staff and acquire other companies.



My activities have enabled me to work in some 68 countries around the world and serve on numerous company and non profit boards. I was elected to various positions and appointed to engineering committees in several professional societies. A few stand out. The Clinton and Bush administrations appointed me to the Environmental Technologies and Trade Committee that developed US trade policy for the US environmental industry and UC Berkeley appointed me to the advisory council to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Chairman. I also served on INTABLE, an industry advisory group to UCLA's Graduate Business School, and a trade committee associated with the State of Colorado.



Some of the engineering projects i worked on were the tallest building in Asia in the 70s, (located in Singapore), the Hong Kong Airport, a couple nuclear plants in Korea, France Disneyland, several high rise builings in Waikiki, several destination resorts in Kauai, Maui and Oahu, Alexandria Eygpt's waste water treatment plant and USAID planning studies for resettlement of the Sinai Peninsula.



I was appointed to be an Honorary Consultant to the City of Changchun China, Chi Epsilon Chapter Honor Member at the University of Hawaii and to be a National Ski Patrolman. Recently, I was elected to the Academy of Dishinguished Engineering Alumni at the University of California.



It was (and continues to be) a great career. I was lucky to get a wonderful start at  OHS and the University of California and to work for great companies.



I met my wonderful wife at UC and we have raised three delightful daughters. In my spare time, I like to ski, fly fish and work on our 80 year old family log cabin in the California Sierras.