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DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

Durand High School Tradition

School Colors: Royal Blue and White

Mascot:

Fighting Bulldog

Class Motto:

The door to success is labeled PUSH

Class Flower

White Rose

Class Colors:

Blue and White

Class Advisor

Roman Baker

Class Officers:

Bill Haggerty, president; Nancy Greene,

vice president; Jean Rafferty, secretary;

Mike Waller, treasurer

65th REUNION

DEDICATED TO SHARRI,

THE CLASS OF CLASS REUNIONS

Sharri Larsen Roser has always been known for her vivacious personality and for being a friend.

Her creativity over the last half-century has made all of our class reunions memorable. Taking the time
to check the dates of all our birthdays and send out greetings and reminders to the rest of us is just one
example of her thoughtfulness. Another is her Angel Board for classmates no longer with us. Thinking
back to our fun days at DHS, I remember the many activities –– Chorus, FHA, GAA, the record dances
and Cannibal Queen Junior play. Sharri, do you remember the box social our class sponsored? Reg Pete
bought yours and you won the prize for best decorated. Sharri was a spirited cheerleader and drummer in
the band. Those band credits allowed her and Linda Engebretson to graduate with the class of 1958. I am
so glad she returned to her roots to organize our reunions. Her energy keeps us going and her active life
travelling, dancing and designing those awesome Halloween costumes should inspire us all.

-- By Nancy Greene Paz

Sharri is an absolute perfectionist, always making sure the reunion parties had a cake, balloons,

center-pieces that only she could dream up, a banner that was professionally made to hang on the wall
and lots of games with prizes. That takes a very creative mind, lots of work and money out-of-pocket.
Not to mention she had to transport most of those items to Durand from her homes in the Deep South.
Sharri helped me with a lot of our 1960 Class Reunions. She kiddingly calls me Uncle Mo and I call
her Mama Shar (she reminds me of my late mother) simply because she’s constantly bugging me about
details. Especially balloons. She repeatedly said, “Uncle Mo, you must have balloons.” After that I called
her “the Balloon Lady.” Her creative mind operates outside of class reunions. She and her husband Rich
consistently take first place in decorations and costumes in events such as Senior Proms, Valentine’s
Day, July 4th, golf carts competitions, Halloween and Christmas. Shar and Rich had a scary event last
November. They were awakened by a fire alarm and their house suffered major smoke damage. But all is
OK now and every little detail for the 65th reunion of the Class of 1959 will be taken care of. Sharri, the
Class of the Class of 1959, will see to that.

-- By Mo Ostergard

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

ADLEMAN

Pat (Adleman) and Jim Olander
17107 Matinal Road
San Diego, CA 92127
858-485-0305

2019-2024 Update: No update was provided.

BARTELT

Nathan Bartelt
3987 Long Run Road
Mammoth Spring, AR 72554
870-625-3119
815-874-4347 (Illinois number)

2014-2019 Update: I live in Arkansas October through April and then spend the

rest of the year in New Milford, Ill. I’m enjoying retirement, taking lots of fishing
trips and working on my 20-acre property in Arkansas. When back in Illinois I enjoy
fishing and spending time going to garage and yard sales. I had both knees replaced in
the past two years, which has made it possible to remain active.

My daughter Karen and her husband Mike moved from Byron, Ill., to Lake

Carroll in Lanark, Ill. Mike retired last January. Their son Andrew Kiesling lives in
Leaf River and works as a welder at Liebovich Brothers in Rockford. Their daughter
Hanna Kiesling purchased a home in Pecatonica and is a radiologist. My son Ken
still lives near Pecatonica and retired last March from the Postal Service.

BLISS

Dennis Z. and Marlene Bliss
7227 Yale Bridge Road
Rockton, IL 61072
815-629-2452

2019-2024 Update: Marlene is filling in for Denny. “Our lives have slowed down

considerably in the past five years. After 10 years, we gave up our winter trips to
Arizona and Nevada. We are still able to enjoy dining on most weekends at our two
favorite restaurants in Beloit. Other than dementia and diabetes, Denny is in good
health and doing fine. He misses his brothers, twins Ed and Fred, who died just a few
years ago. And he no longer communicates via computer. We will celebrate our 58

wedding anniversary in July.”

BROWN

Sharon (Brown) McHenry
230 Choo Choo Lane
Valrico, FL 33594
813-610-6580

smchenry1941@gmail.com.

2019-2024 Update: Not much has changed in the last five years. My family has

grown on great-grandchildren from age 2 to 7. They all live in Florida — Orlando,

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1959

65th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

Brooksville and Tampa.

I was asked four years ago by the HOA president to start a singers’ group in

Strawberry Ridge Village. As we are an older community we’ve gone from 26
members to 40 and have given spring and Christmas concerts the last four years.
In addition we often sing at different nursing homes. As director it keeps me busy
planning and organizing each concert.

Two years ago I went on my sixth cruise for a week to the Western Caribbean.

I think this year I’m going to go to Las Vegas for a few days. The very best to all my
classmates in the coming years!

COLE

Judy (Cole) and Don Harbison
2914 Nevermind Lane
Colorado Springs, CO 80917

2019-2024 Update: No update was provided.

DACH
Elaine (Dach) Duff

284 Wayne 521

Wappapello, MO

573-776-5724

elaineduff1942@gmail.com

2019-2024 Update: I attended the 60th class reunion five years ago with my aunt

Norma Slaton Lingbeck. I really enjoyed visiting with everyone. But I don’t think
I’ll be able to make the eight-hour drive to Durand this year as my husband Lonnie
passed away in April 2023 on Easter Sunday. I drove myself to Rockford in June last
year when my mother went into hospice care before she passed on July 4. She lived to
be 101 and 8 months. The eight-hour drive by myself was too much, especially having
to go around St. Louis. I live by myself now in southeastern Missouri in a small resort
town at Lake Wappapello about five minutes from my husband’s favorite boat ramp
where he liked to fish for many years.

DICKERSON

John and Sandy Dickerson
9 Saluda Trail
West Columbia, SC 29169
803-796-5157

John.r.dickerson@gmail.com

2019-2024 Update: Highlights of my life over the last five years:
1. Reached 82 years old.
2. “Playing” clarinet with the “Dixieland Codgers” band.
3. Avoided any responsibility except love of my family and two cats!
4. Got together with my 4 brothers and their wives at Pawley’s Island every winter.

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

5. Got together with my 4 brothers and their extended families every summer at
Debordieu Island.

6. Enjoying Durand Reunions.

DIXON

Sally (Dixon) and Wilson Bear
N1930 Clarno Road
Monroe, WI 53566
608-325-6800

2019-2024 Update: Our lives are pretty tame. We manage to keep the snow

shoveled in Wisconsin. We sold our home in Florida in 2020. We miss our Florida
friends. We were members of two Harley Trike groups and rode all over Central
Florida.

I mostly do my gardening now. I play bridge 3 times a month with 2 different

groups. I also read a lot.

Willie had his knee replaced a year ago and is doing great. We look forward to

seeing everyone at the reunion.

GREENE

Nancy (Greene) and Sonny Paz
28 Augusta Drive
Laguna Vista, TX 78578
956-943-4586

sonnypaz@sbcglobal.net

2019-2024 Update: After graduating in 1959, Jean Rafferty, Nancy Judd and I

attended the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. We roomed together and had
some good times in between studying. Nancy married a fellow she met there while
Jean and I continued on to receive our teaching degrees. After marrying a fellow
student, Jean began teaching as they raised a family and eventually moved back to
Durand.

I followed my parents who had moved to Harlingen, Tex., where I taught

freshman English. There I met my future husband and Sonny and I married June
4, 1966. My parents moved back to Durand that summer and bought Gamble’s
hardware store. We spent summer vacations there helping out. Looking for a change,
we decided to stay in Durand in 1969.

Sonny was hired to revive the Durand football program from a 21-game losing

streak, winning the third game of the season. Team numbers increased from 14
players (freshmen through seniors) to 38 and a junior tackle program was created.

Along the way we celebrated the births of our two children, Michele in 1970

and James in 1973. Michelle is now retired from Rockford Blacktop and owns my
grandmother Greene’s house on Freeport Road. James is married and they own
a home in Brooklyn, NY. Our vacations with the kids alternated between visiting
Sonny’s family in Texas and fishing in Ontario, Canada until their graduation from
Durand High School.

When my Dad wanted to retire in 1977, we bought his hardware where I had

been working. It had been moved across the town square and was a True Value

65th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

store. We had 22 wonderful years there expanding the selling area three times and
increasing our inventory to accommodate Christmas merchandise, spring plants and
landscaping.

After selling to a local businessman, we went to work nearby for eight years.

Sonny facilitated the move by Bryden Ford to their new building and ran the rental
program. I did bookkeeping for Lakeside, Inc.

With both parents passed on by the fall of 2000, we sold our house in Durand and

moved to my grandparents’ home on Route 75. We became winter Texans by building
a home along the gulf coast in deep South Texas. We have been full-time Texans since
2006 but have spent two or three months in Durand every summer (I think we have
made every class reunion). We spend most of our time in our yard planting, pruning
and weeding, which we truly enjoy. It is rewarding to relax later on the patio and
survey the results.

For a time while we still lived in Durand we took trips to the coastal resorts in

Mexico with several other couples. After retirement we took a trip to Spain to visit
friends and a couple long drives to New York City. More recently we have done a few
Caribbean cruises, a road trip to Carlsbad Caverns and the Grand Canyon, shorter
trips to Big Ben and San Antonio, and now that my sister Betsy is a Texan again a
visit to her home in the Hill Country near Kerrville.

We are now a 15-minute drive from South Padre Island so there is never a

shortage of things to do. Our son and his wife sometimes join us in Texas or at our
daughter’s in Durand for a quick family visit. This year they blessed us with our first
grandchild and it was so fun getting acquainted with a darling three-month-old. We
look forward to their next trip to Texas to see how the little guy has grown. We aren’t
traveling as much these days, but we hope to do an Ontario fishing trip in July. And
of course we are looking forward to seeing you all in June.

JOHNSON

Judy (Johnson) and Jerry Kloster
515 Baintree Road
Davis, Ill. 61019
815-298-1452

Seamstress1122@yahoo.com

2019-2024 Update: Since returning to the Durand area in 2016 we have settled

into Lake Summerset comfortably. Rather than requiring myself to take that two-
mile walk every day, I have substituted a stationary bicycle for most days along with
just daily housework. I find that moderate chair yoga helps with back pain. All this
requires commitment and I often just want to make an excuse not to do it.

Jerry and I worked a small 20 ft. x 20 ft. garden plot the past two years. The Lake

Association provides garden space for those wanting the challenge. This past year the
tomatoes were quite productive. We canned over 100 quarts that we shared with our
two daughters.

Our getaway vacations do not seem to happen. Summer keeps us busy at home

and the past two years we have stayed here in the winter. We may need to change
this thought as this past winter has had more cold weather and snow than I want
to endure again. In early October we drove to Loveland, Col., to spend two weeks

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

with our daughter and son-in-law. She always has many sewing projects for me while
there. So great to be with them and the wine is wonderful as well! A trip to a theater
production in Denver is usually on the list too.

Other than my sewing and crafting projects I keep occupied with a monthly book

club, monthly quilters group (although I do not really quilt) and playing the game
Mah Jongg every week. I feel very fortunate to have lived a fairly healthy life so far.
When we moved to our home in 2017 I thought if I have 10 years here I will have
been extremely blessed.

LARSEN

Sharri (Larsen) and Richard Roser
3907 Sabal Springs Blvd.
North Ft. Myers, FL 33917
256-520-5336

Sdroser70@gmail.com

2019-2024 Update: 2019: Three great reunions. Such fun to see everyone. Then

came Covid. I did win second place though for my Toyland golf cart at Christmas
time.

2020: Stayed in the community pretty close to home. Lots of activities cancelled.

We got all the Boosters.

2021: We headed to South Dakota for a timeshare vacation. We saw the

Presidents Monument, loved the Parade of Flags and took in the Reptile Gardens and
Bear Country. (Privately owned…all the bears…Awesome!) In December, I put my
Betty Boop Collection on the Christmas cart and won second place again.

2022: We took a driving vacation to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. for 10 days in our Flex…

first long drive. Nice timeshare and lots of shows. In the fall I had 12 injections in the
back and then an ablation to burn off nerve endings. It worked! We had a Christmas
dance here in the community and lots of fun for New Year’s at Pine Lakes Country
Club nearby. It was a 1920’s Speak Easy dance. Everyone dressed the part.

2023: We had a Mardi Gras party and a Paisley Hippy Dress dance. Even in

our 80’s I’m still making costumes and dancing some. With Richard’s birthday on
Halloween we still do the costumes. The last two years we have won first prize with
our Victorian Ghosts. At this age we’re trying to stay healthy. But On Nov. 18, our
smoke alarm went off at 3 a.m. We escaped uninjured and called the fire department.
All the duct work in the attic was burned up, electrical outlets and two bathroom
floors were under water and smoke smothered all the vents in the house. We called
the insurance company (Farmers Insurance, the one you see on TV) and, believe it or
not, someone answered at 4 a.m. Saturday. Help came that day. We rented a home in
the community here. The birds were shut off completely on the back lanai so we kept
them there and returned twice a day to feed them. Workers completely cleaned and
painted the inside of our home, took away all textiles and paintings and brought them
back and put new floors in two bedrooms and a bathroom. You know me — I had
eight Christmas trees up early, all with decorations. We hand-washed each decoration
and packed them. Same with everything in all our closets. A real nightmare. But we’re
very thankful to be safe. Just remember — change the batteries in your smoke alarms.

2024: We came back home Jan. 7. We are still unpacking and moving in. I will

65th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

have some more back injections (pain from all the stress and packing I suspect). I also
had a carpel tunnel operation on my right wrist last year and it is now acting up. Still
we are going back to Las Vegas this year. No, not to gamble but to see shows and take
tours. Looking forward to our 65th class reunion. I hope everyone makes the effort
one more time. I loved growing up in that small town. The kids today do not know
what they missed…so many great memories

LEONARD

Linda (Leonard) Harris
807 Main Street
Pecatonica, IL 61063
815-239-1245

cassharris@aol.com

2019-2024 Update: No update was provided.

LINGBECK

Marilyn (Lingbeck) Harris
124 Gables Dr. SW
Popular Grove, IL 61065
815-543-7009 (cell)

2019-2024 Update: Not a lot of changes in my life. I moved to Candlewick

Lake in Popular Grove in 2018. It’s only about a mile from my son’s house. He has a
pontoon boat so we go out on the lake a lot.

I still go to Jazzercise three times a week. They also have a lot of activities at the

lake, including golf, pickle ball, bingo and cards. I also go to the movies a couple of
times a month. Of course, there also is shopping. That’s about it!

MOORE

William Moore
212 Redwood Ave.
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007
847-593-2075

2019-2024 Update: No update was provided.

PETE

Reginal and Chris Pete
10936 Borage
Roscoe, IL 61073
815-270-0525

Dom1reg@charter.net

2019-2024 Update: Not much changed here. I retired in March 2022. Spending

my time now rebuilding my wood shop. I’m reorganizing and adding some new
equipment. I spend time with my wife Chris and our wonderful Shih Tzu Gracie
(she’s a blessing). My son and I do some shooting at the range. That’s about as
exciting as it gets.

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

PIEPER

Harold Pieper
N886 Shueyville Road
Monroe, WI 53566
608-328-4835

2019-2024 Update: No update was provided.

SLATON

Norma (Slaton) and Daryl Lingbeck
6222 42nd Street
Rockford, IL 61109
815-874-7216

NLingbeck@outlook.com

2019-2024 Update: The last five years I have watched my youngest

granddaughters graduate from high school and then from college. I have two great-
grandchildren now. We have two acres and spend time taking care of it—the lawn,
gardens etc. I have a large collection of owls and we spend our winters doing puzzles.

TALLEY

Carolyn (Talley) Baker
89 Senate Drive
Rockford, IL 61109-1349
618-314-3926

Carolynjbaker7@gmail.com

2019-2024 Update: There hasn’t been many changes in my life since our last

reunion. I am not with my gentleman friend anymore. There’s always a reason why
things don’t work out. Haven’t met anyone new.

My oldest son, Jeff Peters, who lived in the Houston area, passed away four years

ago last October. I miss him very much. My daughter still lives in Winnebago. And
her husband retired from Chrysler in Belvidere .My youngest still lives and works in
the Rockford area. And is still single.

My oldest granddaughter and family are all doing great. Their son is almost 10

and daughter nearly 6. They’re growing up too fast. My youngest granddaughter and
husband are expecting a new baby—it’s a girl—in March. Her son is three.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our 65th reunion in June. God bless

all of us.

65th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

WALLER

Mike and Donna Waller
10056 St Moritz Dr.
Miromar Lakes, FL 33913
843-384-5899

mikeewaller@aol.com

2019-2024 Update: One of the biggest highlights for Donna and me was our

daughter Katharine’s appearance on the quiz show Jeopardy in February 2023. She
applied and took several tests over many months before being accepted in January
2023. Donna flew to Los Angeles to watch the taping of the show as did Katharine’s
partner Kyle and longtime Connecticut friend Cara. I stayed home, grounded by
ailments. After the first round, Katharine, the business manager of a charter school
in Woonsocket, RI, was in second place. In the second round she answered a Daily
Double question and got even closer to the leader, who at the time was a five-time
champion. In Final Jeopardy both of them answered correctly and Katharine, with
more than $24,000, lost by $495. For several weeks afterward, she got dozens of texts
from many friends she hadn’t heard from in years.

Our other two daughters are also doing well. Heather, an elementary teacher

in Fort Myers, Fla., married Mike Williams, an attorney for the Collier County
Sheriff ’s office, and now has a blended family of five children ages 15 to 20. Danielle
is the chief mitigation specialist and supervises a team of five in the federal public
defender’s office in Indianapolis. She is active outdoors with her husband Dave
Camm, jogging nearly every day and is now in the process of hiking every state park
in Indiana.

I’m still adapting to life without golf. I have played only five nine-hole rounds

in the last five years after playing more than 3,600 rounds since retirement in 2003.
Arthritis continues to work overtime on my hands, hips, shoulders and back.

A big change for us came in May 2003 when we moved to Southwestern Florida

to be near Heather and our three grandchildren. It was a stressful move, especially
for Donna who acted as project manager/designer as we renovated the kitchen
and installed hurricane shutters on the entire house. But it was good being close to
our three grandkids: Riley, 20, who will be a junior this fall at Florida Gulf Coast
University about five minutes from our house; Sydney, 18, a senior in high school;
and Fletcher, 15, a terrific athlete who started on the varsity football team as a
freshman. He was named an All American wide receiver for freshman on a national
team with freshmen from 22 states.

WALSH

Joan (Walsh) Didier
784 Donelda Lane
Rockford, IL 61102
815-968-2039

Joanmdidier@gmail.com

2019-2024 Update: My last five years have been a rollercoaster. I have been

blessed with good health but not so for three of my siblings. My oldest sister Lorraine

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

passed three months after her daughter Ellen died from Covid on Feb. 21, 2023.
While I was on vacation with my family at our lake home in Lac du Flambeau, Wis.,
I received word that my brother Bill died suddenly on July 3. And then my sister Sue
passed on Jan. 5 of this year. I’m thankful for my strong faith, knowing God has his
reason for everything.

My loving family of 14 keeps me going. Lots of travelling with them so I have

been able to check off a few things on my bucket list. Niagara Falls was my last trip
and loved every minute of travelling in Canada with my daughters Michele and
Jackie.

My six grandchildren are such a delight. My oldest granddaughter, Amanda

Didier, graduated from Marquette University in 2022 and works for Pricewaterhouse
Cooper in Milwaukee. My oldest grandson, Jacob Stone, will be graduating from
Indiana University this year and will be working in New York with a business he
interned with last summer. Stephanie Didier will be graduating from Davidson
College in N.C. this year and plans to work in Washington D.C with the National
Parks because of her love of the environment. I have two other grandkids in college!
My youngest granddaughter, Grace, is 10 years old and in fourth grade in Rockford at
St. Bridget. I’m looking forward to our 65th class reunion in June.

WALSH

Julia (Walsh) Willkom
8722 Westlake Drive
Greendale, WI 53129
608-628-3145

irishgrandmaturtle41@gmail.com

2019-2024 Update: I am happy and grateful to say that I have enjoyed reasonably

good health, which allows me to remain independent and active. I spend a lot of time
with my children and their families as well as with my siblings and friends here in
Greendale.

My oldest daughter, Jeanne, and her husband, Jeff Hilger, have two children,

Emily and Collin, graduates of Nicolet High in Fox Point. Upon graduation they
both were admitted to the University of Wisconsin’s School of Business. Emily
graduated with a double major in finance and real estate and now lives in Chicago
and works for J.P. Morgan. Collin is finishing his third year, passed two actuary
exams during his sophomore year, completed an internship of Zurich Insurance
during the summer and plans to graduate with a degree in actuary science.

My youngest daughter, Colleen, and her husband, Kelly, have two children,

McKaela 14 and McIntyre 10. McKaela has had type 1 diabetes since age two but
manages to participate in sports, especially tennis and basketball. McIntyre’s favorite
sport is flag football but he also plays tennis and basketball. It’s fun watching them
and their teammates play and improve after a few games.

I enjoy my book clubs, Greendale’s Women’s Club, hiking with a hiking club,

visiting the many museums in Milwaukee as well as the botanical gardens just a
few blocks from my home. I participate in walks to raise funds or juvenile diabetes
research. I do spend a lot of time—three days a week—at an enrichment center in a
senior housing complex operated by School Sisters of St. Francis just a mile and a

65th REUNION

CLASSMATE PROFILES

half from here. Professors from Marquette, UW Milwaukee and other universities and
colleges in the Milwaukee area conduct classes for a minimal cost on every subject
imaginable.

I am an enthusiastic Bucks and Brewers fan and go to a few games. And, of

course, I am a Packer fan in addition to following the Wisconsin football and
basketball teams at Madison as Frank and I did for over 40 years.

Several of my siblings and I had wonderful winter vacations together at a

“perfect” resort on Sanibel Island in Florida, “perfect” until it was destroyed by
Hurricane Ian in September 2022. The new winter vacation site will be at Cocoa
Beach, Fla., but Joan and I will not go this year.

I have enjoyed vacations with one or the other of my daughters, their families

and when my son Franz, is able — time wise — to Grand Cayman Island, Hawaii,
a Caribbean cruise, a resort at Gull Lake in Minnesota, a resort in Door County in
Wisconsin and/or Clearwater Beach, Fla.

Some of my summer’s highlights are our three-day family reunions (always well

attended), the Irish Fest in Milwaukee and tracking and cheering for my brother-in-
law and his crew on their sailboat, Cutty’s Ark, during their race from Chicago to
Mackinac Island. We cheered also for my niece’s husband, Josiah Hill, during his
state campaign for a Senate seat in Minnesota, a race that he won. And I always
enjoy being together with Nancy Paz during her annual trip to Durand each summer.

I have been saddened by loss, also, by the death of my sister Rose in 2018 after

she suffered a long time from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). My oldest sister, Lorraine,
her daughter, Ellen and my brother, Bill, all died within a period of five months in
2023. I was with my sister Sue just moments after she died last Jan. 5 My twin Joan
and I both have been widows since 2012.

I look forward to attending our 65th class reunion this summer in Durand. I hope

we have a good turnout. Many thanks to Sharri for all she has done in planning and
organizing it. Many thanks to you also, Mike, for again putting together and editing a
book of highlights that our classmates have written for you.

Here’s wishing both you and each of our classmates good health and many

blessings.

WHISMAN

Jerry Whisman
9019 E. Orange Ave.
Floral City, FL 34436
316-648-3320

GoWhiz4k@gmail.com

2019-2024 Update: After retirement in Wichita, Kan. in 2015, I bought a fixer-

upper in Floral City, Fla. and with Marilyn’s help brought it back to life. Two years
later Marilyn was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in December 2017. A
few years later at a birthday party I met an old friend, Dorothy Metz from Racine,
Wis., and we hit it off. Nowadays I enjoy her company much of the time during the
winter at her home in Fort Myers. I stay active by walking and biking and going on an
occasional cruise or vacation with “Dottie.”

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

WORKINGER

Lee and Linda Workinger
1344 Revere Ridge Road
Rockford, IL 61108
815-977-5342
815-978-1873 (Text)

lwork@comcast.net

2019-2024 Update: We have had quite a chaotic time in the last five years.

First dealing with the pandemic in 2020. Then in 2021 Linda had reverse shoulder
replacement on her right shoulder. Then in 2022 she had total reverse shoulder
replacement surgery on her left shoulder.

Then in 2023 we sold our home in Machesney Park and purchased a condo in

Rockford. Still trying to get settled, so many things in boxes yet, moving from a house
to a condo.

In 2021 our grandson and his wife was blessed with a little girl. In 2022 one of

our granddaughters and her husband also was blessed with a little girl. We now have
four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

65th REUNION

CHARLES LAUBE (1941-2024)

Charles Albert R. Laube, 82, of Durand, died Sunday, April 7, 2024 in Medina

Nursing Home after a brief illness. He was born Aug. 10, 1941 in Rockford, the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Charles and Marion (Young) Laube. Chuck, as his classmates called
him, graduated from Durand High School with the Class of 1959.

He married Dorothy A. Pieper on Oct. 25, 1964 in Davis. Chuck farmed on the

family farm near Durand all of his life and was a member of the Winnebago County
Farm Bureau.

Survivors include his wife, daughter Pam (Todd) Romeis and numerous nieces

and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents and sisters Alice Porter and Kathryn
Scheiner. He was buried in Durand Township Cemetery after private ceremonies were
held.

WILLIAM “BILL” BRINKER (1941-2023)

When his classmates think of Bill Brinker, the girls mostly think of his gorgeous

wavy hair and of a friendly fellow who enjoyed life without getting into trouble. The
guys think of an avid motorcycle rider who loved all things Harley Davidson and
Indian brand.

Bill, of Machesney Park, Ill., who died at age 81 on Jan. 18, 2023, was the

Number 1 fan of Dick Trickle, considered the greatest short track motorcycle racer
with more than 1,200 victories. Bill was also an avid Chicago Bears fan.

He was born on Aug. 9, 1941, in Pearl City, Ill., the son of Clarence and Lucille

(Studebaker) Brinker. He was married for 32 years to Sandra (Goodrich) Brinker and
worked for 32 years in the trash industry before retiring in 2007.

Survivors include his wife, children Tammy (Peat) Beggs, Sheila Brinker,

Connie Brinker, Heidi (Dennis) Fahy, Rob (Ryan) Allard, Lisa (Shawn) Jones; nine
grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, three
sisters, the mother of his three daughters and son-in-law.

Funeral services were held at the Honquest Family Funeral Home in Roscoe, Ill.,

with burial in the New Milford Cemetery.

ARLENE DIEHL YOUNG (1941-2019)

Wearing a smile and always ready to have fun.
That is how her friends remembered Arlene Diehl Young, who died July 24, 2019

at her home in Rockton after a long illness.

She and longtime friend Carolyn Tally Baker loved going each summer to the

Winnebago County Fair on West State Street in Rockford. They also loved dancing
with the guys at the regular Barn Dance in rural Pecatonica. Both of them used
Carolyn’s Grandma’s two-door Plymouth to get their driver licenses on Nov. 5, 1957.

More fun awaited both of them on their senior trip to Washington and at

graduation. Carolyn also spent many hours talking to Arlene on Grandma’s old black
crank phone on the wall.

Arlene enjoyed attending the Durand Class of 1959 reunions and serving on the

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

We the Class of 1959 are deeply saddened by the passing of three more of our classmates since our

60th reunion: Charles Laube, Bill Brinker and Arlene Diehl Young. We hope that they and all of our
deceased classmates are enjoying eternal peace.

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

Decorations Committee. “We had lots of fun making sure the blue and white bulldog
theme looked terrific,” recalls classmate Sharri Larsen Roser.

Arlene was born June 20, 1941 in Millersburg, Ill. to Ralph and Marie (Dillon)

Diehl, who later moved the family to Durand. Arlene was a switch board operator
at the Wagon Wheel in Rockton before a long career as a purchasing secretary at
Ingersoll Milling in Rockford. She enjoyed traveling to such destinations as New
England, the Smokey Mountains, the Rocky Mountains and Las Vegas just to name a
few. She also enjoyed gardening, planting flowers and morning coffee groups with the
ladies and was an avid Wheel of Fortune watcher.

Arlene is survived by her sons, Greg and Chad, both of Rockton; sister Shirley

(Harold) Pieper of Monroe, Wis.; three nieces and two nephews and many other
family and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Robert Diehl
and son Andrew.

JUDY (SMITH) OSBORNE (1942-2017)

Judy Smith Osborne died at age 74 on Jan. 4, 2017, at Mercy Health System in

Rockford.

If there was one thing that stood out over the years about Judy, it was that

perpetual smile. Or maybe it was that sweet disposition. Nancy Greene Paz, who
attended the one-room Farmingdale Country School with Judy before they both
went to Durand Grade School when all the 14 rural schools were closed in 1952,
remembers it this way: “She always had a smile for everyone and was one of the
sweetest persons I ever knew.” Julia Walsh Willkom recalls Judy at the 50th class
reunion in 2009 as “looking so happy with her usual wonderful smile.” And Sharri
Larsen Roser remembers Judy as “a very sweet girl.”

Sharri and Judy were cheerleaders together and “had lots of fun at Sharon

Brown’s slumber parties with Sally Kelsey, Pat Adleman and Linda Engebretson.
And who could forget our 45th class reunion, when Judy was declared the ‘best kisser
of the class.’ She was so embarrassed, but she won the red velvet kiss box full of
Hershey’s Kisses.”

Judy was born on April 7, 1942, in Beloit, Wis., one of six daughters to Johnnie

and Harriett (Lorenz) Smith. Johnnie pitched from 1951 to 1953 for the renowned
Durand Merchants softball team and Judy sometimes attended Merchant games at
Legion Memorial Field.

After graduating from high school, Judy finished nurses’ training and met her

future husband, Bob Osborne, who had just gotten out of the military service. They
were married Oct. 5, 1963, and had three sons—“certainly a change from being raised
with nearly all girls,” Judy once said. They lived in Rockford until 1976, when they
moved to Winnebago.

In the 50th class reunion booklet, Judy wrote: “I lost Bob on Nov. 2, 2005, after

his battle with lymphoma. He was truly the love of my life and I miss him every day. I
have worked at Rockford Health Physicians (formerly Rockford Clinic) as a secretary
in the OB/GYN Department since 1980. It has been an education all in itself and I
love the medical profession and enjoy the patient contact.”

Judy loved attending class reunions—“best class ever!” she repeatedly told

everyone—and loved spending time with her family and taking care of her indoor
cats and outdoor critters.

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She was survived by her sons Stephen (Jennifer) of Winnebago, Mike (Shelly) of

Caldonia and Bob (Melanie) of Flower Mound, Tex., sisters Pat Albrecht of Durand,
Sue (Bob) Ballard of South Beloit and Betty (Randy) Rhyner of Durand, brother
Johnnie (Krisan) Smith of Rockton, 11 grandchildren and a great-grandson. Her
parents, three sisters and two daughters-in-law preceded her in death.

SALLY (KELSEY) LAWSON (1941-2017)

Sally (Kelsey) Lawson, 75, died at home March 5, 2017, after a brief illness. She

was born Dec. 4, 1941, in Beloit, Wis., to Floyd and Margaret (Hogan) Kelsey. If she
had been born wearing a cheerleader’s uniform, no one would have batted an eye.
From the time she entered Durand Grade School through her junior high school and
high school years, she was cheering for the Bulldogs at nearly every sporting event.

She had the perfect personality for it: bouncy, upbeat, enthusiastic, with her white

buck shoes and flawless ponytail. Classmate Nancy Greene Paz remembers it: “I was
envious of her cute ponytail.” Another classmate, Sharri Larsen Roser, recalls: “She
was always powdering those white buck shoes.”

Sally was very popular, and not just with her 1959 classmates. “I doubt she ever

knew anyone who did not consider her a friend,” recalls Julia Walsh Willkom. No
friend was closer than Shirley Adleman. Sally and Shirley were cheerleaders together
for several years. Like her older brothers Weyburn and Phil, Sally was a good athlete
and fit well on any kind of team with Shirley, probably Durand’s greatest woman
athlete. The two of them played on many softball teams and often bowled on the
same teams. “We did everything together,” Shirley remembers.

Sally and her friends held many slumber parties over their teenage years. “We got

so rambunctious once at Sally’s party that the fire truck had to make an appearance at
the Kelsey farm,” says Sharri. “Enough said about that.”

After graduating from Durand High School, Sally went to work at Sunstrand

Aerospace in Rockford, where she met her husband, Bill Lawson. They got married
in Durand on June 22, 1963. Sally worked off and on at Sunstrand for 25 years before
retiring in 2004. “It was a great place to work with super benefits,” Sally wrote in
the 50th reunion booklet. In June 2013, it seemed as if the entire town turned out to
celebrate Sally and Bill’s 50th wedding anniversary.

Sally was active in her church, the Heritage Baptist Church in Roscoe. She was a

member of the church choir and was involved in Bible studies. At class reunions, she
often tried to recruit new members. “If you’re looking for a good church, you must
try ours!” she wrote in the class reunion booklet. Always the cheerleader.

She was survived by her husband, daughters Julie (Tim) Martin, Ames, Iowa,

Denise (Rob) Metras, North Field, Minn., and Sarah (Michael) Jones, Beloit, Wis., a
son, Jared, Richfield, Minn., sisters Virginia Cooper, Lake Summerset, Shirley Sweet,
Durand, and Kathy Whitehouse, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

RONALD F. WISE (1941-2017)

Ron Wise, 76, of Albany, Wis., died July 25, 2017, at Caring Hands in Brodhead,

Wis. Any Durand youngster in the 1940s and 1950s who had mechanical difficulties
with his bicycle or owned a radio that went of the fritz knew exactly where he could
find relief—in Ron Wise’s garage. Even before he was a teen-ager, Ron displayed a

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

magical talent for fixing any gadget needing repair. By the time he was 13, he had
graduated to automobiles and had become a handyman extraordinaire.

After high school and marriage in Sherrill Calkins in 1959, Ron went to work

for Ted Haggerty and John Walsh at their John Deere and Chevrolet dealership
in Durand. Ron’s first order of business was to attend a General Motors school to
learn about its Powerglide automatic transmission, used mainly on Chevrolets. All
mechanics were required to take apart and then reassemble the transmission in a set
amount of time. Ron beat the time on his very first attempt. A bit of a free spirit, Ron
loved chatting with customers as much as he loved fixing carburetors. Eventually a
parting of the ways ensued. A stunned Jack Walsh watched from inside the dealership
as Ron, irked at his fate, hopped in his car and burned a long stretch of rubber on
Center Street around town square park as he headed south out of town.

Ron later worked for Dave “Red” Welsh’s cement company and for Louis

Thomas at the Standard Oil station a mile south of town before joining the J.L. Clark
Company in Rockford in the mid-1960s. He was a tool and dye worker and shift
foreman at Clark until he started his own business in Durand, first as an electrician
and later as a car mechanic at Ron’s Repair. During that time he was Durand Road
Commissioner and a member of the Durand Fire Department, where he served a
term as chief. For 13 years he also was in charge of Durand’s 4th of July fireworks
show.

He then moved to Albany, Wis., and in 1987 bought Wish’s Bar in Brodhead.

Ron operated it until health issues forced him into early retirement in 1995. His
second wife, the former Beth Wilde, was his guiding light throughout his final years
of ill health.

He was survived by his wife, sons Lester (Jane) Wise of Albany and Paul Wise of

New Braunfeish, Tex., sisters Carol (Curt) Gonfientini of Brodhead and Janet Wise
of Durand, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His parents, Floyd and
Marjorie (Fosler) Wise, preceded him in death.

JIM COWAN (1941-2016)

Jim Cowan died Feb. 23, 2016 at age 74 at his home in Elyria, Ohio, surrounded

by his family after a long bout with cancer. He loved living in Durand even though he
left after his freshman year in high school when his dad, Claude, moved the family to
Rockford.

A few years ago Jim was having dinner with his adult children and Claude, who

was telling them about his days as Durand’s town constable. In the early and mid-
1950s the two car dealerships in town, Spelman and Doty’s Ford and Haggerty and
Walsh’s Chevrolet, sometimes left the cars in their parking lots overnight with the
keys in the ignition, since there was little crime in town. But now and then kids would
“borrow” the cars late at night and take them for joy rides. Claude said try as he
might he never could catch any of those kids.

“I was one of them,” Jim announced, as Claude nearly choked on his food.
Like most youngsters, Jim loved to go hunting and spent many hours with his

older brother Bob and the Harris boys — Bruce, Bill, Chuck and Fred — roaming the
area forests and fields for squirrels and rabbits. They also loved swimming and fishing
in the North Creek (the north branch of Otter Creek). Often they visited the stone

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quarry behind the Harris house a half-mile north of town and played cowboys and
Indians, shooting their B.B. guns at one another. Luckily, no one ever got hurt.

Over the years Jim stayed in touch with many of his Durand friends and his ashes

eventually will be buried in the family plot at Durand Cemetery

Had Jim stayed in Durand through his high school years, he would have been

considered one of the town’s greatest all-around athletes. At East High School in
Rockford, Jim led the basketball team to a 19-6 record in his senior year, averaging
19 points a game. He was named to the all-conference, all-city and all-county teams.
He was also a terrific baseball player, starring as a pitcher and hitter for East High
before playing basketball and baseball two years at Milton College. He was drafted
by the New York Yankees but injuries prevented him from attempting a career in
professional baseball.

Instead he dropped out of college in 1961, married his high school sweetheart,

Teri, started a family and eventually forged a career at the Nordson Corp in Amherst,
Ohio. In his later years he worked part-time for one of his four children, Mike,
who with his wife Sue owned Advanced Computer Connections in Norwalk, Ohio.
Along the way Jim joined the Oberlin Golf Club, where he was a former president
and outstanding golfer. For many years he was a scratch golfer (his handicap was
zero) and he won nine club championships. In 1989 he won the Tournament of
Champions, an amateur golf tournament of all clubs in Northeastern Ohio.

Sports were never far from Jim’s mind. He reported in the 55th class reunion

booklet that he had six great-grandchildren. “One great-grandson was born in
February 2013. The father is our grandson and stands 6 foot 9 inches. The boy’s
mother is 5 foot 8. In September 2013 another grandson who is 6 foot 8 and wife
(5 foot 9) gave birth to an 11-pound, 15-ounce giant of a boy. Could I be thinking
basketball already?”

Jim was survived by his wife, sons Mike (Sue) and Glen (Janet), daughters Felicia

and Sandy (Joe) Selady, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

ALYCE (FOSLER) DOBBS (1941-2016)

Alyce June (Fosler) Dobbs, of Stoughton, Wis., died May 15, 2016 at age 74 at

St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison after a long illness. She was born the second of three
daughters of Harold M. and Violet E. (Thomas) Fosler in Durand, where she made
many lifelong friends.

After high school, she married William Holt and raised four children. Years

later she married Charles Dobbs and raised one child. Alyce lived most of her life
in Winnebago County. She worked at several places over the years, including The
Durand Gazette where she was a plate-maker. She also worked a half-dozen times at
Medina Nursing Home in Durand, where she was a nurse’s aide, and from time to
time provided in-home nursing care. She enjoyed watching birds, doing craft projects
and having coffee with friends. She loved playing cards and for years was a regular in
weekly euchre and penny poker games at her apartment complex.

Alyce was survived by four children, Bill (Melodie) Holt of Durand, Jackie

(Robert) Pryor of Broken Arrow, Okla., Allyn (David) Miller of Lake Summerset
and Jamie Doobs-Sciortino (Elizabeth Gardner), sister Marjorie Townsend, seven
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

parents, a son Bradley S. Holt, and a sister Vicki Fannin.

HARLAN “CORKY’ CUTHBERTSON (1941-2014)

Harlan “Corky” Cuthbertson died at age 72 on Aug. 18, 2014, at his home in

Popular Grove, surrounded by family. He was in this world barely 30 minutes on Nov.
16, 1941, when he picked up his nickname from his Dad, Harlan E., who declared
“He’s quite a Corker.”

As a youngster, Corky hung around with Ron Wise. The two of them spent a

lot of their time fixing everything from radios and bicycles to motorcycles and cars.
Never a great fan of school, Corky quit at age 16 and went to work for his dad in the
farm equipment business, where his business education began.

In 1975 he married his soulmate, Yvonne Marie Severson, after two other

marriages. She was a devout Christian and Corky became one too. The next year he
bought the business from his father. But his timing was less than perfect. The dairy-
farming and feeder-cattle business in Winnebago County was starting to turn sour.
Corky made it through until 1982 when he sold the business and went to work at the
nuclear plant in Byron, welding nuclear reactor shields. In 1984 he took a position at
the Arntzen Corp in Rockford, the second largest rolled- and welded-pipe producer in
the U.S., in what was the beginning of an outstanding 31-year career.

All the engineering skills he dad taught him started paying off. In less than three

months he was named a foreman. In 1996 he was promoted to plant manager, the job
he held until his death.

Corky never considered himself an athlete and didn’t play much baseball or

basketball as a youngster like so many Durand boys. But he eventually took up
bowling and rolled a perfect 300 game in 1995. Figuring he couldn’t improve on that,
he retired from bowling and became an avid golfer. In 2012, he got a hole-in-one, at
Atwood Golf Course in Winnebago County. “I didn’t get as excited about it as the
young guy with whom I was golfing,” he wrote in a reunion booklet memoir. He also
loved riding his BMW motorcycle because it “cleared the cobwebs out of the noggin.”
He finally convinced Yvonne to get on and take a ride. He was looking forward to
many more rides with her.

Corky was a member of Heartland Community Church, Gideons International

and Timber Point Golf Club. Survivors included his wife, children Yvette (Noah)
Sanders, Mary (Ray) Gimenz, Tina Severson, Gloria (Brian) Fortune, Heidi Kramar,
Ron Cuthbertson and Scott Cuthbertson, brother Richard Cuthbertson and numerous
grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, Harlan
E. and Bessie (Schroder) Cuthbertson, sisters and a son, Russell Severson.

WILLIAM A. HAGGERTY (1941-2014)

William A. Haggerty, 72, died on March 29, 2014, at his home in Iowa City,

Iowa, after an 18-month battle with lung cancer. He was born July 24, 1941 in
Rockford, the son of Francis “Ted” and Bernice (Dailey) Haggerty. He grew up in
Durand and was an outstanding athlete. He spent his summers playing baseball every
day at Legion Field, built in 1948 to showcase the marvelous Durand Merchants
fast-pitch softball team. Bill was a member of the Foul Ball Brigade, chasing down
foul balls at Merchants’ games and exchanging them for a nickel or a Popsicle at the
concession stand.

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Bill was a life-long Boston Red Sox and Ted Williams fan. He was a member of

Durand’s first Little League team in 1951 and was an excellent second baseman and
hitter throughout his school years. He played guard on all the school basketball teams
and was the sixth man on the 1958-59 championship team that compiled the school’s
best record at the time of 22-6 and won the Stephenson County Conference, the
Durand Holiday Tournament and the state District Tournament. He was an excellent
halfback on the football team and a star at the 100-yard and 220-yard dash in track.

Bill was a popular kid. It didn’t hurt that his family owned the town’s first

television set. His dad, who with John Walsh owned the local Chevrolet and John
Deere dealership, won the TV in 1949 with a raffle ticket purchased for 75 cents at a
meeting of Chevy dealers in Chicago. All of Bill’s buddies would drop by often to
watch it, even though reception was fuzzy and snowy, despite an outside antenna that
was so tall you could barely see the top. The closest TV stations were in Davenport,
Iowa, and Chicago.

Bill also was a natural leader. He was class treasurer his freshman year, prom

king his junior year and president of the class his senior year. His leadership qualities
carried over into his college and military years. He graduated from the University of
Illinois in 1964, where he was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity. He joined the Army
in 1964 and served at NATO in Germany until he was discharged in 1966. He then
earned his MBA degree from Northern Illinois University and began a long career in
the railroad industry, mostly with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, where he
held many executive positions. Bill was an avid reader, a history buff and a sports fan.
More than anything, he loved spending time with his family and friends.

Bill and his wife of 42 years, Nancy Thieben, had three daughters: Cara (Steve)

Brock of Brentwood, Tenn., Christina (Mark) Hayes of Iowa City, Iowa, and Cathy
(Trevor) Dick of Aurora, Ill., two grandsons and two granddaughters. Bill is also
survived by his sister Elaine (Mike) Threlkeld of Gulf Shores, Ala.

Bill was buried in the family plot at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Durand next to

his brother Bob, who died in 2008. The William A. Haggerty memorial fund was
established at the Durand State Bank to support youth athletic programs for Durand
schools and local youth athletic organizations.

BETTY (PEDERSON) SANDERS (1940-2012)

Betty (Pederson) Sanders, 71, died on June 18, 2012, after a lengthy illness.

She was born Dec. 9, 1940, in Viroqua, Wis., the daughter of Joseph T. and Anna
Christina (Olson) Pederson. She attended elementary school in Harrison until she
was sent as a third-grader to the one-room Farmingdale School, where she became
friends with Nancy Greene and Nancy Judd and enjoyed playing such recess games
as Red Light, Too Late for Supper and Fox & Goose. “She always was friendly and
ready with a smile,” recalled Nancy Greene. Betty moved to the Durand Grade
School the next year and two years later was joined by the two Nancys in the sixth
grade, when all the area one-room school houses closed and sent their students to the
new Durand Grade School on West South Street. In high school, Betty was quiet and
reserved but nevertheless active in the girls’ and mixed chorus.

After graduating in 1959, she went into the laundry business. She married Earl

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

D. Sanders in Rockford in 1964 but by then had started losing her eyesight. She was
blind by 1971. Still, she managed the household and raised four sons, one of whom
died of cancer in 1996. Betty was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Durand
and loved her children and loved spending time with her grandchildren. Confined to
her Durand home for most of her adult life, she wrote in the 50th class reunion book
that “my sons Earl and John do a great job of taking care of me.” Betty died at OSF
Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford on June 18. Two days later, her husband
Earl died at age 80 in Rockford Memorial Hospital.

JEAN (RAFFERTY) KLUS (1941-2011)

Jean (Rafferty) Klus, 70, died Dec. 10, 2011, at her rural Durand home after a

battle with cancer. She was born Jan. 3, 1941, in Rockford, the daughter of William
and Frances (Albertstett) Rafferty. Jean moved to Durand Elementary School in the
sixth grade, where she became fast friends with Julie Walsh, Nancy Judd and Nancy
Greene. Jean earned a reputation of being a bright, cheery spirit and exceedingly
generous with friends. She once insisted that Julie, who wanted to enter the floral
arrangement competition at the Winnebago County Fair but had few flowers to pick
in the ailing Walsh garden, pick her flowers from Jean’s grandmother’s garden in
Rockford. Julie did, and won first place (over Jean’s entry) and a trip to the State Fair
in Springfield. Julie wanted Jean to go, but Jean insisted the Julie make the trip.

By the time the four girls entered high school, they shared their love of music

(they all were in the high school chorus), slumber parties and sock hops, many at
noon in the school gym where they kicked off their shoes and danced to rock ‘n’ roll
music. Students provided the 45 rpm records—Lawrence Damon and Bill Haggerty
had the largest collections. It was prime time for Elvis Presley (“Don’t be Cruel” and
“Hound Dog”) but Jean and her friends were much fonder of Pat Boone (“Ain’t That
a Shame” and “Love Letters in the Sand”) and Tab Hunter (“Red Sails in the Sunset”
and “Young Love”). Jean and the Nancys loved horseback riding and often saddled
up on weekends and rode into Durand, catching the eye of many of the boys playing
baseball at Legion Field. Though they all lived on farms, the girls occasionally
dropped by the Durand Café, then owned by Carl Nuss, to drink cherry Cokes and
listen to music on the rainbow-colored Wurlitzer Jukebox.

High school days soon ended with their graduation in 1959. Jean and the two

Nancys entered the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where they roomed
together and Jean met her husband, Jim Klus. Jean graduated in 1963 with a degree
in elementary education, married Jim and spent the next several years raising a family
and teaching as a substitute teacher. She and Jim had two daughters and a son, all
of whom now live in Durand: Nancy (Mike) Parlapiano, Susan Coffman and Brian
Klus. She also had four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Religion was always prominent in Jean’s life; she was active in her church

everywhere she lived, serving as a Sunday School teacher and worship leader. Upon
returning to Durand in 1994, she became one of the founders of the Cornerstone
Foursquare Church, helping to recruit her former pastor in Michigan, the Rev.Chet
Burton, to Durand. She carried on several ministries, including Puppets in the Park,
using puppets to teach the Bible to children, and the Good News Club at Durand’s
elementary school. Ever the modest soul, Jean wrote little of her achievements for

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the Class of 1959’s 50th Reunion Booklet and ended on this note: “As for leisure
time, Jim does E-Bay and auctions. I do Good News Club and Puppets in the Park,
all connected with our church. And I read and love my flowers. Some might say we
lead a dull life, but we love it.”

RAYMOND O. KELLER (1941-2011)

Raymond O. Keller, 69, died Aug. 28, 2011, in his Durand home. He was born

Oct. 18, 1941, in Rockford to Orville and Reva (Wheeler) Keller. Like many of
the youngsters growing up in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Ray spent most of the
summers at Legion Field playing baseball nearly every day. It was there that Mo
Ostergard tagged Ray with the nickname “King Kong,” after the Yankee outfielder
Charlie “King Kong” Keller. Ray was an excellent second baseman and outfielder
and a good hitter. He was a regular member of the Foul Ball Brigade, chasing foul
balls at Durand Merchants’ softball games and turning them in to the concession
stand behind home plate for a nickel or free Popsicle. He also was a member of
Durand’s first Little League team in 1951, which was coached by three members of
the Merchants—Lloyd Mulvain, Wayne Adleman and Don Hubbartt, the high school
basketball coach. Ray also was a good basketball player and played on the Junior
High School’s seventh- and eighth-grade teams.

After leaving high school, Ray worked with Corky Cuthbertson and his dad in

the farm equipment business and then with Ray’s dad and uncle, who were painting
contractors. He then worked three years at Barber Colman before joining the Miller
Vault Co. in 1964. He married Pat Lawson in 1963 (they had a son and a daughter)
and in 1965 was drafted by the Army and sent to Vung Tau, Vietnam. After his
discharge in 1967 Ray returned to Miller Vault, where he stayed until it closed in
1972. He then worked for the American Wilber Vault Co. in Rockford until it closed
in 1983. Ray moved to Arizona to help take care of his parents, who had both
undergone surgery. After his dad died in 1987, he returned to Durand and opened a
roofing business. In 2000 he moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where he worked in a casino
until moving back to Durand in 2004. Arthritis, cancer and diabetes slowed him
down but he still managed to get around in his motorized scooter. He loved talking
about his earlier years of playing sports and especially about his bowling experiences
at the Durand Bowl and Lake Summerset. He was proud of carrying an average of
about 185 and of his highest game of 248.

NANCY (JUDD) HAWBAKER (1941-2009)

Nancy (Judd) Hawbaker, 67, died March 5, 2009 in her home in Decatur, Ill.,

surrounded by her family, after battling cancer. Although cancer took her life, it
could not dampen her spirit or vibrant personality. She was born on Sept. 14, 1941,
the daughter of DeWitt and Pearl Judd of Durand. She attended the one-room
Farmington School from first to fifth grade and became close friends with classmate
Nancy Greene. They and all the other students attending one-room school houses
were moved to Durand’s new grade school in 1952, when the school districts were
consolidated. In junior high school the two Nancys hooked up with Jean Rafferty
and Julia Walsh and became inseparable. Nancy excelled at music, playing the slide
trombone and the baritone in the band and singing in all the school choirs. She also
sang in the Methodist Church choir, where and Jean spent many a Sunday morning

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

writing notes to each other and laughing instead of listening.

Nancy also was active in 4-H, where her sense of humor often showed up.

One year at 4-H camp the two Nancys bunked in a tent with the supervisor of the
program. Nancy loved to imitate the supervisor and finally got caught when she
walked in on the snickering girls. Jean spent many 4-H fairs with Nancy, pushing and
pulling sheep from one end of the fairgrounds to the other. Nancy and Jean often
would meet at the old Crowe School on their horses and ride into Durand on Sunday
afternoons. Nancy was famous for her curly hair and she and Julie with her straight
hair often would wish they could swap some strands.

After graduation, the two Nancys and Jean attended the University of Illinois

in Champaign-Urbana and roomed together (Julie attended St. Anthony Hospital
School of Nursing in Rockford). Nancy studied music for 2½ years during which time
she met her future husband, Stuart Hawbaker, on a blind date. They were married
on Dec. 23, 1962, and went to Germany, where Stuart was an officer with the 14th
Armored Cavalry on border patrol between East and West Germany. Following their
military assignment, they returned to Henry Ill., where Stuart began his employment
with the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service. They then moved to
Havana, Ill., where they lived until 1975 when Stuart became the Macon County
Farm Advisor in Decatur, a position he held until he retired in 2000. Nancy worked
20 years in various positions, including on the accounts payable staff, in the office of
the Macon County superintendent of schools until she retired in 2000. Her humor
showed up each year in her often hilarious Christmas letter to friends.

Nancy and Stuart had two children: Debbie (Joe) Schniederjan, now 44, who

lives in Mt. Zion, Ill., and Scott, 42, who lives in Maroa, Ill. Both are graduates of the
U of I in agricultural communications. Scott owns Greendell Publishing, a company
started by Stuart.

Nancy had four granddaughters and a grandson. She cherished her family, was

a giving person and was always willing to help others. She loved taking her children
and grandchildren camping, boating and horseback riding. She was an avid Illinois
fan, held season tickets for basketball and football games and loved going to bowl
games. Her love of music continued throughout her life (Stuart said her passing was
a signal that the Lord needed an alto for His choir of angels), and she was a longtime
member of the choir of Grace Methodist Church. She and Stuart loved to travel and
they visited every state and Europe numerous times. Their longest trip was a two-
month, 10,000 mile motor-home voyage to Canada and Alaska in 2001. In 2007, after
her breast-cancer surgery, she fulfilled her lifelong of traveling to Australia and New
Zealand, an awesome experience, Nancy said at the time.

BRUCE R. HARRIS (1938-2008)

Bruce R. Harris, 69, died of heart failure after battling cancer on Nov. 27, 2008

in Las Vegas, Nev., where he lived for the past 10 years. Bruce was born on Dec. 31,
1938, and was a member of the class of 1959 for several years before he left school
in his sophomore year. In 1959 he married Susan George, a member of the class of
1958. They had three sons: Bruce Jr., of Pecatonica, Robert of Henderson, Nev., and
Leslie, who lives in Georgia. Bruce also had three grandchildren.

When growing up in Durand, Bruce and Jim Cowan, who lived across fields from

65th REUNION

MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

one another, became best friends and loved to hunt squirrels. Both were excellent
marksmen with a .22 rifle. Bruce also played basketball on the grade school team for a
couple of years. After high school he lived for several years in Pecatonica and worked
for Dean Foods for 22 years until he retired in 1994. In 1998 he moved to Las Vegas
and joined the maintenance crew at the Country Club of Valley View, where he lived.
He made friends with everyone he saw, whether at a bus stop or casino. The seniors
at the club loved him because he helped them with anything they needed. He always
said he worked to support his wagering—he loved playing Keno and did very well at
it over the years. After he completely retired, Bruce worked jigsaw puzzles when he
wasn’t at the casino.

LAWRENCE (1941-2005) AND SUE (WALLER) DAMON (1941-2008)

Larry Damon died at age 63 on Jan. 4, 2005 after a long battle with cancer. He

was born in Rockford on July 3, 1941, the son of Dale and Mildred (Green) Damon
and lived his entire life in Durand. He was one of Durand’s best all-around athletes,
playing on the varsity basketball and baseball teams as a freshman. He was a terrific
hitter and pitcher and could score from anywhere on a basketball court. He was
the leading scorer on the 1958-59 Durand High School basketball team, whose 22-6
record was the best at that time in the history of the school. His soft and unbelievably
quick hands helped him become a star wide receiver on the football team. Larry
married his high school sweetheart, Mary Suzzanne Waller, on Aug. 26, 1961. He
was self-employed in the grain industry, a part owner of the Durand Bowling Alley
for years and a stationary engineer for more than 30 years at Singer Mental Health.
He was a member of the Durand United Methodist Church, the Durand Athletic
Association, the Voyager Village Country Club, the Durand-Lake Summerset Area
Golf Association and the Big McKenzie Lake Association. He coached Little League
baseball, was a time-keeper at Durand High basketball games, was an avid golfer and
loved spending time at their cabin in Wisconsin and with his grandchildren.

Sue (Waller) Damon, 66, died three years later, on Feb. 5, 2008, also after a long

battle with cancer. She was born in Monroe, Wis. on May 24, 1941, the daughter
of Emmett J. and Margaret (Tschabold) Waller. She was a cheerleader throughout
high school and, like Larry, an excellent athlete, playing on the Durand women’s
softball team. She worked for Durand Publishers and then for Car and Truck Market
in Rockford. She and Larry had four children — sons William (Sandra) and Mike
(Amy) Damon and daughters Cindy (Rowdy) Adams and Jennifer (Erik) Roessler,
all of whom live in Durand. Larry and Sue had nine grandchildren. Like Larry,
Sue was an avid golfer (she and Larry were members of the Monroe Country Club)
and enjoyed spending time at the cabin and with her grandchildren. She also loved
baking and attending her grandchildren’s sporting events. Larry and Sue are buried in
Laona Township Cemetery two miles north of Durand.

MELBA JEAN (OAKLEY) SNIVELY (1941-2004)

Melba Jean (Oakley) Snively, 62, died Jan. 13, 2004 in Downers Grove, Ill.,

where she had lived for 27 years. She came to Durand High School her senior year
after attending Belvidere High School for three years. In 1959 as a senior, she was
named the school’s Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow by earning the highest
score in a written examination on homemaking knowledge. A few years later, Melba

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

Jean married Jerry Snively and they had a daughter and a son: Julie (John) Little
and Stephen. She was a member of the Society of Friends, commonly known as the
Quakers, and was a Reiki master. Reiki is an ancient method of healing that uses life
force energy to harmonize the physical, emotional and spiritual of patients. Melba
Jean also was an artist who made art quilts, one of which was an entry in a national
quilt show in Houston, Tex.

TERRY FOSS (1941-2003)

Terry Foss, 62, of Loves Park, died on July 20, 2003, of cancer five months after

retiring. He was born Jan. 28, 1941, in Brodhead, Wis., the son of Charles and Aline
(Yaun) Foss. He loved playing baseball and basketball and could be seen frequently in
his pantomime mode dribbling an invisible basketball and shooting. On rainy days, he
and his brother Ron would cut out the bottom of a wastebasket, nail it above the door
in the dining room and play basketball with two rolled-up socks. Terry was always
making a Wilt Chamberlain hook shot. He and Ron shared a newspaper route. As
soon as they finished collecting every Saturday from their customers, Terry would
head to Highlands’ or Bliss’ grocery store and buy a bunch of candy bars. You could
see him nearly every Saturday sitting on the front steps of the grocery eating those
candy bars. Terry married Gayle Klinger in Winnebago on Sept. 14, 1963 and they
had two sons, Michael and Randy (Jennifer), and two granddaughters. He worked
for Invenys/Barber Colman for 44 years before retiring in February 2003. He was a
member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Loves Park, was active for years in the Sons
of Norway Lodge and was a member of Don’s and Doll’s Square Dance. He loved
bowling and playing cards. For nearly 40 years, he and his wife were members of a
card club that included his uncle and aunt, Jack and Betty Yaun, Jerry and Juanita
Mulvain, Carol and Duane Kinney, Shirl and Darlene Langley and Alice and Allen
Roby.

LINDA (ENGEBRETSON) MILLER (1941-2002)

Linda (Engebretson) Miller, 60, died March 1, 2002, in Rockford Memorial

Hospital after a sudden illness. She was born Sept. 13, 1941, the daughter of
Raymond and Florence (Grenawalt) Engebretson. Linda lived most of her life
in the Rockford area. She was married to Dwayne Poulisse and then later to
Daniel Aldrich, who died in 1981. She then married David Miller in 1982. They
bought an 11-room farm house and spent several years renovating it. Linda had
10 children, three of which preceded her in death. She owned Linda’s Tax Service
for several years and was involved many years in the food service and restaurant
business, owning and selling two restaurants of her own. She was a member of the
Community Bible Church. She was known for her generous spirit and for caring for
anyone in need, especially her family, friends and animals (at one time she had seven
dogs and about 40 cats). Over the years, she and Sharri (Larsen) Roser were the main
organizers of the Class of 1959 reunions.

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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

RICHARD C. “DICK” SWEET (1941-2001)

Dick Sweet, 60, died Dec. 20, 2001 from complications of bulbar amyotrophic

lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Dick was born Jan. 24, 1941, the son of
Truman J. and Marie R. (Egan) Sweet. He was a good athlete, an excellent left-
handed pitcher for the Little League and PONY League baseball teams and a good
basketball player on the junior high and freshmen-sophomore basketball teams. After
graduating from high school, he served four years in the U.S. Air Force. Following
his discharge in 1963, he worked six years at Barber Colman. He married Judy
Prentice in Rochelle on New Year’s Eve in 1966 and then rushed off with his new
bride to Red Welsh’s New Year’s Eve party in Durand. Dick and Judy did not have
any children. In 1969, Dick joined the Winnebago County Sheriff ’s Department,
where he had a distinguished 24-year career before retiring in 1993. He was a charter
member of the FOP Lodge 50 and a member of Durand’s American Legion Post 676.
He enjoyed having a good time and partying with friends. Most of all, he loved his
work, especially being a detective.

GAYLON HORSTMEIER (1941-1994)

Gaylon Horstmeier, 53, a Rock City civic leader and businessman, died July

28, 1994, in Rockford Memorial Hospital following an accident a day earlier while
working at a construction site. Gaylon was born July 9, 1941, in Freeport, the son
of Kenneth W. and Maurine Wise Horstmeier. He was active in several high school
organizations, including the Future Farmers of America (FFA), of which he was
president in his senior year. He walked with a bounce that some of his friends said
was a smile in his step. On Pearl Harbor Day 1963, he married Sandra K. Kubatzke
in Freeport. A self-employed carpenter, he owned and operated Horstmeier Building
Supply in Rock City. He was the former owner of the Hardware in Rock City and
Ace Hardware in Pecatonica. He served the village of Davis as president from 1972-
1973. He was a firefighter, serving the Davis Fire Protection District, and was a
member of the organizational committee that formed the Tri-District Ambulance
Association. He was a member of St. Paul United Church of Christ in rural Davis.
Gaylon and Sandra had two sons, Chad and Ray Horstmeier, both of Rock City.

DAVID “RED” WELSH (1941-1980)

David “Red” Welsh, 39, died Oct. 19, 1980, in Rockford Memorial Hospital

after suffering multiple injuries in an automobile accident. He was born Aug. 16,
1941, the son of John F. and Verna Mattson Welsh. During his school years he was
a Boy Scout and won several FFA awards and music awards in high school band
competition playing his saxophone. He played baseball in Little League and was a
member of the high school track team, winning the Most Valuable Award his senior
year. It was the first time the award was ever given. He also enjoyed boxing and
participated in Golden Gloves competition in Rockford and Chicago. He married
Janice DeVries in Reno, Nev., on Aug. 30, 1965. They had two children, John and
Annette. He was self-employed and owner-operator of Welsh Concrete and Welsh
Construction. He was the major concrete contractor for most of the first homes built
at Lake Summerset and also installed the first water and sewer lines there. He was a
member of the United Methodist Church of Durand, a volunteer fireman for 17 years

DURAND HIGH SCHOOL

CLASS OF 1959

and active in the Army Reserves.

RICHARD G. BOSSHART (1940-1971)

Rich Bosshart, 31, was found dead in the trunk of a car in Chicago in October

1971. He had moved to Chicago a couple of years after graduation to work at his
brother Herbert’s junk yard on Lake Street. Police, who never solved the homicide,
set the date of death as Oct. 26. Rich was born in 1940, the son of Mrs. Mary
Bosshart, and had three older brothers and six older sisters. He was a good athlete,
playing baseball and basketball as a youngster until his love of cars and motorcycles
began dominating his life. An original free spirit, he could have been a poster child
for the 1950s dressed in his leather jacket sitting atop his motorcycle. He once won
a palomino at a county fair and kept the horse in his brother Lester’s backyard. But
the horse, named Golden Sunny Boy, was so rambunctious that no one could ever
ride him. Nathan Bartelt, who lived next door, said the horse “scared me to death.”
But even the wild palomino couldn’t erase the ever-present grin on Rich’s face. He
loved palling around with his buddies, riding their cycles up and down the streets of
Durand and raising cain whenever they could. Rich was the kind of live-wire guy
who, if you hadn’t known him, you never would have believed that he existed.