Waco Town Crier – February 2018

An adapted version of “The Town Crier” sent by Jeanne Harman on
January 28, 2018.

Thank everyone so much for responding to the prayer requests for Jack Martin. Many graduates have contacted both Jack and me. Those sent to me, I edited and forwarded to Jack. Jack said it is heartwarming to have heard from so many and he is going to make a folder on everything.

Please keep Jack on the top of your prayer requests. It turns out that doctors were unable to do the Whipple on Jack due to the fact that there was a spot on his liver. The Dallas doctor recommends chemo treatment for Jack’s health issue. An explanation of the Whipple surgery is explained in the Medical Corner section of this publication. We have not had many new procedures for our Medical Corner lately so I felt this was a good time to explain the Whipple.

We have such a caring class of graduates! Many of us are ill, will be having procedures or new body parts, and many of us are experiencing overall pain from previous procedures and ailments. After all, we are either 75-76 years old and like old cars, need tune-ups and new parts when the old ones play out. Unfortunately, we cannot go out and purchase a “whole new body-person” for ourselves…(oh, wouldn’t that be nice).

Also, please pray for others who have faced or will be facing health issues or surgeries: Allan Myers, David McPhail, David Peeples, Jeanne Holland Harman, Norma Cissell Smith, Gayla Miller Webb, Kay Phillips Sparks, Phyllis Brooks, Ken Baker, Jeannie Dickerson, Robert (Little Red) Wilson, Randy Turner, Terrell Reagan, David Walsworth, Scott Horne, Mickey Lade Perkins, Gene Carson, Nancy Lehman Kehl, Glenn Hurta, Linda Phelps McKee, Kay Albright Hofer, Tim Lasseter Latta, and so many others of whom I may not be aware or have perhaps overlooked. It is so comforting to know others are thinking of us and praying for us when we are not feeling our 100%. Our class is so caring! All thoughts and prayers that our graduates extend are so appreciated by everyone with health issues. WHS 1960 is JUST THE BEST.

From Our Graduates

From Clara Sue (Griffis) Arnsdorff
I received the (January) update and was so pleased to catch up.

Greetings to Phyllis Brooks—and thanks for the memory of my grandmother’s piano students. Bill and Phyllis were especially talented, as were Sharon and Noah—and I remember recitals with them. I also remember our ‘Saturday classes’ held at my Grandmother’s home—just across the street from Sanger Avenue Elementary. I still have some of the teaching tools she used—please don’t ask me why I have kept them–just a memory of an earlier time I guess when life was simple.

We are freezing in Nebraska—-it has been below zero for the last 4 or 5 mornings—and we haven’t ventured out except to feed our birds. Today (Jan. 2) will warm up to 20, and we can’t wait for the balmy weather. We have snow on the ground, but I am already ready for Spring—first time we have had this extreme cold in several years.

Happy New Year to all….hope we all enjoy a blessed New Year!

From John Ferguson
It’s freezing (literally) in Galveston. We here don’t know how to deal with such a strange phenomenon.

Updates

Barton Zachry and his wife Carolyn have moved to Waco. They are in Independent/assisted living on Lake Shore Drive. Welcome to Waco, Barton and Carolyn! We expect to see you at the quarterly luncheons now.

David H. Walsworth
After 75 years, my old knee has finally given up the ghost, so I am having knee joint replacement surgery January 9. Hopefully I will be much more mobile after that!

Tim (Lasster) Latta will be having shoulder/rotator cuff surgery the first part of February.

Gayla (Miller) Webb recently had neck surgery.

Jack Martin – battling pancreatic cancer.

Medical Corner: The “Whipple” Procedure for Pancreatic Surgery

For some pancreatic patients, a complex surgery known as the Whipple procedure may extend life and could be a potential cure.

The classic Whipple procedure is named after Allen Whipple, MD, a Columbia University surgeon who was the first American to perform the operation in 1935. Also known as pancreaticoduodenectomy, the Whipple procedure involves removal of the “head” (wide part) of the pancreas next to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). It also involves removal of the duodenum, a portion of the common bile duct, gallbladder, and sometimes part of the stomach. Afterward, surgeons reconnect the remaining intestine, bile duct, and pancreas.

Only about 20% of pancreatic cancer patients are eligible for the Whipple procedure and other surgeries. These are usually patients whose tumors are confined to the head of the pancreas and haven’t spread into any nearby major blood vessels, the liver, lungs, or abdominal cavity. Intensive testing is usually necessary to identify possible candidates for the Whipple procedure.

Some patients may be eligible for a minimally invasive (laparoscopic) Whipple procedure, which is performed through several small incisions instead of a single large incision. Compared to the classic procedure, the laparoscopic procedure may result in less blood loss, a shorter hospital stay, a quicker recovery, and fewer complications.

Who Should Perform the Whipple Procedure?

The Whipple procedure can take several hours to perform and requires great surgical skill and experience. The area around the pancreas is complex and surgeons often encounter patients who have a variation in the arrangement of blood vessels and ducts.

Because the Whipple procedure continues to be one of the most demanding and risky operations for surgeons and patients, the American Cancer Society says it’s best to have the procedure done at a hospital that performs at least 15 to 20 pancreas surgeries per year. The organization also recommends choosing a surgeon who does many such operations.

Pictures

Our Website Guru, Elizabeth Bentley, took a cruise to Hawaii. I asked her to send me a picture or two for the Town Crier. She did….but they were not the pictures that I expected to receive and certainly not the ones she expected to send.

This first picture was actually on the ship. On the third cruise day, I stepped awkwardly … not realizing that my leg was partially asleep … and POP! My fibula cracked. The ship’s doctor fixed me up with this “moon boot”.

After returning to Dallas, I saw a ortho Doc last Friday. He put me in this more fashionable boot that I can actually walk on. Probably another month in this one, assuming that everything heals properly.
Your awkward friend …
Elizabeth

 

Regarding North Junior Class Picture
Judith (Hamff) Murphy sent in the signatures from the back of the picture below; however, there are still 2 who cannot be identified. These are the ones we think we know:

3rd row, l-r:
L.O. Rutherford, Al Ctvrtlik, Guy(Mickey)Collins, John Justice, John Anderson, Joe Ratcliff, Stanley Parsons, Carl Moffett, Larry Thomas, David Herbert, Gene Carson
2nd row:
Don Matkin, Mickey Lavy, Edgar Gatlin, Babs Wester, Sharon Barbee, Sue Welborn, Wanda Sue Mahoney ? Judith Hamff ? Jane Rogers
1st row:
Betty Craig, Rosalyn Hughes, Delind Kirkpatrick, Sandy Urich, Paulette Todar, Carey Ann Smith, Lana Neel, Kay Phillips, Robert (Little Red) Wilson

Judith (Hamff) Murphy also furnished us with the photo below. She said most likely it was Miss Hubbard’s class—an 8th grade endeavor of using several classes. Productions were held in the evenings in the school auditorium. In this particular picture, Judith said her cousin, Guy Collins, was in the lead with Judith having a strong secondary role. Judith’s whole family came—-aunts, uncles, and her Grandmother Autrey who made the rear end of the dragon costume that a couple of the students wore.

Pictured, l-r: David McPhail, Donna Hay, Anitra Harrell, Guy Collins, Sandy Urich, Bobby Cathy, Jane Hatchell (moved before WHS), Bill Alexander, Judith Hamff, Sharon Marsh, Susan Stringer, Scott Horne. Nancy Guggolz was the dragon on the floor in front.


Here are some pictures of cute Linda Sue (Shelby) Lyons and her grandsons at Christmas.Linda looks like a little “grade-schooler” compared to these big ‘ole boys.
We all need to learn Linda’s secret of looking so young!!!

A Bit of News from Stan Lennard

I recently asked Stan Lennard for some pictures to share with us in the Town Crier. Wow! To my surprise I was given the MOST WONDERFUL TREAT and am thrilled to share it with all of you. Our good friend and classmate is still busy doing what he loves! Stan is a man of many talents…(not to mention he was ranked #1 in our class of 424 graduates). Smart, talented, and still nice-looking!!

First is a picture of Stan in his “research” position. Second is a picture of Stan with his wife, Judy, as they were celebrating a recent wedding anniversary in one of their favorite restaurants on a lake.

Lastly, are pictures of some of Stan’s works of art. WOW! What talent!!! I never knew that Stan was an artist! Of course, when Stan mentioned that he liked to paint for a hobby, I asked many questions. I wanted to know how he became interested in painting, what were his inspirations, had he ever taken any art classes, and would he please share some of his art with us.

Thank you so much for uncovering this part of your life, Stan. I am sure many of our graduates will be as impressed as I am.

Here are Stan’s answers to my questions:
I have done research over an 18 year period during my retirement. The research has resulted in a number of articles on the web and now a book that is in the production phase. When all this work is done, I’ll return to my art hobby and create some works in oils, pen and ink and charcoal. I haven’t done that for quite some time, and I’m missing it. Got to get back to it while I can still SEE!

I’ve drawn all my life and am self-taught in charcoal, pen and ink and more recently in oils, which I prefer over acrylics. I watched my father make meter faces using India ink and very fine tipped pens which he dipped in the ink. I learned to use pen and ink in this manner. My technique is representational and realistic, so detail is included.

I have only done my artwork for my family and what appeals to and is significant for me. I have considered selling my artwork, but I learned from a good friend who managed a nice art studio that if you sell your work, you have to do the work to sell, not for yourself. It is therefore hard for me to place my work up for sale under this circumstance. So, it’s a hobby for me, and I look forward to picking up on it again after my writing is concluded.

The Dog – a charcoal pencil image I drew of a trail dog I knew in Vietnam. I don’t know his name. He was a member of the Recon Platoon in our battalion and visited me twice on firebases I was on. Pat Payne was the leader of the Recon Platoon in his battalion, so he understands the role such a dog played in the “bush.”


The Landscape – an oil of a footbridge in the Arboretum near the University of Washington campus. It preserves all the natural flora of the PacNW.
Now, are all of you as impressed as I was with Stan’s talent????
What is your talent? Share it with us. We can always have a “show and tell” section of the Town Crier.

4- Al Ctvrtlik
5. Russ Keeling
10- Tommye Ruth (Blair) Toler
16- Kay (Phillips) Sparks
18- Norma (Cissell) Smith
25- Jeanne (Holland) Harman
27- David Peeples