In Memoriam - January 2015

I don't want to make these kinds of posts, I'd rather post about positive things, but as we get close to our reunion and we are communicating more, I'm finding out about fellow Wilson alumni that pass away. In January we lost (George) Todd Marlatt, who we remember as a jolly, smiling, bright person. He graduated from the University of Washington and started working for a Saudi Arabian oil company in 1969. He was most recently living in Arizona. He was a dedicated Husky fan who went to the UW football games when he could and he passed away 2 days before a game in Arizona he was planning on attending. I last saw him at the 45th Wilson reunion and he told me recently that he was planning to attend our 50th, so those of us who knew him were really looking forward to seeing him again and he will be greatly missed.

In Memoriam - 2014

As we come to the end of this year and enter 2015, our 50th reunion year, we wanted to remember those Wilson 1965 Alumni that we lost in the past year. Of course, our information may not be complete, these 3 are the ones we know about. Don Melvin passed away in November, Kenn Johnson and Wolfgang Chandler in December. I had the pleasure of corresponding with Don a few times starting in August after he discovered this blog and our upcoming reunion. He was really looking forward to coming and seeing everyone. I knew Ken from 3 years of homeroom together, he was on the honor roll, such a nice guy. I didn't know Wolfgang but read that he was a proud veteran who served in Vietnam as so many in our class did.

These gentlemen are and will be dearly missed.

Wilson 50th Commemorative Emblem

The Wilson '65 Reunion Committee members voted on a couple of choices we came up with for the 50th Reunion Commemorative Emblem and this is the winner by a landslide. We'll be using this emblem on future communications and marketing platforms to help us celebrate our Golden Reunion Anniversary (can you believe it's the 50th?).

A Wilson Memory - How Not To Skip School

Here's a story Walt Connor posted on Facebook which we didn't want you to miss:

"My favorite Wilson memory is when Tom Teitge and I were in student council and skipped school to go up to Crystal to ski (it was just too great a day not to ski). When the office called my mom, she said I was sick. When they called Tom's mom she said he was up skiing at Crystal. Very hard to explain to Mr. Beers the next day when we both had deep sunburns to the turtleneck line on our necks. As Mr. Beers said: 'So much for the future leadership of Tacoma.' I guess he was right."

We'd love to post more Wilson memories on the blog. Please email your stories and photos to wilson65reunion@gmail.com.

Reunion Schedule is Firming Up

The view from Narrows Brewing Company Taproom and Boathouse

At our last reunion planning meeting, the schedule for the reunion week's celebrations was discussed. Although the events are not completely set, we are getting the basic ideas in place. Here's what we have so far:

Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015 - Cloverleaf Tavern - Gary Johnson suggests we have a MAU MAU, which according to him (the internet is strangely silent on this topic), is when a group infiltrates and blends in to an already established party and takes over at least part of the facility. Whether we are successful depends on the number of Wilson 65 alumni and the amount of beer consumed.

Friday morning, Sept. 11, 2015 - Golf Tourney - time and location to be determined.

Friday evening, Sept. 11, 2015 - Narrows Brewing Taproom -
Another get together with food and alcohol. Of course there will be lots of terrific beers on tap plus some wine. Food available will be either from the Boathouse 19 restaurant next door which will take orders and deliver, or from food trucks parked outside, one of which will be "It's Greek To Me" which serves a large variety of Greek and Italian food. The time for this event is yet to be determined and will depend on the Golf Tourney.

Saturday evening, Sept. 12, 2015 - Wilson '65 50th Reunion at Fircrest Golf Club - This is the big shindig! There will be socializing and drinks before dinner which will be catered by the Country Club. There will be music, conversation and fun. Start time is yet to be determined.

Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 - Still in talking stage.

Wilson High Message Board - Restored & Ready to Roll

The Wilson High School message board that stood along Orchard Street was installed by the class of '64. The sign stood for many years, but eventually it deteriorated and was replaced with a digital model. William Wesolowski, who graduated in 1963, found it dumped behind a building and decided to restore it. It took four years and the handiwork of many Wilson graduates, but the message board was finally restored to it's original glory. It even has wheels installed on the bottom for easy transport. This sign has graced the 50th reunion of the Wilson class of '63 and '64 and next it will make an appearance at our Wilson '65 reunion. At least, that's the plan as of now. Read the full story at the News Tribune website.

SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER

“It's hard to believe the reunion is less than a year away!” - Pam Hofto-Brower

There is still so much to do and the more people help out, the better our 50th Reunion will be and we want it to be the best ever. If you are interested in helping out, attend a planning committee meeting and see what you can do. Email us at wilson65reunion@gmail.com for details for the next meeting. The reunion committee will be meeting at least once a month from now until the reunion. Won't you please join us?

Thank you so much to everyone who has found this blog and emailed us. We would love to hear from more of you. Email us photos, stories, your contact info or any suggestions for the reunion or this blog to: wilson65reunion@gmail.com. Please help us find other Wilson '65 alumni, or let us know if someone has passed away.

Keep checking back for updates and though we hope to see you sooner, at least we'll… See You In September.