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Jill Garner (La Corte), lives on Los Viboras Road, Hollister, CA 95023 (Jul 2002) We need more information, Jill.
Earl Garthwait, lives at 6310 NW Ponderosa Avenue, Corvallis, OR 97330-3159 E-mail: earlggarth@yahoo.com. My wife, Virginia Cross (also graduated in 1950 from CUHS), and I had one boy (Douglas), three girls ( Robin, Alison and Nancy) and six grandchildren. I am sorry to say that Virginia succumbed to cancer in 1998, Out of high school, I attended SJ Jr. College for two years followed by four years with the US Navy as an Electronic Technician. I returned to SJSC and obtained my degree in Electrical Engineering in Jan 1959. I worked for Hewlett-Packard for 36 years at Palo Alto, Mt. View, Cupertino and Corvallis, OR. I retired in 1995. Since 1970, from the middle of May to the middle of October, I am at my mountain place at Fallen Leaf Lake near Lake Tahoe (Aug 2002)
Oletha Garrison (Vander Heyden), lives with her husband, Joseph, on S. Center St., Yerington, NV I will soon be 72 years old (May 18th). I’ve had a good life; a lot of surgeries in my later years. I divorced Oscar Griswold after 20 years of marriage. After a time, I remarried to Jay Landice. It lasted 21 happy years until he died of emphysema. I am currently married for five and a half years to Joseph Vander Heyden. So far, they have been good years. I keep in touch with my best friend from grammar and high school, Joan Hild (Hartman). I was a stay-at-home-mom and didn’t work until my three boys left home. I managed apartments for ten years and then helped out for six and a half years at a senior center. I have six grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. I am looking forward to seeing all of you again. (Jan 2003)
Pat Gilbert (Davis), lives in Campbell, CA. 95008 Email: pattdavis1@earthlink.net I retired after 20 years in the Campbell Union School District (Secretary at Campbell Middle School). I have a son living in Arizona and two daughters in California. I have two grandsons. I enjoy traveling and spending time with my grandsons who are better with computers that I am. I am looking forward to the reunion in June. (Jan 2003 2000) We need more information, Pat.
Penny Goddard (Slack), lives on Loma Vista Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95032 Email: penney@ix.netcom.com I graduated from San Jose State in l974 with a double major in Psychology and Sociology. I received my graduate degree from Santa Clara University in 1978. I was divorced that year. I became a licensed marriage family therapist in 1982. Since then, I have worked steadily in private practice. I have three children, Kathy, Cindy and Greg. My girls are married with children. Greg has worked to further his career in the Development Industry and is seriously involved with a wonderful gal. I have five grandchildren. All of my kids live near by. They are all very close friends, helping and sharing their lives with each other. (Feb 2003)
Jean Gomes, lives at 3496 Picadilly Drive, San Jose, CA 95118 Email: jeangk@juno.com. I taught school in Milpitas for 39 years. My interests now are gardening and fishing. I volunteer for the Red Cross, the Heritage Orchard and the Rose Garden. I have been with the Disaster Aid Response Team for 19 years. Various other things keep me very busy. (Sep 2002) On Mar 14, 2007 Jean died peacefully at home following a short battle with pancreatic cancer (Mar 2007)
Virginia Grattan, lives in Sonoma, CA (Mar 2003) We need more information, Virginia
Bud Gray, deceased from colon cancer, Nov 14, 2002. Bud lived with his wife in Cameron Park, CA. He was married for 51 years, had six children, 18 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. (Nov 2002) The following biography was provided by his daughter, Jacki Griffith: Jacki and the Gray family may be cantacted at rjgriffith@mindspring.com
Norris Gray, also known as Buddy, Bud, Dad, Pops, Grandpa, and Hun, was born April 13, 1932 on a small farm in Lorimor, Iowa during the Great Depression. At the age of six, his family moved to Southern California and eventually found their way to San Jose where he attended a parochial elementary school, and was forever a devout Catholic.
Bud graduated from Campbell High School in 1950, and joined the Army Air Corps during the Korean War. He was stationed at Montauk Point on Long Island for four years. While attending baking school in Maryland, he met his future wife, Doris, at a USO dance. It was love at first sight, and they were married April 13, 1951. In January 1955 he drove an old car across the US with two year old Jackie in the back seat. Doris was 7 months pregnant with Marty.
On Mothers day 1957, he and Doris and their two children moved into their small home on Rockwood Drive. For 45 years that 1200 square foot home managed to provide warmth and shelter for Bud, Doris, Jackie, Marty, Steve, Linda, Vicki, Jeri and just about anyone else that needed a home, food, love or a welcoming place to visit.
In San Jose, he delivered dairy products for the Carnation Milk Company, which he enjoyed for many years. Bud was promoted to supervisor at Carnation, but eventually left to work for Sunlight Bakery. He finally took a job at Wonder bread, where his punctuation, reliability, friendliness and work ethic made him an icon. He retired when he was 55, which was not a moment too soon for him!
As his children grew, married, and moved out, Bud's endless generosity and perseverance was an inspiration to many. He always expressed unconditional love not only for his children but also for those brought into the family by marriage.
In the evenings his neighbors would often hear Bud's console stereo blasting out the Tijuana Brass while he did the cha-cha gleefully around the living room. Occasionally his own trumpet was heard to the enjoyment of all. In later years his love for dance would see him knighted "Mr. Happy Feet" at weddings.
His interest in magic tricks was fanned by the attention of the younger ones in the family, and he was a constant source of amusement. It might be a quarter from behind the ear, a floating object, or a disappearing marble that bought out the smiles, but somehow he always managed. His deck of cards and money jar were generally close by as well. His card tricks and financial losses were a source of constant enjoyment to the grandchildren.
He loved golf. Mostly because he loved people and appreciated the beauty of every golf course he played from Maine to New Hampshire to Vermont to Massachusetts to Arizona, and of course, California.
Bud augmented his Catholic Education by studying the Bible through BSF and completed 5 years, during which time his religious understanding and faith increased dramatically.
In March of 1998, Bud was diagnosed with colon cancer, and began a series of treatments that would punctuate his life with pain and discomfort the for the next 4 ½ years. After the diagnosis, he became determined to see to it that Doris would be provided for, and set to work on a plan that would eventually close the chapter in the house on Rockwood Drive.
On April 13, 2001 he and Doris celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a family that had grown to include 6 children, 18 grandchildren, and 8 great grandchildren. 50 years of marriage, and they kissed each other every time they parted or met. It's even hard to find a picture where they are not holding hands or have their arms around each other. Doris and Bud lived eternal love.
In January 2002 he moved his beloved Doris to Cameron Park so she would be out of the ever more dangerous city and closer to family. They had 11 months together in their new home.
Norris Gray, also known as Buddy, Bud, Dad, Pops, Grandpa, and Hun, left us on November 14th, 2002, for his place in heaven. He is missed deeply by the many people he left behind.
* This bio was excerpted from the eulogy, which was a collaborative effort by all family members, with special thanks to Len Umina. (Jan 2003)
Claire Griffith (Ford), lives with her husband, John (Dean), at 380 Freeze Out Lane, Deer Lodge, MT 59222. Email: cdford@mailstation.com. I have three boys and two granddaughters. After I left high school, I attended San Jose State for awhile but eventually left, finding it difficult to make connections between school and work with no car and no license. At that time, I was a children’s dance teacher, teaching tap, ballet, acrobatic and baton. In the summer, I worked in the cannery. I continued to teach for 25 years and was a member of Dance Masters of California and America.
In March 1952, John and I were married in a small church in the Burbank district. At first we lived in an apartment in Sunnyvale which was near his job at Westinghouse. In just a couple of months, we moved to the Santa Cruz mountains where my grandfather had build a small house for us just up the hill; walking distance from his place. We lived there for a little while but soon had to move because I became ill and my husband did not want me up there with no transportation and a long distance from the nearest town of Los Gatos. We lived in various places in the Santa Clara Valley. I continued to teach dance when I was able and I also worked at Westinghouse for a period.
Our oldest son, Mike (Michael) was born in September 1953. In 1955, my husband, John (Dean was his family nickname) had a bad accident and was unable to work for a long time. During that period, we lived with his mother and father. I also stayed with my mother as I was expecting our second child and was unable to work. I remained there until after Jeff (Jeffrey) was born. Eventually we found a house to buy and in May 1957, our third son, Ted, was born.
In 1958, my husband went into the shoe repair business with his brother and we moved to Hollister in 1959. At first we lived in the hills outside Hollister on a place that is now a motorcycle hill climb (Hollister Hills). When our son Michael was in the second grade, we were able to buy another house on eight acres just outside of town. There we had milk cows, calves and other animals.
I went to work as a secretary for an insurance and real estate office. While working there four years, I also drove the bus for the grammar school and part-time for the high school. During this period, my husband started driving truck and was not home often. Mike, then eight years old, had to take over the milking of the cows. We also had pigs, goats and rabbits to care for. Mike fed and milked the cow and Jeff fed the other animals while Ted, then five, fed the calves. All this was done early in the morning before breakfast and school and again, before dinner in the evening.
Finally, my husband decided to move to Loveland, CO. where he bought another shoe repair shop. He was tired of long periods away from home. We only stayed there a few months before returning to Hollister. I went back to work in the same office but eventually got a job working for Safeway in Gilroy. My husband returned to truck driving mostly in Southern California and Arizona. I remained at home in Hollister raising our sons. At the same time, my husband also got a job in Hollister driving a ready-mix concrete truck but the hours between the two jobs conflicted.
In 1972, my husband along with our oldest son, Mike, moved to Deer Lodge, Montana, where he opened a leather shop; not just repairing shoes and boots but making all kinds of leather goods and selling boots, horse gear and various other leather items. Even though Dean is now retired, the shop is still operated by our son, Ted. In 1973, when our two younger sons were out of school, I moved to Montana. Mike had joined the job corp learning the trade of operating heavy equipment and he continues in that trade today, building highways. I continued with Safeway, then in Deer Lodge, until I was injured and was unable to continue. We started buying houses and apartments to rent. We have bought and sold several over the years and now have only houses.
In November 1975, our son, Mike, was injured on the job and it was necessary to amputate his right leg. This was a terrible blow to me. He spent many months in the hospital. Then in November 1982 our house burned. It took a long time to get a new house built.
After our house was completed, we took in a couple of foreign exchange students; a nice girl from Argentina and in another year, a girl from Columbia. During these years, I no longer worked and we started to do some traveling; the Hawaiian Islands where I have relatives and five trips to Costa Rica. We have taken winter vacations in Mexico for many years where we usually pull a 30 foot fifth wheel trailer and have become acquainted with many Mexican people. I did not take Spanish in school so I had to learn it on my own. We have taken a cruise to the Bahamas and traveled to Belize, Guatemala and Argentina to visit our exchange student and her family. We have taken a ferry to Alaska where we saw the huge Mendenhall Glacier. We have visited Canada several times including Vancouver Island, Buchard Gardens, Banff National Park, Glacier Canada, Waterton, Mt. Revelstoke National Park and Yoho National Park. In the U.S. we have visited the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Carlsbad Caverns, Louis & Clark Caverns, Oregon Caves, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain National Park, Dinosaur Monument, Bryce, Zion, Escalante, Anasazi Ruins in Utah and Olympic National Park. I did some hiking through some of these parks with my cousin, son and granddaughter. Next year, we are planning another visit to the country where I was born and hiking through some very remote back country near Denny, California. On one of our trips to Hawaii, we stood within a few feet of the hot, flowing lava. We were also on the volcano Arenal in Costa Rica while it was erupting. Here in Deer Lodge, we also felt the effects of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. We have traveled though most of Mexico visiting the historic ruins of the Aztec, Clmec, Zapatec and Mayan. One of my hobbies is studying, picking and eating mushrooms of various varieties. I am also a collector of antiques. My son, Ted, is the only one who ever married but the marriage ended in divorce. He and his two daughters, Kristina and Jennifer, live in the state of Washington. This year, we had a family reunion where we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. (Sep 2002) Claire's brother, Jim, has reported that Claire Griffith Ford died in Deer Lodge, Montana on June 11, 2005 following the reoccurrence of cancer. (Jun 2005)
James Griffith, lives with his wife, Ann, in Shady Cove (P. O. Box 8), OR 97539 E-mail: oregonsenior@hotmail.com After High School I went to work for Westinghouse in Sunnyvale as a Draftsman. I worked in that capacity for four years. In 1953 I married Ann Elderton (CUHS '53) and a year later our first son, Daniel, was born In 1955 Aerojet, in Sacramento, hired me and we moved to the small town of Fair Oaks. Our second son, David, was born in 1956 and our daughter, Lorrie, was born in 1957. Late in 1957 we moved to the town of Rancho Cordova. When our sons came of age, both Ann and I became heavily involved in Little League and later in Babe Ruth League. Also we were involved with our daughter’s softball league. Between Areojet, baseball and softball, I managed to find time to form a folk trio. Probably Frank Triena would shudder at my choice of playing a guitar and banjo and singing folk songs, but I enjoyed it immensely. We started out playing for fun but as we became more professional our music became rather popular. Our trio was known as The Moonliters and we played in many nightclubs, military basses, hootenanny's, and county fairs, mostly in Northern California. After 10 years the trio broke up. In 1968 the space program began slowing down and I transferred to Aerojet's facility in Idaho Falls, Idaho. This facility was in charge of operating the various atomic reactors at the INEL site 50 miles west of Idaho Falls. By 1976 I became mechanical design supervisor. In 1978 1 decided that I was tired of shoveling snow, and as all our children were then married, Ann and I packed up and moved to Shady Cove, Oregon. In Shady Cove we opened a woodworking and gift shop business. In 1980 1 was elected to the city council. In 1981 our mayor became ill and I was appointed to finish his term. In 1982 1 was reelected and served as mayor until 1984. 1 retired from my woodworking business in 1994 and in 1995 we bought a motor home and have spent at least three months each year traveling around this beautiful country of ours. We enjoy traveling, fly fishing, crabbing, and genealogy. My sister, Claire, also graduated with the Class of 1950 (Apr 2003)
Oscar "Jewell" Griswold, lives with his wife, Liz, on East China Hill Rd., El Dorado, CA 95623. I am a retired land developer (Jul 2002) Oscar died February 22, 2007 (Feb 2008)
Hector Gutierrez, lives on Los Padres Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95050 (Jul 2002) We need more information, Hector.
Ramiro Ruben Gutierrez, lives with his wife, Lizbeth (Liz), on Grapewood Way, Madera, CA 93637 (Feb 2007) I was in the Marine Corp from 1951 - 1954 and served in Korea. I lived in Santa Clara from 1947 - 1962 and in San Jose from 1962 - 1990. I started working at IBM in 1960 and retired in 1990 as the Shipping Manager. IBM granted me a twelve month community service assignment to work as a Procurement Officer at the Center for Employment Training, a not-for-profit agency in San Jose. I moved to Madera in 1990 and am presently volunteering there in several community non-profit agencies. My wife, Lizbeth, works along side and we support each other. We were married in 1954 and have four children and four grandchildren. (Nov 2002)
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