Don't count on me for much of an autobiography. I graduated from OU, spent two years as an Army officer, was a banker for 13 years and since 1981 have been a real estate developer in Oklahoma City. Along the way my wife Joanie and I raised two wonderful kids with the typical rewards and struggles associated with that process. I've been in and out of prisons for the past 15 years - having developed nine of them and still have an interest in a few. Recently we've acquired some Sonic Drive-in franchises in California, so toasters and tater tots constitute much of my current interests.

In '67 I married Sam Griffith (from Pauls Valley) & moved to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I had a daughter & a son, who he adopted, & he had custody of his 3 children. So, that was quite an interesting turn of events. I had a new marriage & 5 children under the age of 5. I guess it all worked out fine because they are all grown up & happy & we are still married.

In '76, I started working the North Richland Hills Police Dept., North Richland Hills, TX., starting as a clerk/dispatcher. After 14 yrs. there & working up to secretary for 13 detectives. I really enjoyed working there, but Sam's job transferred him to the Salt Lake City area in 1990. We lived there & eventually opened our own business there. So, Sam has retired 3 times since then. He just can't stand not to be working.

So, last Sept. (2001) we moved here to Oak Harbor, WA. on Whidbey Island. We really love it here & it is nice to live closer to my brother & his family. Our parents passed away in '96 & '97.

My daughter, Tammy, & her husband & daughter have been in Germany for the past 3 years & he will be retiring from the Air Force next week. They will be here at that time. It will be so great to see them. I must admit as much as I hated for them for be so far away it, at least, gave me the opportunity to see Europe. I made 3 trips over there & saw countries that I thought I never would. It was amazing to be someone from a small town called Ada, Ok. to be looking at Paris from the top of the Eifel Tower.

OK, You asked for it. A bio is attached and is probably too long. I didn't include the issue that I had planned to retire a year and half ago but the offer was too good to stay, so I now commute to Chicago twice a month to continue my employment at Black Dot. I work out of the house the alternate weeks. I, for one, appreciate what you and Ann are trying to do. Good Luck. Looking forward to the 40th anniversary class reunion.

I am a Vice President and the Director of Marketing for Black Dot Group, a total visual brands communication company, both in print and in new media. I joined Black Dot Group in 1993 after 28 years at Sears, Roebuck and Co.

My last assignment at Sears was a National Media Manager. My other assignments included Director of Strategic Planning, National Marketing Manager, Store Manager, District and Regional Sales Manager, Human Resources, National Sales Promotion Manager, and Advertising Operations Manager. My experience in management included staffs exceeding 150 people. Included in my area of responsibility was budget preparation and execution, managing multiple budgets exceeding $90 Million.

I am currently a Colonel in the United States Army Reserve and was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers. I now serves as the Deputy Commander of a major engineer brigade headquarters supporting III Corps, “America’s counter attack Corps”. I have also been the Chief of Human Resources, Chief of Intelligence, Chief of Plans and Operations and Chief of Staff, for one of the two Theater Engineer Command.

During Desert Storm in 1991, I served as the Adjutant General of that Theater Engineer Command. I was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, along with the National Defense Medal, The Southwest Asis Medal and medals from both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Previously, I had been awarded various other medals and badges.

I have taught graduate courses in communication, business management and marketing at both the Chicago, IL and Schaumburg, IL campus of Roosevelt University.

A graduate of East Central State University in Oklahoma, I received my B.S. in Business with minors in math, accounting, and economics. I am a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College.

My wife Sheryl and I have a son, Greg, who is a Doctor of Chiropractic with his practice in San Antonio. Greg and his wife, Louise, have a son who was born in July 2001. My older son, Michael, lives in Stonewall with his wife Linda. Michael’s son, Garrin, in now seven years old.

I enjoys home improvement projects, golf and fishing for recreation. But the best thing in life is playing with a grandson.

This is Lynn Van Buskirk, the retired teacher of 6th and then 3rd grade. I have been married to Richard Guinn for 37 years. We have two children, Martie, who has two children, Rachel, 10, and Jack, 5, who are our life and pride and joy, and live 5 minutes away from us, and we have a son, Rob, who is married to Leigh, an Oklahoma girl, (Edmond). They live in San Francisco and have a very successful computer business. They may be weakening toward having a child. We'll see.

Since our retirement last June, we have traveled over the western US and then the East Coast (Boston, Bar Harbor) and then into Canada and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Quebec City, and Halifax. Now we go work out every day and then do our crafts together. I just love this retirement thing!!!

And here's some more info Lynn sent:

Where I was born: Jackson, Mississippi
When: July 17, 1945
Why: Well, why THERE: My Mom lived there and my father was stationed there. He was in the newly formed branch of the service called the Army Air Corps.
How long have I walked on the earth: 57 years (More than likely I didn't walk much the first year).
Where I did some of that walking: Oklahoma--Wewoka, OKC and Ada.
What I always thought Ada was famous for: The water. The Cement Factory. Three guys hanging in a barn. The petrified tree stump in front of ECSU.
What I found out later that Ada was famous for: The murder of a Seven-Eleven clerk (Dreams of Ada)
The best thing about my tenure in Ada: Marrying a really nice guy named Richard and The Ada Community Theater, directed by Jeanne Adams Wray.  A few close friends.
Where else I did quite a bit of walking or should I say driving: California  (Southern-Orange County)
Places walked for short periods of time: Germany, France, Italy, Amsterdam, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Switzerland, Austria, Nova Scotia, Canada, Mexico (all around the edges), 5 of the Virgin Islands, and 29 of the United States, including the District of Columbia.
Favorite place to walk: Cancun
Where I haven't walked, but want to: Spain
Where I want to walk again: Ireland
Where I have spent a lot of time: HOME! (I love being home). Classrooms, The beach, The gym.
Things I like to do: Sing, Create things to use in the decorating and redecorating of my home, Garden, Talk to my children, Rollerblade, Read, Tap dance with a large group of people, making a great, rhythmic, noise in unison, Travel, when the mood strikes me, Talk to three year olds
Things I like: Songs of Leonard Cohen, Babies, mine especially, Caller ID, Show tunes, Summer, Convertibles-even though I crashed mine and had to get a sensible car, Dave Barry’s humor, Genealogy, Feather boas and fringe, Drums, Commercials during the Super Bowl, Jacaranda Trees, Dogs, Spinach salad, Photos of good times all over my walls, Loop-t-loop roller coasters, Daffodils, Home Depot, Toe rings. Everything John Irving has ever written.
Things I don't like: Stupid People, both the inherent, and the uneducated varieties. Call waiting, Acrylic nails, People who don’t sing the real tune, (such as Mariah Carey and Boys-to-Men, etc.), Raw fish, Over-seas flights, Political Correctness. The amount of money paid to people we don’t really NEED, compared to those we DO need. ( House on fire? Call Kobe Bryant!)
Things I don't like to do: Make phone calls, Swim where I can’t see what critters might be near me, Empty the dishwasher, Wake up early, Go to meetings, including church., Put the laundry away. Worry about time.
Verbs I have done:
Climbed to the top of, The Tower of Pisa, The Eiffel Tower, The Ulm Munster Steeple (742 steps), The Sydney Harbor Bridge, The Canterbury Cathedral Tower.
Snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, and the reef off the coast of Cancun. That means I've snorkeled the 1st and 2nd largest reefs in the world, I think.
Kissed the Blarney Stone.
Danced the Charleston on stage, wearing lots of fringe, of course!
Saw a real live bear in the wild in Tahoe.
Heard a choir singing the Glory Glory Hallelujah song in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. What magnificent acoustics! It took 3 hours for the hair on the back of my neck to go down.
Descended into the bowels of the earth, into a salt mine in Burtchesgarten, Germany.
Floated in a gondola through the canals of Venice.
Swam in the Mediterranean Sea.
Walked down Canal Street in Amsterdam. Now there’s an education.
Ridden on the back of a Harley from my home to Nappa Valley – Twice.
Flown a Piper Cub when I was four. Not take off, not land, just kept the bubble in the middle.
Stupid things I do: Get too much sun. Drive too fast. Eat too much. Drink too much.
Favorite sound: Richard's latte machine in the morning, someone saying, 5, 6, 7, 8!
Least Favorite sentence: "Are you almost ready?"
Best thing about me, according to me: My sense of humor.
Worst thing about me according to everyone else: My impatience and intolerance. "YOU. Out of the gene pool!" (But I am still working on this.) The fact that I'm punctually challenged. (I, as well as everyone else, have given up on this.)
What I want to be: Boss of the World for two weeks. Oh, PLEASE, just give me two weeks.

Hi there. I'm Ruth Jacobs, the former Ruth Rozeboom. My professional experience includes being a Associate Professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State College in Durant teaching business education courses. Then I became the Assistant Director of the Grants and Contracts Department there, spending a great deal of my time in Washington, D.C. and Oklahoma City. I then moved to Tulsa and become Assistant to the V.P. of Administration at a major electric utility company. They moved me about as Manager of Corporate Records, District Manager at Sand Springs and South Tulsa. I then left and started Earthkeepers International, a consulting firm mainly to states and metropolitan areas on reducing waste entering our landfills. Since then, I have started a couple of other businesses, including a Medical Records Copying Service, electronic collection service for collecting NSF checks for merchants called FastCollect, Inc., and a web design business called PRO Designs.

Most of you know I got a B.S. in Education from East Central, an M.B.A. in Business Education from Texas Tech University in Lubbock and an Ed.D. from Oklahoma State University. I have often been accused of being the "perpetual student".

I have enjoyed volunteering in a variety of organizations over the years, including serving on the Board of Unity Center of Tulsa, Tulsa Area Safety Council, Crime Stoppers, the Greater Sand Springs Trust Authority, the Sand Springs Ladies Chamber of Commerce, the Sand Spring Chamber of Commerce, Administrative Management Society, and Alert Neighbors.

I was married to the former Charley Goss. We were divorced, and he passed away suddenly of a massive heart attack at the age of 42 about a year later. I married Curtis Jacobs in 1978. He is an engineer who has built pipelines for the oil and gas industry all over the world. We have 4 kids between us, 2 and 2, boy and girl, boy and girl. We have a total of 5 grand babies now, ages 16, 14, 10, 2, and 1, who are the joy of our lives. We also have two Shih Tzus, named Seabreeze and Starlight, who get top billing in this household, no doubt about it!

We enjoy gardening, cooking, golfing and playing with our dogs. We try to pretend we raise all our own vegetables but the truth is we attempt to raise some veggies in our backyard garden every year. We actually harvest very little but the neighbors are learning to lock the doors when they see us coming down the street with another basket of zucchini or squash!

I'm in Tishomingo, OK. Didn't get far from hometown. We've been here 27 1/2 years now and this is definitely home. Still married to Paul my highschool sweetheart. He retired from the Highway Patrol 2 years ago and ran for State Representative from our area and won. Our lives have certainly changed, and it has been a hoot. Can believe that this little ole gal has had a personal lunch with the Governor's wife? Well me neither, but I didn't slurp, spill or drop. Paul stays in OKC during session (Jan to May). He and two other Legislators have a house there, which is nice. He is up for re-election this year so we hit the campaign trail in June. He hasn't drawn a Democratic opponent and we don't think he will, but the Republican who ran against him last time is going to try again. Beat him 66% to 34% last go round and hope to do better this time out.

Me, I live in Tish and keep busy working. I am a medic and work for our local ambulance service. However, right now I am on "sick" leave, light duty as I recover from having rotator cuff surgery for the second time in 7 months on the same shoulder. I am doing the office and accounts receivables. I hope to be able to be back on the truck by July 1. I am making progress this go round and am hopeful that this one will hold.

Oh, can't forget this, 3 kids and 3 grand kids and I love being the grandmother. All kids grown and gone and I love my house to ourselves...........it's wonderful.......no empty nest here.

Hello, this is Jim Young. I did not graduate with you since I moved to Durant in 1959. You might remember me as a shrimp who drove a Cushman Eagle. At least that is how I remember myself.

After an uneventful time in Durant High School, I attended Southeastern State College and graduated in 1967 with a degree in Science. I promptly got married and became a science teacher in the high school at Cleveland, OK.

After one year of being a teacher, I decided there had to be an easier way to make a living. Teachers have to work too hard and are not paid enough, so instead of trying to correct that, I bailed. I was allowed to enroll at Baylor University College of Dentistry in Dallas.

Four years later, I graduated and moved to Ardmore, where I practiced dentistry from 1972 to 1993. That year I sold my practice to someone who thought it was worth more money than I did. By the way, I have met Suddy Sudberry's son who is in dental practice in Ardmore.

Since 1993, I have been working in telecommunications around southern Oklahoma and north Texas.

My wife, Virginia, and I will celebrate our 35th anniversary on May 27th of this year. We have three children. Any was born in 1970. Jenny was born in 1972, and Tom in 1976. Jenny was married last November. So far, we have no grandchildren.

In 1997, I went back to school to study theology, and in June of last year, I was ordained by the Episcopal Bishop of Oklahoma.

I know it sounds like I can't keep a job, but all the career changes have been voluntary. Perhaps someday I'll decide what I want to be when I grow up.

Virginia and I still live in Ardmore and I expect we will remain here. I have been assigned to St. Philip's Episcopal Church, and I since I don't get paid for this gig, they will have a hard time firing me.

I live in Roseburg, Oregon. I own and operate the largest Applicance Store here in Roseburg. My wife, Chris and I also own a place in Florance, Oregon on the Coast, and a place in Yuma AZ. We go to it in the winter Jan-April. We travel in a 41' Class A. Diesel Pusser we bought new last year. Life has been good since Old Ada High School. A lot of hard work also has been applied to get where I am today. I miss all of my old class friends from high school and am looking forward to seeing them again.

Hi Classmates, just a little info on what has happened in the last 40 years for me, Joyce Lester Mitchell. I haven't accomplished great things like some of you have, but I wouldn't trade my life for anyones. I have a wonderful family that I am very proud of.

I have been emailing with Betty and Ann for a while now. It is good to learn where some of my old high school friends are now. I was sad to learn that Carol Huddleston was gone. I wish I had tried to find her earlier. I still keep in contact with Janice Lanier and her family and LaVena Dees and hers (mostly just at Christmas time now) When Michelle, my oldest daughter, lived in Tulsa we used to stop by Janice's, once in a while, on the way home. I really need to do a better job in keeping up with old friends.

I live in Kingman, Kansas which is just about 45 miles west of Wichita on highway 54. We actually live on a farm that is 12 miles south of Kingman. Paul, my husband, works as a grain elevator manager full time and farms part time. I have always been a stay at home mom until all the girls grew up and left home. I was lost so 5 years ago I started working as a para for the 6th grade special ed department at the middle school in Kingman. The past 40 years have been really good to me. Michelle was born in Ada the year after I graduated from high school. When she was 8 months old Johnny and I moved to Muskogee, then when she was 18 months old we moved to Bartlesville. While we were in Bartlesville, Janice and Dexter moved there so I was close to her again. Johnny and I divorced in 1971, and then I met Paul. We had our first date on April Fools Day and were married on June 3. A little fast but it's lasted 30 years. He was from Kingman so here I am.

Michelle and her family moved back to Kingman from Tulsa about 3 years ago. It is nice to have at least 1 of the girls close to home. She has 2 boys, Mitchell 6 and Garrison 3. She was a private secretary in Tulsa but decided to be a stay at home mom when they moved up here.

Paula was born in 1974, two months premature. She was only 14 inches long and weighed 3 pounds 6 ounces. She had kind of a slow start but you can never tell it now. She was very active in high school and college with sports and cheerleading. She is married and lives in Ohio. She has 2 boys, Duncan 4 and Ethan 15 months. She just presented me with my first granddaughter, Nacona Bre.

Candace was born in 1977. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2000 with a degree in engineering. She works for BP Barber there in Columbia. While a student at SC she set the school record for women's javelin throw. She was All-American her Freshman and Senior year and Academic All-American her Sophomore year. She qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1996 in Atlanta and again in 2000 in Sacramento. She placed 5th in 2000. Paul and I drove out there to watch her. It was so exciting. She is still training in hopes of making the team in 2004, but she tore her knee up last year and had to have reconstructive surgery. She will really have a long way to get back to where she was much less improve. I hope she makes it since that is what she really wants.

I guess that is a little more than you wanted to know about me and my last 40 years, but I have really been blessed. Keep in touch and drop by any time you are in Wichita.

Born: July 25, 1945, at Valley View Hospital in Ada, Oklahoma to Charles and Beulah Smith. Father had a barbershop at 117 E. Main St. for 25+ years; Mother was homemaker. Danny lived at 317 E. 14th St. until 1965 when he moved to California and married.

He attended Hayes Elementary School grades 1-6, Ada Junior Highschool grades 7-9, and Ada High School grades 10-12, East Central State University 1963-65, then did undergraduate work at Cal State University, UCLA, Baylor University, graduating with majors in Psychology and English. Graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with MA, dual majors in Religion and Education with emphases in Pastoral Counseling and Communication Arts. PhD from Evangel University in Philosophy Education.

Childhood interests: First Baptist Church music and youth organizations (13-year perfect attendance, called to vocational Christian ministry), Scouting (Eagle and God and Country Awards, Order of the Arrow), Salutatorian as a freshman, National Honor Society, Student Council, Letter in football, Cougars Four Quartet, Dramas, Choir, and Debate. Carried Ada Evening News Route, Managed State Farm Insurance Office, Cashier at Lanier's Supermarket.

College interests: Honors Program, Dean's Lists, Circle K, Phi Lambda Chi, UCLA's Roger Wagner Choir, UCLA Varsity Fencing Squad, President of Baylor Univ. Psychic Sciences Institute.

Married: Sheryl Parsons September 4, 1965, having met at East Central. One child, Robyn Nicole, born April 17, 1968.

Career interests: 45 years in ministry including Minister of Music, Minister of Education, Pastor, President of Alpha Ministries; Faculty Member and Chair of Humanities at the University of Phoenix 17 years teaching Philosophy, Psychology, Logic, Education, Business Communications, Management, and Religion--both undergraduate and graduate courses. As well as a variety of secular business interests in Insurance, Real Estate, Advertising, Publishing, Contracting, and Marketing.

Adult interests: Family and grand children, Church Activities, Music, Camping, Hunting, Fishing, Travel, Reading, Volunteer Counseling, Home Improvements.

Now retired while consulting, teaching Bible studies, and directing church choir in the Denver, Colorado, area.