Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Another Classmember is Gone -- Bob Slahetka

Carole Johnson Lehmann contacted us with news of Bob Slahetka's passing. The following obituary was on the Downers Grove Reporter website (thanx to all who helped me recover this info):

"Robert Michael Slahetka, 69, of Newport Richey, FL, formerly of Countryside, passed away August 18, 2008. Robert was born Feb. 2, 1939 in Downers Grove, IL. He was a retired Countryside Police Officer. Robert is survived by his companion, Maureen Mcmasters and his five children, Robert (Kim) Slahetka, Chris (Sandy) Slahetka, Grace (Gary) Galecki, Sally (Sam) MacKenzie, Amy (Ed) Strobl and 13 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother. Visitation Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008, Mass Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. Arrangements by Grace Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home, 727-863-5471."

Bob was ailing and unable to attend our 50th reunion, but he kept in close touch with John before it was held. Our sympathy goes out to Maureen and Bob's family; we all certainly share their sorrow.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Long-Lost Family Found

While I hesitate to personalize this newsletter/blog, I think what's happened in my life is fascinating enough to share.

As you may or may not know, I lost my brother, Dave VanSelow ('54), to pancreatic cancer on December 8, 2007. Needless to say, the holidays were pretty dismal, especially since Dave was my last remaining relative --- or so I thought.

One night in January, the phone rang, and a voice told me to sit down. I thought I recognized the voice as my mom's baby sister, with whom I'd had no contact in probably 20 years, and who I assumed had long-since passed on. Well, it was indeed my Aunt Jaine, alive and well, and living in Woodstock, IL, the Nichol family's town of origin. How we lost touch, I'm not sure, but somehow we did and were not able to find one another, so as years went by, we both just kind of gave up.

To give you a bit of background, my mom went to live with an aunt and uncle in Downers Grove when she was 4, because Grandma Nichol was a widow with 5 kids to support, including a newborn, my Aunt Jaine. My Downers grandparents made sure mom was in fairly close touch with her kin as she was growing up, tho several bouts of rheumatic fever made this difficult. After she married my dad, mom made it a point to take us to Woodstock a couple of times a year, that is until she became quite ill when I was 7. Around that time, the trips to Woodstock stopped, and so did any kind of a relationship with my mom's family for me, tho my Aunt Jaine stayed fairly close to mom, then me after my folks died.

The reason for her call was to tell me of a family reunion in July. And, to make a long story short, we went, and I finally met the remaining 8 cousins I have. Best of all, I not only got to spend time with my aunt, I was able to help her celebrate her 92nd birthday on July 13.

She's an amazing woman in amazing health. And to me, she was literally a gift from God, who arrived just when I needed her most. We now make it a point to call each other every couple of weeks; and we've vowed never to "lose" one another again.