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.

Dave Grant Suffers Fatal Stroke

Carl Werth received a letter from Dave Grant's ex-wife informing him of Dave's passing on April 13, 2008, from a stroke. Carl e-mailed John with this info. Our sympathy goes out to Dave's family; our thoughts and prayers are with them.

Above is the picture Dave sent us after we spoke to him before the reunion. He was unable to attend, but sent us this picture in lieu of himself. I think it's safe to say "he will be missed".

As a postscript, Garland Edgell recently located Dave's obit and sent it to us:
"Oct. 15, 1939 — April 13, 2008
David S. Grant, of Redmond, died Sunday of a stroke. He was 68.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Mr. Grant was born Oct. 15, 1939, in Elmhurst, Ill., the son of Russell and Louise (Brown) Grant. He earned a master’s degree in history and education from Grinnell College.
Mr. Grant was a teacher at Monroe Junior High School in Eugene, where he taught social studies for several years. He also worked as a driver for Northwest Energy for 16 years, where he drove a propane truck. He was an Eagle Scout. He enjoyed writing editorial letters in The Bulletin and spending time with his dogs. He moved to Redmond in 1989.
Survivors include his former wife, Caroline, of Springfield; a son, Gordon, of Portland; a daughter, Heather Smith, of Springfield; a brother, Jon, of Foster City, Calif; and two grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Redmond Humane Society.
Autumn Funerals of Redmond is in charge of arrangements."
And Garland adds, as a tribute to Dave:
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell, where his influence stops
Adams, Henry Brooks"

Ginny Schattenberg Yassen Seriously Ill

We received the following notice from Gordon Rondeau today:

"I was contacted yesterday by [Joy] Tennie Nooner, as she was looking for her friend Virginia Schattenberg. Seems she had a wrong phone number, so I gave her the one I have. She later called back to say ,Virginia is in a bad way. She has Cancer and the Doctors have told her not to hold out hope. They are doing chemo, but don't expect it to work. So as of now she needs our prayers."

John Spencer added:

"In the mean time if you would like to send her a card or note her address is 630w. Bonita Ave. Apt 6F, Claremont, CA 91711."

Let's all keep Ginny and her family in our thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time for them.

John's Daughter Makes the Paper

Katherine Spencer Inskeep is a busy working mom, so recipes that can be done quickly, with little effort, are what she looks for. Her abilities are described in the Longmont, CO, Times-Call newspaper --- check it out by clicking on the title to this entry (and personally, I think she looks like her mom).

More Class of '57 Parents

Lynne Rutherford Ramsey lost her dad on April 26 at age 92; our sympathy goes out to you, Lynne, and to your family. We hope you find comfort in the fact you were able to share so many, many years with him.

Cataracts X 2 for Judie

Just learned Judie Schneider Sostak will be having cataract surgery today and again in 2 weeks: first the left eye, then the right eye. She's really "looking" (that's a pun!) forward to this, since she's been assured, once the surgeries are complete, she'll again be able to tell a red traffic light from a green one. I'm thinking, anyone driving near her is also looking forward to the success of these operations....
Please keep Judie in your thoughts and prayers for great results.

Class of '57 Parents, cont'd.

We just learned Chuck Austin lost his mom March 24 at the age of 92; she was living in LaGrange Park at the time of her passing. As Chuck put it in his e-mail to John: "Truly, a life well lived". Our deepest sympathy goes out to Chuck and his family -- losing a parent at any age is very hard.