Our Lives

Priscilla (Strout) Fagan

We've been married thirty-seven years, and have moved up and down the east coast. We lived in Caraccas, Venezuela in the 80s. My husband, Len, is an engineer and is VP of Energy Management in Boston. I'm a writer. I spent twelve years at MA Audubon in Marshfield, then worked for a publishing consultatant in New Bedford before he told me I should be writing. I agreed, so I quit. And that's what I try to do...Write. I'm also the Education Coordinator for an on-line writing site.

We have 3 children: Chris is 36, just back from Iraq and lives in Warren, RI. Chris works for Newport Auto Center as a salesman and is also a chef. He is divorced and has 3 children, Kari 15, Nick 12, and Jace, 7. Greg is 33 and lives in Ashburnham, MA with his wife, Meredith, and their 2 year old son, James. They have just had theirr 2nd child on Feburary 14, Harris. Greg works for Genzyme Corp. in Boston and is their statistical analysis expert. Jillian is 29 and lives in Monroe, NC with her Chocolate Lab, Riley, her Siamese cat Virgil, and totally black cat, Bella. She is a professional horse trainer and has just started up her own horse training and sales business. in Waxhaw & Monroe, NC

We live in Westport, MA with our 3 Scotties, Finn, Haddie, and Fergus. You can find us in our mini RV in the summer, the Scottiemobile, looking for bike trails, and skiing or heading south in the winter. I hope to hear from more of our classmates with memories and tales of what you've been up to over these short 40 (YIKES) years. You can e-mail your news to be included on the web site to kipsrun@aol.com

Frank Gross

I’m a post middle age guy with a lot of stories and a few secrets. I like who I am and I didn’t tick off to many people to get here. I’m blessed with good health, food on the table and people who love me, six of whom are my children and seven more who are my grandkids. Another one is my sweetheart, best friend and partner Cindy. She and I are empty-nesters and we play hard.

I’m reluctant to define where I am today by what I work at. Career is incidental and a successful one is more often achieved by good luck than it is by hard work. So, I’ll breeze over it and say that I’m a head hunter for the computer industry and was previously an engineering manager in the microwave industry. My partner’s an alumnae director at Wellesley College and was previously in charge of PR/Marketing at a major auction house. In our spare time, Cindy is a freelance writer for the auction industry and I sell rare stamps. We try not to take ourselves too seriously because work is work and we’d all rather be doing something else. We look forward to retiring in northern New Hampshire where we now try to spend every other weekend.

What really defines us are the things that we do for play and the things that we’ve mastered along the way. A play time snap shot would look like this. In the last month (or so) we’ve seen two blues concerts, been to the symphony, gone dancing and we went hiking in the White Mountains (we’re trying to hike all forty eight of the 4000 footers). We also took a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico and visited Indian ruins and absorbed the local culture. At home, I finished reading two books, worked on an old sports car that’s my toy and spiffed the yard for summer. We’re also half way through a home renovation. With the exception of New Mexico, we do this stuff all of the time. We spent years raising kids, the last is now finishing college, so now we’re always looking for excuses to get out and leap around.

If you’re passing through Hopkinton or need a place to stay the night before you run the Boston Marathon, give us a shout. We’re a short walk to the starting line.

Harold 'Skip' Kingman

I haven't been back to Saugus in many years, but remember it like it was yesterday. I've been in northwest Washington state for a while now, it fits my backpacking/scuba diving lifestyle

After I served four years in the military, including a year or so in Viet Nam, I joined the Police Department in Saugus for about eleven years. Received a Bs in Criminal Justice from Northeastern and left there in '81 when I was the Sergeant, commanding officer, of the evening division.

Then I went into what was a "new" thing at that time. I went back to school and became a Paramedic. I worked at that for about nine years until I, once again, went back to school and got an additional degree in nursing. I have worked as a trauma nurse with varied levels of responsibility since then. While doing the nurse thing, just to keep busy, I became a certified firefighter and have done that and the paramedic thing part-time for a couple of different fire departments in New Hampshire and Washington. Had the opportunity to live and work in nine different states and have traveled most of the country.

40 years is a long time but somehow it doesn't feel that long ago. I hope to see you all at the 40th reunion.

Mary Ann (Gregg) Suarez

How did 40 years go by so fast? Seems like yesterday I was riding my bike through Breakheart Reservation or trying to concentrate on what the teacher was saying while looking out the classroom window at the pretty fall day. . .smelling burning leaves and wanting to be free of school forever and get on with what was next.

I joined the Air Force right after graduation. While stationed in the Washington D.C. area, I met and married my husband, Lu. We've been married for almost 37 years and have one daughter. Linda is 27, married, and works as a research histologist at Genzyme in Framingham, MA. Her husband, Kevin, is a software engineer and aspiring actor.

Lu and I Iived in NYC for five years before he decided to go back into the Air Force, and I became an Air Force officer's wife. We traveled and lived all over the world before he retired and we settled in Bangor, Maine. It's nice here, and I like it, but must confess that I miss all the moving around, seeing new places and meeting new people that was my life for so many years.

I'm really looking forward to the reunion. What stories we all have to tell!

Bo Ingemar Jonsson

After graduation in Saugus I finished Swedish High School after two more years. I went to the army for one year and started my University Studies in 1969.

I received my doctorate in Biochemistry in 1980 and went to the industry for 12 years, in various positions, started my own business in Biotech and Pharmacy, which I am still running, dealing with inventions in my field. BioDev AB

We have two kids a daughter Petra (33) and a son, Ola (29) and two wonderful grandkids

Hope to see you September 30th.

Sam Donato

Hi to All,

I currently live in Davenport, FL with my lovely wife Kathy (Nee: Stafford, Salem, MA), enjoying the Sunshine State in kind of a semi retirement.

I currently work for both the Nickelodeon Family Suites in Orlando and for Walt Disney World in the field of Entertainment. I just finished a long run as the King in the WDW stage production "Cinderellabration" And I'm prepping for the Holiday season which is fast approaching.

I have been called to task by some class members for not mentioning in my info that I had the band Class of '66 for 25 years. Obviously named as a tribute to our class, I was amazed at our success and I owe it all to the songs that we listened to in High School and college. Many thanks to SHS Class of '66 for being instrumental in making the band such an important part of my life. Enclosed find some more pictures of some of the things I've done in the past 40 years. Also, I owe a lot to Mrs. Anderson who convinced me that you really could make a living in show-biz. I'm glad I took her advice. Best to all, and I'm truly sorry I can't make the reunion, because I'll be starting rehearsals to be Papa Noel (the Canadian version of Santa) for Epcot's Holidays Around the World here at Disney World. If any of you come down to Disney at Christmas time, be sure to visit Canada (Mon - Fri) and say Hi!

James Murray

Presently I own an insurance agency, produce music (have 2 Cds out there that are doing well and working on a 3rd) married with 2 daughters and a granddaughter & grandson. I taught vocational school for awhile after going to college where I graduated with honors.(sorry Mr. Doyle I was not stupid only had dyslexia ) (found that out in college). Went into insurance sales and have been doing that for the last 20 years other than that not much going on in my life.

Our group has traveled to Germany, England and China with our theme Peace Through Music.( We have a theory that if you can get everyone to sing rather than shoot at each other the world might be a little safer) Our web site, www.jollyrogues.com pretty much tells what our group and I have been up to..

Michael Canning & Virginia Wilcomb Canning

Mike and I were friends in high school. some of our memories include the Girls Club Formal in 1964 we doubled with Skip Kingman and Joan Blood. As you can see from the picture of Mike and I, that is when I had "BIG" hair and "SMALL" hips. ... things have turned around a bit since then. After High school we went our separate ways, and didn't see each other again until our 20th Reunion. (In case you didn't notice, Mike was not in the class picture.....he was .... ah ... in the men's room.) After that we didn't have contact again until 1995, when my son Jim was doing the Alumni Scavenger Hunt to help raise dues from Alumni members for the Association. We became 'email' pen pals of sort and occasionally wrote to each other to keep up to date on what each of us was doing. It wasn't long when we discovered that we were both single, Mike started flying back to Saugus to visit family and we started doing that long distance dating thing. In Feb '99, I moved to Phoenix. The rest is history. We laugh now and say that it only took us 35 years to get it right! And we did!

We share an interest in our favorite hobby ... driving..... and especially our favorite toy.....a 1965 Cobra replica that we built together. I have come a long way from someone who only knew how to pump gas and turn the key to make a car go. Now I get may hands dirty with the best of them.... but oh the rewards ....... driving down the street and being a one person car show.!

We are also very blessed to have a wonderful family. On Mike' s side we have a son John, a daughter-in-law Stacy, and two beautiful little grandsons Chase (2 1/2 yrs.) and Ryan (17 mos.) They all live in Phoenix. On my side we have a daughter Lisa, who will be married to Eric in November, and a son Jim. They all live in the Boston Area.

MIke is employed at Holsum Bakery, taking care of all the computers. He as been with them now for 15+ years. I am employed at US Airways (aka America West, before the merger). I have been with them now for 7+ years. I started out in Revenue Accounting, moved to Crew Resources as a Pilot Scheduler for 5 + years , and currently work in the Customer Relations Dept.

We enjoy traveling, and try to take advantage of the flight benefits we have from US Airways. We usually make at least two trips back to Boston every year, to see family and friends.

Our door is always open, and the welcome mat is out for old friends who makes their way to Phoenix.

Michael Dow & Janet Burke Dow

I was searching the Saugus.com site in 2000 for a copy of the Saugus almanac for my Dads (Saugus) birthday. I went to the sign in area and paged down thru roster of sign ins and WOAH....Janet Burke. So I cogitated a bit and decided to drop a remembering note....."Hey Remember Me...." and left an appropriate note and signed off. No answer for ....maybe two weeks or so. So much for that out reach to a fellow Sachem.

About 3 weeks later I received an E Mail response from Janet...."WoW Dow !!!!" Janet lived in Chicago (with her two kids Nikki and Mike) and was out of town and had just received the E Mail. We began an E Mail communication that was awesome. It went a long while with many sunrises meeting the good nites. We continued to grow as friends and then we got "THE" E-Mail. It was Dougie Cooper...."Hello - Lets have a great 2001 SHS Class of '66 Reunion" at the American Legion in Saugus. Janet and I talked about the SHS Reunion and decided to go. The rest is history. We met and began a NH to Chicago long distance relationship. We OWNED Southwest Airline WITH major free miles.

In 2003 I asked Janet to marry me and on 6/26/03 (my birthday) we were married in Naperville, Il at a Spainish mansion - Mason Sabeqa. Janet was a die hard Chicago Cubs (seceretly a White Sox) fan. I quickly found Janet was an avid Chicago Bears Fan as well. This turned out to be a very interesting Boston Red Sox - Chicago White Sox thing as well as a NE Patriots - Chicago Bears thing. The major drama was the near Boston Red Sox - Chicago Cubs match - before the kid messed with the ball in Chicago and ended up in the Witness Protection Program.

The blessing was our marriage on June 26, 2003 in Naperville, Il with our kids present (see pic in Our Lives). We have moved to Nashua, NH and have a

William Newman

Wow! Has it really been another 20 years since the last big reunion? Many things have changed and many things are still the same. We still live in Saugus, although we have moved a whopping nine houses away from where I lived while in high school, and where we started our family. I am still working as an electrical engineer at PerkinElmer Optoelectronics (formerly E G & G, Inc.) in Salem, where I had my first co-op work assignment as a sophomore at Northeastern. But it is definitely not the same company!

I have been married to Bonnie (Mary) for 33+ years. Bonnie now considers herself retired after working for 34 years as Clinical Research Coordinator at The Forsyth Institute in Boston. As you can see, we do not jump from job to job. We have two children, Andria and David, and consider our now expanded family as our greatest accomplishment and asset.

Andria (30) has been married to Brendon Paradis for three years, and they live in North Andover, MA. Andria got her BS from Villanova, and last year completed her MBA at Northeastern. After working several years at Biogen IDEC, she recently moved to Shire TKT, and just finished the introduction of a new drug, Elaprase, to treat Hunter’s Syndrome. Andria and Brendon are expecting our first grandchild in March.

David (almost 28) is married to Mea and they live in Tucson, AZ. David received his BS in Environmental Science from the University of Vermont. Mea is also a graduate of UVM, but they met for the first time at a Patriots game party in Phoenix. After working for a few years in the environmental field, David has decided to follow his genetic predisposition and is back in school, full time at the University of Arizona, pursuing an engineering degree in Environmental (Civil) Engineering. It helps that he has a new wife (1 year) to support him and provide health insurance.

Bonnie and I are looking forward to seeing how little everyone has changed over the last 20 years.

Margaret O'Neil Lankow

After graduating SHS, I attended Salem State for one year. I visited Laura Lunt in Hawaii in 1968 with several SHS friends who will be at the 40th reunion. I traveled to France after Hawaii for the summer of 1968 with Mme. Goldstein and Marilyn Rial. We stayed with two different French families for the summer and rendezvoused at Mont St. Michel at the end. We followed that spectacu lar venue with one week in England. Thank you Mme. Goldstein!

At age 21, I left Saugus to live in Cambridge. Over the next 10 years, I worked in the travel business and several other jobs, sometimes three at a time to support myself and pay tuition. I proudly strode across the stage at UMASS Boston on May 31, 1980 to receive my BA, magna cum laude. Since then, I’ve worked in health care at several institutions.

For the next 10 years, I lived in NYC and NJ, had a brief marriage which ended when my husband passed away from melanoma. We had little time together, but did manage to have one son who is now 17 and as I mentioned previously, is looking for a perfect match for college.

I returned to my childhood home in Saugus in 1993. I’ve renovated the house with the help of my brother Lou. I am currently at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary where I am a Unit Manager for two separate labs researching the vestibular system and cochlear implants. And, I can't help myself, but still have a finger in the travel business and work it part-time. It’s been a long adventure.

Charles 'Chuck' Marino

It has been a long journey and an adventure all the way. From Viet Nam with two purple hearts and a bronze star, to college, and eventually onto graduate school. I live in Melrose and have raised 2 boys....Ugh!

I still ski, sail, and have been a runner for a long time with many marathons under my belt. But my passion is golf and I am a member of a country club. I work for the US Department of Justice and it involves alot of travel. I used to live in Paris, France. Don't ask me to write in French. Now I am planning to move to my condo in the North End and enjoy the city life. Get rid of my big ass suv and get a mini.

Hazel Wiget Sheppard

Hello from Ohio!

After being abducted by hippie aliens in the late '60's, I've led a relatively normal life here in Kent, Ohio!

My husband, Wayne, and I were married in Rockport, Ma over our Christmas break from Ohio State University in 1967, and miraculously have been together ever since! I thank him to this day for giving me what I consider a lovelier last name!

We have no children...just our wonderful chocolate lab, Mocha, and rescued kitty, Tiki.

We have been thoroughly enjoying retirement, new adventures in careers, and traveling.

We are so very fortunate to have survived the 60's, let alone be as blessed as we have been in our lives.

Looking forward to seeing all of you on September 30th...this will be my first class reunion...and, actually, my husband's first also since two of his New Jersey classmates in charge of the reunion treasury took the money and ran off to Florida years ago!

Visit Hazel's website at

www.sheppardpublishing.com

Until the 30th!

Barrie Wagenfeld

After graduating from U.Mass Amherst with a B.S. in Microbiology, I worked for about 15 years in diagnostic labs, mostly in Cambridge. I then went into the manufacturing end of the business for another 17 years, one job in companies that kept being bought, most recently Applied Biosystems, from which I was laid off/retired in 2004.

I keep myself busy with family and many activities in my Church, where I sing in the choir, and my Masonic Lodge, where I am currently Master. I returned to Saugus in 1978 and now own my old family home.

I look forward to seeing many of you on Sept. 30th. I can be reached on-line at bwagenfeld@yahoo.com

An excerpt from the Glooucester Daily Times.

Summer visitors create children's book with Rockport flavor

By Jason Simpson

Gloucester Daily Times

ROCKPORT - Hazel Sheppard first came to Rockport on a trip with her father shortly after her family moved to Saugus when she was in the seventh grade. The visit brought her an instant love for the town, she said. In 1967, she and her husband Wayne were married in the town on Sandy Bay. Now living in Ohio, they have returned to visit almost every summer since.

One summer visit 10 years ago inspired the children's author's latest book, "Big Red's Greatest Find."

That was the summer the Sheppards stayed at a cottage on Squam Hill Road with friends from Ohio and the friends' 7-year-old son Anthony. "Let's just say he was a lot to deal with," Sheppard said. When she returned home, Sheppard wrote a short story for Anthony that became the basis of her book. "Big Red's Greatest Find" is about Bentley Ross, a "somewhat unruly" 10-year-old, and his misadventures with a stray dog he finds in a Dogtown quarry and calls Big Red. Eventually, he learns that there is consequence for every action and that when parents tell you not to do something, it's because they love you and don't want you to get hurt, Sheppard said....

Sheppard said she also hopes to visit Rockport Elementary School as a guest author in October, when she returns for the 40th reunion of Saugus High School's Class of 1966....

For the rest of the interview go to:http://www.gloucestertimes.com/apstorysection/local_story_237142632/resources_printstory

chalet in Conway ( near Kamangus Hwy). We have 6 kids between us (Michael 4 and Janet 2) and kids in college and living around the country. Janets kids - Nikki (Univ Iowa pre Law) and Mike Commercial Art (Chicago) and Michaels kids Kelly (Mertyl Beach), Alicia (Tufts Univ Bio Chem Masters Grad - Budweiser QA Mgr), Jon ( CAD Design major - rock band accross the South East), and Lauren Jr in high school in Fl). We have kids visiting / living with us constantly over the last several years. Our kids are in Conway with college friends skiing and hiking throughout the year. Its a Dorm and we love it.

Janet and I ski and hike with the kids and motorcycle with a lot of close family stuff. Its a fast and constant changing and close family life that we have grown to love.

Really looking forward to seeing you all at the reunion.

Linda Clark

Forty Years in a nutshell:

My husband Peter & I moved in together when we bought our home in Sterling, MA in 1999. We grow all our own vegetables and win ribbons at the Sterling Fair every year for our produce, canning, flower arranging and photography. Pete chops wood for our catalytic wood stove and we stay as green as possible.

I've been a Pediatric nurse since 1980 when I went back to work after the early child care years for my children Sharon & Peter Hebenstreit. I worked at UMass (now UMMHC) in Worcester on the Inpatient unit with the full range of children's illnesses & traumas until 2000 when I took any early retirement and transferred to a Primary Care Pediatric office. I work per diem which gives me plenty of time to teach piano, garden and take lots of pictures.

We sing in our church choir and with the Assabet Valley Mastersingers and it's outreach ensemble, the Chambersingers. I occasionally play piano at church,

David Lavoie

My wife, Pat, and I have been married 36 years and still live in Saugus! We do own a place in Southern Maine and want to retire there in the next few years. Currently I work for a restaurant radio review show doing sales and producing. Nice way to visit so many great restaurants! I am also a retired Major in the USArmy.

We have three sons: David, Jr., Philip, and Richard.

Dave, Jr. is married to a great girl, Gina, and they have two children, David, III (can you believe it?) and Miranda. Dave, Jr. is a Special Agent in the Secret Service.

Phil has a wonderful partner, Jason, and lives in Indianapolis. He does systems engineer for high level corporations.

Rick is single and lives in Medford. He is a teacher of History at Saugus High! He also teaches at North Shore Community College.

I am very proud to say they all have their Masters Degrees! What an accomplishment for my wife and I!

We usually have our grandchildren for 6 – 7 weeks in the summer and really enjoy that part of our lives. Must say we do get tired though!

Boyd Doty

Just some notes on what’s been happening with me. I think the 20th Reunion Write-Up covered my undergraduate (Rensselaer Polytech) and graduate education (Harvard Business School) and my first three careers: on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs; up in the skies (for a while, anyway) with Trans World Airlines; and now in the trenches of diplomacy with the U. S Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer.

I now have 22 years in with State and will probably retire next year or the year after. I have served and lived in two countries that no longer exist (East Germany and the Soviet Union). To make up for that, I opened two new U.S. Embassies in Kyrgystan and Tajikistan (when the Soviet Union imploded). I have also served in Paris, Bonn, Shanghai and Wellington, New Zealand. I came back to the U.S. in 2000 to attend the Air War College in Montgomery Alabama (where they send the Lt. Colonels and Colonels who are supposed to be on the fast track to General). I was one of twenty token civilians to help balance the military point of view. From this, I earned my second Masters Degree, in Strategic Studies. Then I was asked to work in the Office of the Secretary of Defense on a special detail working on control of Weapons of Mass Destruction, which involved negotiations with my old friends, the Russians. (I even managed to be in the Pentagon when it was hit on 9/11) After that, I returned to State in Washington to work in an internal think tank for State and now am working as an inspector in the Office of the Inspector General. We review the operations of all the missions overseas and of the domestic State offices.

I have managed to stay a bachelor throughout these adventures – probably too much travel and too many household moves in my hectic careers. I love the Washington, DC area and enjoy the lifestyle it affords. I have subscriptions to the Kennedy Center for Ballet, Theatre and the National Symphony Orchestra. (Mrs. Anderson would be proud.) I manage to get to London, Paris and Rome at least once a year to keep current with my favorite dining and drinking spots. I am looking forward to a return trip to New Zealand next summer.