4/29/10

Edd Harris has had a bicycle accident. Surgery 4 hours. He has a 6" titamium rod in his arm and an artificial shoulder joint now. The rotator cuff had to be stretched down far enough to anchor to heathly bone. The incision is at an angle from shoulder across top of arm pit and down arm.

He has something like a "G" block. It is inserted into his shoulder and then attached to a wearable pump that totally numbs the shoulder. He can't make a fist and the thumb and one finger are not responding quite like they should but it could be caused by the block or nerve damage. He was released from the hospital 5/3/10.

Thanks to Sharon Ross Kaiser, 6th grade picture (E) has all the names now

Also, thanks to a hard working team of 'people finders', Don Ready, Ruth Blatnick, Ron Lautaret, Phillis Shultz/Sartor, Skip Swisher/Olson, we're finding many of the classmates. Keep it up. Our data continues to get more accurate every day. We need your e-mail address, mailing address and phone.

Johnny L. Valerio passed away May 21, 2009, at his home. Johnny was born May 14, 1943, in Cañon City, to Hector and Philomena Valerio.

Johnny was proud of his Italian heritage and country, and he was honored to serve America. After high school, Johnny fulfilled his patriotic duty and joined the military, serving with the 2nd Recon 10th Cavalry as a Sergeant E5 tank commander in Korea. After the service, he worked for Pepsi Cola, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and finally, the Cañon City Police Department, where he retired after 35 devoted years of law enforcement. Johnny was well-known throughout the area as a dedicated community servant, always available to provide assistance during times of need and excelling in his negotiation abilities. He made a difference in the lives of many, turning some individuals toward a more productive, positive direction.

Johnny treasured his freedom, cherishing the time he spent riding his Harley Davidson. He had a passion for the motor world, which included collector cars, especially Corvettes, and NASCAR. He obtained his private pilot’s license for his love of flying. Places that were dear to his heart were Lake Havasu, Arizona, and Crazy Horse Monument, South Dakota.

Johnny loved spending time with his family and friends. He was known for his kind heart and infectious laughter. Johnny is survived by wife, Darlene Tyler; daughter, Nikki Valerio (Harvey) Wall and grandsons, Harvey Lane and Hunter Lee; daughter, Brenda Valerio (Bert) Tanin and granddaughter, Karlina Drea; son, Todd (Stacy) Tyler and daughter, Tanya Tyler; and cousin, Joseph Fazzino. He was preceded in death by his parents; aunt, Margaret Fazzino; and uncles, Nardo Fazzino, Tony Valerio and John Valerio.

Visitation is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 25, 2009. Funeral services will be held at Evangelical Free Church, Cañon City, 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, 2009. Interment services to follow at Lakeside Cemetery, Cañon City. Arrangements handled through Wilson Funeral Home.

Donations may be made to Sangre de Cristo Hospice, 601 Greenwood Ave., Cañon City, CO 81212.

04/09/09
Larry Embry drives from Phoenix to see Russ. "It was a delightful unexpected surprise for Russ when he (Larry) walked into his room yesterday morning." (Carol Dowell)

04/10/09
Message following from Carol Dowell:
Russ passed away in his sleep last night at the Hospice facility.
We appreciated all your thoughts and prayers during his 4 month struggle.
I'm grateful he had so many friends that cared about him. He was definitely a special person.

You missed the 45th reunion? Sorry to hear that. You can see pictures at this link. At the top of the page are links to each day of the 45th. Click on any photo to see 'the big picture.'

The party started at the Abbey on Friday night. We had a nice buffet and lots of visiting. Jim VanRiper introduced the evening and the events for the next couple of days then invited jokes from the crowd. Lots of fun and laughs by all. Alma (Grabow) Elder along with Joe and Ruth Morelock sang a ditty for everyone. Emma and Jim had put together a great presentation board with records and pictures from many of our reunions and gatherings. Everyone went hotel/motel/home happy.

Saturday's meeting place was The Owl. The Owl seems to attract us at every reunion. Good malts and terrible hamburgers are the usual choices. It takes a couple of hours to feed 20 people when we invade the usual crowd there. That makes for lots of visiting time and all attendee's enjoy that time together. Then people went their own way till the evening.

Picture at 5 was the plan. We just about got rained out for pictures but mostly, just slightly wet. That over, we went inside to a nice setting for the evening meal. Then an unexpected surprise occurred. We were visited by "The King" of Rock & Roll. Yes, Bert Hathaway dressed as Elvis sang and entertained us with lots of old Elvis favorites. We laughed, smiled, clapped to the beat and sang along as Bert reenacted Elvis before our eyes. Phyllis (Shultz) Sartor received the 'hands on' Elvis style. Bert had performed his rendition of Elvis over 300 times since 1977.

After the entertainment, the table decorations were handed out to the attendee's by drawing. There was some background music as Jim V. asked Don Ready to draw numbers from a hat full of tickets and you guessed it, he drew his own number for a door prize. Then he drew the number of his guest for the next door prize. That ended Don's career. We retired from the evening about 10PM.

Sunday morning was a brunch hosted by VanRiper's at their home in the North part of Cañon City. Pancakes from the BIG grill, along with sausage patties, scrambled eggs, biscuits, home made jellies were the feast for the morning. Finally, Alma had brought a video tape of Elvis and what made us "Rock and Roll."

That ended the 45th. Next time, won't you come along and join us. We're looking for volunteers for the communication committee right away. You can contact Chuck Starck or Phyllis Sartor if you are interested in helping. We need all the help we can get to hold together the group of names and addresses to keep you informed of the 50th.

If you have photos of past reunions or picnics that you would like to share, you may send the photos by e-mail in .jpg format to 1961@chuckstarck.com. I suggest that we only send 2-3 photos per person.