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Gladewater Former Students’ Association A TEXAS NOT-FOR-PROFIT DEDICATED TO GHS ALUMNI

P.O. Box 1425, Gladewater, TX 75647 Phone/Fax: 903-845-2631 Email: ghsalums@suddenlinkmail.com

www.gladewaterformerstudents.com

A Message from GFSA President

Shirley Elliott Willett ‘68

Hello Gladewater Alumni,

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the GFSA All-School Reunion,

Saturday, September 24, 2016. The Class of ’66 will be the host for our event this year.

They have been planning for months to make this an outstanding reunion for all! They are

“Looking for Former Students” to come and be supportive of the All-School Reunion.

The Class of ’66 has some surprises in store for all of us!! You will find the Registration

details on the orange form included in this newsletter. Make your plans and send your

reservation by mail or for your convenience, you may also register on-line at:

www.gladewaterformerstudents.com.

Hope to see YOU at the All-School Reunion highlighting the 1966 graduating class of

Gladewater High School.

Sincerely, Shirley Elliott Willett President of GFSA/Class of ‘68 “We are modern, up-to-date. Senior Class of ‘68”

FOREVER ORANGE AND BLACK OUTSTANDING ALUMNI LUNCHEON EVENT

(Doors open at 10:30 A.M.) 11:00A.M. REGISTRATION & VISITING 11:15A.M. WELCOME Shirley Willett, GFSA President INVOCATION Skip Butler, Class of ‘66 LUNCH catered and served by PERFECT CATERING of Longview 11:45A.M. 50th REUNION CLASS WELCOME Danny Hobbs, Class of ‘66 “GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN” INTRODUCTION OF OUTSTANDING ALUMNI GRIZZLY AWARDS PRESENTATION KODIAK BEARS RECOGNITION 1:15P.M. ANNOUNCEMENTS Dick Tucker, Class of ‘66 CLOSING REMARKS Shirley Willett, GFSA President

________________________________________________________________

DINNER AND DANCE (Doors open at 6:00 P.M. and BYOB)

6:30P.M. CLASS PHOTOS - David Holcombe, Class of ’62, Holcombe House of Photography will take class photos. (You do not have to purchase a class photo but if you want one, it must be pre-paid at the reunion. It will then be mailed to you within a few weeks. What a great keepsake of the reunion.) 7:15P.M. DINNER catered and served by PERFECT CATERING of Longview. 8:00P.M. PASSING OF SPIRIT BATON Class of ‘66 RECEIVING OF SPIRIT BATON Class of ‘67 8:15-11:30P.M. DANCING with music provided by DJ Sounds by Phillip of Longview.

A SHOT IN THE DARK is returning due to popular request. So grab a friend or two or three and enjoy this throwback to the ‘60s provided by the Class of ’66.

NOTE FROM THE CLASS OF ’66: The theme for this year’s reunion, “The Spy”, was taken from the ’66

yearbook. The Reunion Committee has been really working hard to make this an enjoyable day to visit

with classmates, attend the Forever Orange and Black Luncheon, and then to return for an evening of

dinner and dancing. This year, two men will receive the OUTSTANDING ALUMNI AWARD at the luncheon -

Jimmy Rowe, Class of ’48, and Dr. Ronald McRay, Class of ’53. In January, outgoing GFSA President John

Paul Tallent was awarded the first GRIZZLY AWARD for his love and dedication to the Gladewater Former

Students’ Association. During the luncheon, two additional members Leon Watson, Class of ’59, and Roy

T. Van Houten, Class of ’60, will be honored with this award.

DON’T FORGET THAT YOU MUST BE PRE-REGISTERED TO ATTEND THE 2016 REUNION SO MAKE YOUR

RESERVATIONS TO ATTEND ONE OR BOTH EVENTS ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 AND JOIN IN THE FUN.

GFSA OUTSTANDING ALUMNI FOR 2016

The Gladewater Former Students’ Association Board of Directors is honored to announce two Outstanding

Alumni who will be recognized at the All-School Reunion on Saturday, September 24, 2016. Make your

reservations now for the Forever Orange and Black Luncheon.

DR. RONALD McRAY, Class of 1953

Dr. McRay played on the State Basketball team in 1952

with Neal Williams under Coach Bill Waters. He also

ran the mile at the district track meet before

graduating in 1953. He began college at Florida

Christian College in Tampa and was a full-time

preacher for 35 years. He is the author of 40 books

that are all over the world, and can be found at

Amazon.com. Since then he has conducted many

seminars. Also, he continues to write. He serves as

president of the None Left Behind Corporation which

is dedicated to revealing the meaning of obscure and

often overlooked scriptures. He can be contacted at:

www.EschatologyReview.com. Dr. McRay has three

doctoral degrees -Ph. D in Theology, Ph. D in Letters,

and Ph. D in Philology (linguistics).

He was a referee in football, basketball, baseball, and

softball for many years but the Gladewater BEARS and

the Dallas COWBOYS games were his favorites. He

made a special trophy for Coach Tom Landry upon his

retirement and a cherry trophy case for the putter that

Jack Nicklaus used in the Master’s Gold Classic.

Flying one of his airplanes was a passion. He has

owned three airplanes at one time – a 152 Cessna, a

172 Cessna, and a 182 Cessna. He also picked up 707

4engine jets.

He has spent his life feeding the souls and minds of

people worldwide but has fond memories of his years

growing up in Gladewater, Texas. “A bad day with the

Lord is better than a good day without him”.

JIMMY ROWE, CLASS OF 1948

Mr. Rowe graduated from Gladewater High School in

1948. He attended Kilgore College and then continued

his education at North Texas State Teachers College in

Denton (now called the University of North Texas). He

began teaching part-time at Denton High School for a

year, but it didn’t take long for him to return home to

Gladewater. He and his wife, Jean, moved to

Gladewater in August, 1953. All five of their sons are

honor graduates of Gladewater High School.

Mr. Rowe began his long teaching career here, teaching

printing, photography, and yearbook. He also filmed the

football games for over 30 years, until the more modern

method of video came along. He retired from GHS in

1990, with a total of 37 years at GHS, but O. G. Johnston

talked him into returning to the school on a part time

basis for two more years to help with school printing

and to train others for the future. School administrators

realized what a huge cost it would be to have the

printing done outside the school district.

Numerous GHS former students have benefited from

the print classes they took under Jimmy’s expertise.

Photographers from many classes have come back to

show off their skills that Jimmy taught them. How

beautiful and thorough the yearbooks were when our

print shop at GHS did all the work to preserve each class’

precious memories. Since his retirement, the yearbooks

have been sent off to a print company and have an

entirely different format. They are much smaller and do

not cover the entire year due to print deadlines. Just

mention Mr. Rowe’s name to any former student who

was in his class! They will have a story and it usually is

filled with warmth and admiration for their beloved Mr.

Rowe. His kindness and helpfulness has been

widespread.

PULL OUT PARTIES FOR

REUNION WEEKEND GFSA has been notified of the

following class gatherings:

Class of ’68 members contact Steve Scurlock

or Shirley Willett for details.

Class of ’66 will gather Friday night at 6:30-

8:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, Longview.

Class of ’65 Friday night, 6:00 p.m. party at

Jackie & Wes Ray’s home, Lake Gladewater.

Class of ’62 Friday night, 6:00 p.m. at lake

home of Beverly & John Paul Tallent. Mexican

dinner served and entertainment by Mr. C.

Class of ’61, 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon at

Clarksville City Hall. Contact Sherry Waggoner

Beall for more information.

_______________________

Other classes may be planning get-togethers

so give your class contact a call to find out

when & where. Or, if you are the class

contact, let the GFSA know so that we can

inform your classmates if they contact us!

MORE IMPORTANTLY, make plans to attend

one or both All-School Reunion Events!

Two Former Students are being honored with Grizzly Awards this year. These awards are being given to those who

have gone above and beyond the call of helping the association. ROY T VAN HOUTON and LEON WATSON are the

recipients at this year's reunion. Only one of these awards has been given in the past and that to JOHN PAUL

TALLENT. This award is not given out lightly and these men are a big reason the Association has prospered and

become what it is today. Without their time, effort and dedication we would not be the Association we are today.

Please take the time to THANK these men.

The Kodiak Bear designation is given to

those Former Students who have donated

$1000 or more to the Association. Their

contributions have been invaluable and we

cannot thank them enough.

The GFSA would like to RECOGNIZE and THANK

the following alumni for their recent KODIAK BEAR contributions:

We are pleased to add these contributors to our Kodiak Bear List!

GHS Class of 1965

and Shirley Elliott Willett,

Class of 1968

GONE BUT NOT

FORGOTTEN

Our sincerest sympathies go out to the families of these former students: Helen Troxel Humphries '41

Barbara Wampler Phillips '43

Joan Crawford McCrary '56

Randy "Joe" Burney '70

AUGUST 31st DEADLINE for BOARD NOMINATIONS

Time once again to begin thinking of joining the Association as a Board

member. There are twelve seats on the board and each year, four

directors have the option to either seek re-election or to rotate off the

board. Terms are three years and there is no term limit. Directors

whose terms expire at the end of this year are: Barbara Brooking

Henderson '62, Mike Formby '64, Paula Jones Smith '62 and Larry

Clemens '68. Some may decide to seek re-election to the board and

have until August 31st to make that decision.

The Nominating Committee will be taking nominations for NEW board

members until August 31st. PLEASE consider running for the Board. It's

a three year term and is very rewarding.

If you are interested PLEASE call the office or mail your resume to

GFSA, P O BOX 1425, Gladewater TX 75647 -- or call a board member

and they'll get your name on the ballot. But don't miss the deadline.

YOUR Association NEEDS YOU.

Memorials ... Remember a loved one with a "living"

gift to the Gladewater Former Students' Association.

If you chose to do this it can be made in the form of a monetary gift

to the Association in memory of your loved one or in the form of a

Brick to go in our Reunion Plaza.

A gift card will be sent to the family and all donors will receive a

card from the Association in appreciation for their donation.

These can be sent to Gladewater Former Students Association, P O

BOX 1425, Gladewater TX 75647.

DUES REMINDER

In order to receive a

ballot and vote in the

2017 Board Election,

you must pay your dues

by October 1, 2016.

GFSA UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, August 31, 6:00 p.m.: DEADLINE for 2017 Board Nominations Monday, September 12, 6:00 p.m.: Board Meeting

Saturday, September 24: ALL SCHOOL REUNION (Honoring Class of 1966) Saturday, October 1: DUES DEADLINE in order to vote in board election

Tuesday, Oct 25, 6:00 p.m. Halloween Party (costume) Covered Dish Monday, November 14, 6:00 p.m.: Board Meeting Monday, December 12, 6:00 p.m.: Christmas Party (Covered Dish)

Monday, January 9, 6:00 p.m.: Board Meeting

Gladewater Former Students' Association P. O. Box 1425 Gladewater, TX 75647

STED

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