I am sorry that again, I will not be able to attend,
another reunion, but I am sending this update.
I have had no LONG trips out of the country or out of
state, but I am doing a fair amount of travelling around the state being quite
involved in United Methodist Women (UMW).
According to a hat that I decorated just recently at a district
executive board meeting, I am a woman wearing many hats. First my husband, Richard Sullivan, better
known as "Sully", and I will celebrate our 43 wedding anniversary in December. We have two sons, Sean (41) and Kevin
(37). Sean and his wife, Kay, have given
us two grandsons, Brendan (14 1/2) and Hadley (13). Hadley currently is living with us during the
school week. The family is split up
geographically while they get back on track with their finances and find a new
place to live. Hadley wanted to stay at
the school he was going to last year, which is over on the other side of town
from us. We are learning alot about how
things have changed since we and our kids were in school.
We also have a two year old Bombay cat named Armas, after
Sully's Finnish grandfather.
In United Methodist Women, I am Education and
Interpretation mission coordinator for our local unit and currently on the
Committee on Nominations for the Pacific Northwest Conference UMW. Because of my responsibilities on the
Conference, I am also on the Puget Sound District UMW executive team. I spent thirteen years on the district team
before being elected to the conference team.
On the district, I was on the Committee on Nominations, Secretary of
Program Resources, and Education and Interpretation mission coordinator. I am on the church mission and outreach
team. I ring hand bells at church,
Bellingham Garden Street UMC.
For eleven years, I have facilitated a weekly lectionary
study group, which I helped to start with another gal. We have an average of ten to twelve members
each week and we have a lot of fun along with studying. I knit 3x3 inch prayer squares, which people
have liked just as much as prayer shawls.
Sully oversees the audio visual ministries at church and
is very involved with the Happy Valley Neighborhood Association. I support Sully with his involvement with the
neighborhood, by participating in various neighborhood activities. Sully and I have also been members of the
Puget Sound Walk To Emmaus Community since 1992.
One of my two brothers, Tim, and his wife, live here in
Bellingham, and are permanent legal guardians of two of their grandchildren, a
ten year old granddaughter and a 14 1/2 year old grandson, so besides
supporting our grandsons with their activities, we enjoy supporting our great
neice and nephew with their activities.
The past four years I have spent getting back to better
health. In 2010, I was diagnosed with AFib
and AFlutter and a mild enlargement of my heart, so I am on three heart
medications, a blood pressure pill and blood thinner. All meds are low dosages except for the blood
thinner. In 2012, I had cataract surgery
on both eyes, so I can see more clearly.
In 2013 was the last of my deferred maintenance makeover-abdominal
hernia repair in June 2013, and then a right hip replacement, followed up with
six months of physical therapy. I think
I inherited my dad's bad back and bad hips.
Before my hip replacement I was walking on a frozen right hip and the
other hip was moderately degenerated.
For long distant walking, I use my dad's cane that he used. I wonder how many baby boomers are using
their parents' canes after joint surgery?!!
I will try to send you an updated picture before the reunion.
My only two LONG trips out of state and out of the
country were in 1991 to Tijuana, Mexico, 1992 to El Salvador, and 1994 to
Cincinnati, Ohio. Since my dad died in
1998, I have not been to the Yakima Valley, so it will be good to see the area
again while in Yakima for church-related meetings in October. I prefer to live up
here in Bellingham, in what has been called God's Country by many. The weather is manageable, the traffic, the
same. We can get from one end of town to
the other in 15 minutes, if we have to, and there is alot of green trees and
colorful flowers and the bay and lakes.
The things that we are doing with the church and the neighborhood and
family are very fulfilling for us. We
enjoy serving God and our neighbors in all that we do, how we end our study
time in lectionary each week.
I wish you all good health and peace in your lives. I have a Facebook page, but have not kept it
up for a LONG time. I like
communicating by email better. My email is: dgkitten at juno.com
Gail (Rankin) Sullivan
Mike Thorp
Sorry to report that I will not be able to be at the reunion after all. I am still working and am required to be in Boston and Washington DC from the 19th to the 26th. I will miss seeing you all. Here are some photos of my wife Karen and me.
Dana Thrasher-Cordish
Mike Thorp
Sorry to report that I will not be able to be at the reunion after all. I am still working and am required to be in Boston and Washington DC from the 19th to the 26th. I will miss seeing you all. Here are some photos of my wife Karen and me.
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| Mike Thorp with guards |
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| Mike and Karen Thorp |
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| Mike and Karen Thorp at Taj Mahal, India |
Dana Thrasher-Cordish
Hello. Congratulations to all
of us for managing to make it to 50 years post high school. I still live in
Jerusalem, Israel. After years of college, I ended-up being housewife to a
very nice man who, sadly, passed away four years ago. I enjoy myself playing
bassoon in local orchestras; and I keep and breed small birds for fun. I
won't be coming to the reunion because it a very long trip; and I am not a
traveler. I wish my fellow graduates blessings for happiness and a good life.
I've had adventurous life. After graduation and then college, I worked for a couple of large companies. The most memorable was IBM in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the late 70's I jumped off the corporate ship and became an entrepreneur, and started a ten-minute oil change chain. then another in the San Francisco Bay area. Along the way my wife, JoAnn, and I had three children who we are very proud of. Sonja graduated from Marquette University, other daughter Rémy graduated from Univ. of Wyoming, and son, Carsten, attended Montana State then graduated from construction supervision program in Tucson, AZ. Sonja was the Maid of Honor for one of her friends recently, and the below photo is from that wedding a few years ago. 
I've had a couple of great times along the way. During the 90's I built a couple of businesses in the former Soviet Union.... a telecom business and a rock'n roll radio station in St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg, I did business with the city official, Vladimir Putin (now president of Russia). And even more fun and memories came my way when Pat O'Day (former KJR disk jockey, station manager, and concert promoter) spent a week training our Russian on-air talent on how to be entertaining disk jockeys. Pat wrote of the experience in the final chapter of his book.
In fact, I'm having a catch-up lunch with Pat next week to celebrate his birthday. He became a good friend while we introduced the Russians to entertainment radio and rock'n roll music.
These days I'm playing on the front edge of the new media wave as I develop and market mobile apps for smart phones and tablets. I worked with Washington Tourism as I developed Visit WA as my first app -- it's available for iPhones and Android phones at the app stores under the name VisitWA . It's popularity is largely due to being the only organized source for free things to see and do. We are introducing our second app this month for Lisbon, Portugal. And more are in the pipeline.
I can't believe how the years have flown by. It used to be that the 50th Reunion was for really old people, yet here we are. I've survived open-heart surgery, and I'm ready for another 50. See you at the reunion.
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