From Janet (Borstner) Shows

September 14, 2006

Hi Everyone!

Since I have so enjoyed reading the brief bios of many '66 classmates, I feel compelled to share a condensed version of my own.

I was married to our classmate, Al Shows, for 16 years during which time he completed Med School and we moved to Fresno to open his private practice in Cardiology.

We have two children: Dominic, 33 and Stephanie, 30. Dom and his wife, Julie, have blessed us with three grandchildren all under age five. I must say that having grandchildren is beyond the accolades we have all heard--it truly is heavenly. Stephanie is getting married in March '07 so the family is expanding again.

After the divorce I went back to school and obtained a BA and Master's Degree in Social Work. I came to really appreciate that it would indeed have been much easier to complete my education -- before having children.

Since completing school I have worked for a Retirement Community, county Mental Health and an Adult Day Health Care Center. I have to say that working with these spunky Seniors really keeps me on my toes with their frank and un-censored outlooks as well as sharp senses of humor.

Upon hearing of this milestone reunion, I began reflecting on the passage of time and life experiences. I hope we can all say that although we've had some trying times along with the celebrations, we've come to know that we had the strength to make it this far & that when the next challenge comes along we can make it through that as well.

My inability to attend the reunion may be just such a challenge for some of you but please know that I wish you all well.

Janet Marie Theresa Borstner Shows

(I got the idea for using my "complete" name from the book "Growing Up Catholic"-- it's really a hoot. Whenever I tell anyone that I am a "survivor" of twelve years of Catholic schools I receive instant respect and empathy!)

Email from Fr. Ed Cunningham, OMI

9/14/2006

Hey Danny,

The offer to attend the Reunion is very tempting, and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

I'm hesitating to accept because I had a heart attack August 28 - about which I knew nothing. Lucky for me I was hospitalized with pneumonia a few days afterwards, and the routine tests indicated a heart attack. I was transported to Mayo Clinic in Rochester for a stent.

I was released on September 8th, the 48th anniversary of my ordination. There were 8 guys in that class; three left the priesthood, and of the remaining 5 priests two died of heart attacks, so there's only three of us left.

I'm back at the parish, doing well, recovering nicely, no permanent damage, but retired now and doing "Retired Active Ministry."

If I can get the doctor's permission to travel I'll get back to you, asap.

Meanwhile keep up the good work, and give my regards to the wonderful class AHS - 1966.

Fr. Ed, omi
St Paul's Parish
Minnesota City, MN 55959-0026

Quote from author Lynn Hall

9/13/2006

Found this quote from author Lynn Hall. Thought it was insightful.

"We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves."

Barbara (Broeski) Tennis
Freeland, WA

Hotel Info for our Reunion

In a message dated 9/12/2006, Penny Mertens writes:

Hey there Alegamanians (as my sister Pam used to refer to us)!

Can't wait to see all of you at the reunion! We've been working our fairly-old but still energetic tails off getting things ready for you. Your reunion committee is looking forward to a really nice time together. In the meantime, here's some information on hotels in the Valencia/Santa Clarita area and a couple of places very close to the Odyssey:

First, I looked at the hotels close to the Odyssey (The Guesthouse Inn on Sepulveda and Best Western at the bottom of Odyssey Drive) and as Karen King said," They're serviceable, but not great." If you want to stay close to the Odyssey and remain in the valley, a room in one of these hotels would be fine. They were $75 (special rate)-$129. Then I went up to Santa Clarita to look at hotels off of the 5 freeway (about 10-15 minutes from the Odyssey.)

Comfort Suites (661 254-7700) is the least expensive at $108. It certainly was nice enough but was pretty close to the freeway, so I was concerned about noise. You can request a room that faces away from the freeway, but they won't guarantee that you'll get it.

The Residence Inn (661 290-2800) was pretty and I thought the rooms were very nice. It was $149 and had a complimentary hot breakfast in the morning. It, too, is a little close to the freeway, though not quite as close as Comfort Suites because it's higher up. A group rate might be possible if enough people are interested. Let me know if you are (lapre@adelphia.net). Both of the above hotels are directly off of the 5 freeway at Lyons Ave. Perfect for anyone coming down the 5 from Northern California and parts yonder.

The 3rd choice is the Hyatt off of the 5 at Valencia Blvd. It would take a couple of minutes longer to get to because it's closer to the center of town but it's a full-service hotel, the only one in the area. It's definitely a step up from the other hotels in the area. It has a restaurant and bar in the hotel, pool/spa, work-out room, room service and is directly across the street from the Valencia Town Center (Macy's, Pottery Barn, restaurants etc.) If we book at least ten rooms, we can get a discounted rate of $143 plus tax, which is a great rate. The regular rate is $179 to $200. If you know for sure that you would like to stay at the Hyatt, please email me (Penny) directly at lapre@adelphia.net. When I have ten confirmed rooms, I will go sign the contract that is required to get the $143 rate. I will have to be responsible for the cost of the room for any cancellations or no-shows, so please be sure you want to stay at the Hyatt before emailing me. It would certainly be fun to run into classmates at the same hotel and some may want to go shopping at the Town Center to prove just how expensive a reunion can be!

One more thought - there are other hotels in the same area. There's a Fairfield Inn and a Hilton Garden Inn also, to name a couple more. I know they are probably similar to the ones listed, but I'm sure they are listed in the phone book if there's a particular hotel you like. I didn't have time to look at all of them. Feel free to email me with questions etc. I will reply, I promise. I hope everybody is resting up for a great party weekend - I already have my dancing shoes on!!

Love,
Penny Mertens

~~~~~~~~

In a message dated 9/9/2006 4:27:38 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, Elsie (Dellecese) Thatcher writes:

Another hotel option is the Airtel Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Van Nuys near the Van Nuys Airport. The online rate through Hotels.1.com is $99.00 plus tax.

Looking forward to seeing everyone,

Elsie (Dellecese) Thatcher

~~~~~~~~

In a message dated 9/8/2006, Dan McMahon writes:

One of the hotels close to our reunion site is The GuestHouse Inn on Sepulveda, just south of Chatsworth Blvd.

They were recommended by The Odyssey, and they will give us a special rate of $74 per night, if you contact them on or before Sept. 20, 2006. If you make your reservation after that date, your rate will be higher.

Here is their contact info:

GuestHouse Inn San Fernando Valley
10621 Sepulveda Blvd.Mission Hills, CA 91345818-891-1771
818-895-1446 Fax Cathy Bayot, Sales Manager, ext. 304, cbayot@hotelpros.biz
On the Internet: http://www.guesthouseintl.com/property.cfm?property_id=159&CFID=6229335&CFTOKEN=61176570

We Get Emails ...

Gyoengyi (Molnar) Quinn

9/10/2006

Dear Danny,

How nice to hear from you and get all the updates on the reunion. Bob Johnson called me on Friday and, after a momentary surprise, we had a neat time catching up after 40 years.

I will not be coming to the reunion unfortunately but I wish you all a wonderful time. I was saddened to read about Paula Carrabelli. My daughter lost one of her dearest friends (at age 27) to melanoma. It's a vicious and cruel disease. I've done volunteer work with the Melanoma Education Foundation since we lost Jen in an effort to educate young people about the dangers of sun exposure.

Life has been good - I'm still teaching and loving it, although I do plan to retire soon. My husband and I have decided New England winters are for the young and we would like to start spending more time in Florida where we have a second home. Our children and their spouses are in the Boston area so we don't plan to move permanently... just when the white stuff is covering the ground.

Again, thanks for all the updates

Gyoengyi
Ipswich, MA

Message from 40th Reunion Committee

9/7/2006

Dear AHS-66 Classmates and Teachers,

When you have time, check out ...

New pictures and text at http://www.flickr.com/photos/alemany66/. Get in on the fun, and email me a picture of yourself with a description for our picture web site.

New posts and links at http://alemany66.blogspot.com/. Posts are on the left -- scroll down and read them. Click on the links in the right column to check out your old classmates & friends on the World Wide Web.

If you have your own web site, personal or family or professional, DON'T BE SHY. Email it to Danny so we can add it to the links on http://alemany66.blogspot.com/.

~~~~~~

Our 40th Reunion is just around the bend. It's 51 days, or seven Saturdays, from now ... Time is flying, isn't it?

If you haven't sent in your RSVP and check to Claudia (TStepan214@aol.com or (818) 344-6862), please do so soon. If you're still on the fence, jump down, and do it on the side of attending.

We're ALL heavier than we were in 1966 (well, everyone except Louise Franco), so what the heck?! Come anyway!

~~~~~~

SCHOLARSHIPS. We wanted to let you know that we are still giving out Partial and Full Scholarships to the Reunion.

If the cost of the ticket is the only thing holding you back, please let Danny (mcmahondan@aol.com or (661) 272-5648) or Claudia (TStepan214@aol.com or (818) 344-6862) know.

This part of the Reunion will be held in strictest confidence as they say, so don't be shy. Kind members of our class have sent in extra money just for this purpose.

As you'll see when you go to the websites above, Greg Villalva's sister kindly sent in a check to pay for someone to attend, in Greg's memory. If you're that person, please step up.

This applies to teachers and staff too, because we know you're probably retired and $90 is a lot of money. You retired sisters, heed this invitation!

~~~~~~~

Hoping you are doing great, we remain,

Your old friends,

Danny, Claudia, Penny, Monique, Karen & John

AHS-66 40th Reunion Committee

Chris (Belle) Monroe "Bio"

It’s been 40 years since we graduated from Alemany, and 40 years since I met the love of my life in the summer of ’66, John Monroe!

I graduated from Immaculate Heart College with a teaching credential in 1970. John and I were married that year and settled in Reseda.

After teaching Kindergarten for a year in LA City, our first baby Amy was born and I became a full-time Mom and our family grew in the next 10 years to include Michelle, Michael, and Nicholas.

Deciding we wanted to “raise our kids in the country,” we hitched up our wagon and moved to the Sierra foothills near Placerville and John built a home for us on 10 acres, and we have lived in this gorgeous area for the last 25 years. We added one more child to the Monroe crew (Monica) and now have 3 (and one more on the way) beloved grandchildren…isn’t being a grandparent the greatest?

I went back to teaching at our local K-8 rural school for 15 years and helped develop an award-winning visual and performing arts program. I retired from there in 2000, and went to work at UC Davis coordinating professional development workshops for teachers in the arts.

I have been working on a Doctor of Ministry degree for the last 10 years in a program with theologian, Matthew Fox, and took an amazing class at Chartres Cathedral in France this summer. In June this year, I graduated from Cal State Sacramento with a Masters in Education…OK, I confess, I’ll never stop going to school, I love learning, and this passion has rich roots from our education at Alemany, especially the ILAP program!

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about what our classmates have been doing and seeing your pictures. John and I are very excited to reconnect with all of you in person at the reunion and continue this great dialogue!

Love,
Chris Monroe
9/9/06

P.S. The picture above is of John and me at my Sacramento State graduation from their Masters in Education program with an emphasis in visual and performing arts, June 2006.