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ALUMNI STORIES 2013
SERIES XI
CLASS OF 1958 CELEBRATING 55 YEARS

Written by Sandy Cypert
Assisted by Neda Olive-Neathery

CLASS of '58 WAS GREAT -- and STILL IS!!!

The MHS Class of 1958 began their school days in the old Edison in 1946 when Mangum may well have been enjoying peak years of growth and population. Several of our classmates joined us as smaller communities consolidated with other school districts and transportation made it easier to travel around the county. By our senior year, many of the original students had moved away and the graduates were among the smallest classes to graduate from the 'old' high school on North Pennsylvania.

In 1958, the Superintendent was Allen Aaron and the Principal was Ray Hogan. Sponsors for the class were Ben Sorrells, Miss Tom Johnson our and John Shinpoch.

When the class began the senior year, Bill and Billye ("Mom and Pop") Greer became "parents" to 36 high school "kids" as well as to their son, Greg!! What a challenge all at once! They were wonderful to all of us - the absolute BEST class parents a group could have had and we all still love and appreciate them after 55 years. Their son, Greg, lives in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife and two children, ages 13 and 14. Their daughter, Mary, who came along later, lives in Childress, Texas, with her two dogs. "Pop" Bill now has a pacemaker and defibrillator and uses a walker but is doing ok. "Mom" Billye says she still walks 5 days a week, plays bridge, and attends the First Baptist Church regularly.

Most of the classmates submitted information to be included in this article for the ALUMNI EDITION; for some, the writers wrote what they could learn from others. Names are listed alphabetically. We are grateful for these replies and include the following for your perusal.

Judy Barker-Fletcher writes: "Hello to all my classmates. The years are really passing by. I live in Enid, Oklahoma, now. I have three children: the oldest, Cheryl Zapara, lives in Rockport, Texas, with her husband, David. They are retired and enjoy coastal living and going on cruises. Cheryl has three children: two girls and a boy, 25, 23 and 20. David has two sons. Cheryl and David both lost their spouses to cancer. My second child Terry and his wife Gloria live in Seattle, Washington. They have two sons, 18 and 15. Due to a heart attack, Terry is a retired furrier. His wife is president of a newspaper organization in Seattle and surrounding areas. My third child Tiffini and her husband Garrett Powell live in Helena, Oklahoma. They have three girls, 8, 5 and 17 months. Garrett is the head baseball, basketball and girls softball coach and assistant football coach. Tiffini works here in Enid as a Division Analyst for an oil company. Needless to say, with three small children, there seems to be a lot of sickness and that is where I come in and I love it. Norman and I married the same year I graduated and had he lived, we would also have had a fifty-fifth anniversary. I'm sorry I won't be at the reunion this year as I will be in Seattle at my grandson's high school graduation. Wishing all the best to my fellow classmates. Go Tigers!"

Barbara Bell-Kirby says "I live in the Lake Creek area with my husband, Kennith. We are still actively engaged in farming. We enjoy good health. We have a daughter that lives in Lubbock.
She is a teacher and her husband has an accounting firm. She has 3 children. Our son lives at St. Joseph, Missouri, and works for the Red Cross. His wife is a teacher and they have 2 children."

Sandy Cypert, enjoyed being in contact with many of these classmates this year and was disappointed not to have been able to hear from more classmates. “I "love" living in Sun City, Roseville, California. It is a wonderful retirement community, but the best part is that I am close enough to be involved in the life of my only grandchild, a 9-year-old boy whom I adore! I will not be able to attend the Banquet and BBQ this year because he and his family have invited me to go on vacation with them to celebrate his 10th birthday!”

Linda Dickerson-Hughes lives in Altus, OK. She has four children and eight grandchildren. She travels during the summer to visit her daughter in Aurora, Colorado, and to visit her children and sisters in Dallas, Texas. She plans to attend the Alumni Banquet to celebrate the 55th
year of the 1958 Senior Class Graduation.

Rodney Copeland is a pharmacist in Stephenville, TX, and is currently semi-retired. He and his wife enjoy horseback riding and often travel with their horses to the various parks around the country where they can enjoy the sights by riding the trails. They have two daughters, one in Simonton, TX, and the other in Possum Kingdom, TX.

Grace Ervin-Williams is a tax accountant and an antiques dealer in Hobart, OK. She has a daughter Sonja in Kingfisher, OK, and a two sons: Kelly, who lives in Mustang, OK, and Joey in Yukon, OK. They have given her ten grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Glenn Hightower and his wife Beverly live in Westport, CT. He was the principal of the Middle School for many years and retired in 2009. They have three daughters: Holly, who lives in Virginia and has 2 children; Julie, who lives in Baltimore and has a 9 month old, and Heather who lives in Charlottesville, VA, and is a musician.

Gary Houck writes: “Loufine and I have been married 52 years come April 17. We have three children: Sherman, Jennifer and Eric. We have 5 grandchildren and three great grand children. Among our descendants there are 11 of us who are graduates of Mangum High School. I served on the School Board for 20+ years. We live three miles east of Mangum where I farm for a living. Greer County is a great place to live. Hope to see you all come May 24th.” Note: Gary’s mother recently passed away in Mangum.

Dale Jennings sent a most interesting letter detailing his life experiences. He wrote that he "grew up on a farm in Greer County and was trained to work at a very young age." His first job was as "pot washer at Quartz Mountain Lodge." While there, he admired the Head Chef and decided he would like to "be a Chef like him." He worked in many areas of the country at various places as Cook/Chef and, at one point, decided he would like to learn European cooking. He concluded that the "fastest and cheapest way to get to Europe was to enlist in the US Army." So, he did enlist with the European option. Long story short, he served not only as a Cook in the service but as a Medic, as well. He spent a total of 26 years in the Army, 16 of which were in Special Forces. He received Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts on more than one occasion. He served in Germany, Vietnam, Okinawa, the Philippines, and Guyana. He was severely wounded in Vietnam and was in the hospital in Okinawa (Classmate Bobby Shannon visited him there). After a year's recuperation, he volunteered to go back to Vietnam and was wounded again - not so severely, but developed a "raging Staphylococci infection which was resistant to all antibiotics in Vietnam." So, it was back to Okinawa to the hospital. Later, he was sent to Guyana to help "rescue the people of Jim Jones Cult." They were too late, however, and had to deal with the dead bodies instead. He retired in 1986 and spent some time in Texas and then came back to Oklahoma to care for his Mom. He now lives back in Greer County "16 miles southwest of Mangum, near the Russell community." He has visited 34 countries, survived many "close calls" and now says, "Life has been a great ride."

Perry "Pepper" Klepper called to say he is retired and living in Granite. He lives only one block from the school; so it is convenient for him to substitute teach in Vocational Ag and to help in other ways. He also enjoys delivering "Meals on Wheels" since he gets to meet new people and visit with those he already knows. He indicates that he is a "Road Peddler" since he picks up items in Arkansas and brings them back to Oklahoma to sell. He has two children: a daughter, who also lives in Granite and has 3 children; a son who lives in Atoka and has a boy and a girl. He has no pets! He indicates that he is in good health - his diabetes is under control with 2 pills per day (no insulin) and he has lost 100 pounds. Congratulations are in order, Pepper!!!

Glenda Martin-Spivey and husband John live in Ft. Worth, TX, where Glenda is in charge of medical records and insurance for Texas Health Harris Methodist South Lake Hospital. She and John have a son Jeff who lives in Houston, two daughters Kelee and Lisa who both live in Ft. Worth. They also have five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Both Glenda and John plan to attend the Banquet this year.

Carroll Nelson raises cattle and does farming in Mangum. He has a daughter Kim who has two sons and a daughter and lives in Granite, OK. His son Keith lives in Smithville, TX, and has a son and daughter. Carroll has three great grandchildren.

Aneda "Neda" Olive-Neathery and husband Orphie still reside in San Antonio, Texas. “We have two children. A daughter Connie Hazen and her husband, Vince, live in Austin, TX, and have 4 children: two sons who are in other countries studying and working; also a daughter, a senior in high school, and a son in the 8th grade. Son Jeff and wife Elaine live in San Antonio and his two boys are in College Station, TX. These two boys had mishaps this past year. One suffered serious injuries when he was rear-ended by a pickup while he was riding a motor scooter (that he had purchased to take back to school) and the other broke his leg and did some major damage to his knee while riding a dirt bike! We wish them well in the future. The parents of all of the above stay very busy. Orphie and I stay very busy with all of the activities in which the "kids" are involved and other interests. Orphie enjoys his model railroading and all of the friends he has made. I just try "to keep up with everyone else!" I still do genealogy and am involved in planning and preparing for the National Olive Reunion in Georgetown, Texas, later this year. I’ve enjoyed being in contact with several classmates while working on our 55th Alumni Reunion this year.”

D. H. Pope tells us that he and his wife Caroline still live in the country near Abilene, Texas. Their two daughters also live in the area. The Popes have 8 grandkids and 2 great-grandkids. D. H. is retired and says that he and his wife enjoy traveling in their fifth wheel camper. He keeps in touch with "Mom and Pop" Greer, whom they enjoy and appreciate.

Joe Bill Powell is retired and lives in Gainesville, TX. He has a son Clint, who has 3 children: a son, age 5, and two daughters, 4 and 7 months old.

Udell Quinn and his wife Nona live in Lawton, OK. He recently sold the business that he had for years and is now retired, if you don’t count the fact that he now helps his son with his cattle business and farming. He and his wife have one son who lives in Lawton and two daughters, one who lives in Lawton and one in Denton, TX.

June Reeves-Wright is the mother of two sons and one daughter and grandmother to her one grandchild. She still resides in Elk City, Oklahoma, where she lives with Harvey, her husband of 41 (soon to be 42) years in a house that she says is now too large for just the two of them; however, she says they likely won't move because one of her sons is building a home "next door." June loves gardening and enjoys her life there but misses golf - she and Harvey were apparently avid golfers in by-gone days. June is a cancer survivor, having had three separate surgeries. She says she feels really well but maintains a regimen of going to her oncologist regularly. June won't be attending the Alumni Banquet, but she does plan to participate in the activities on Saturday. In July, she and her daughter are planning a trip to England, France and other areas - she is looking forward to this trip with great anticipation. (I understand that she and her daughter talk on the phone every day. One of her sons asked about that and she responded that often they talk even more than once a day!!)

Judy Scott-Smith and her husband Leon still live in Houston, TX. They have recently gone through the difficult task of a downsizing move. Judy enjoys spending time playing bridge and being with their children: son Jeff, who lives in Houston and has two daughters, Natalie, 14 and Virginia, 10; and daughter Emily, who has sons William, 15, Matthew, 13 and David, 9.

Dottie Sellers-Kingery and husband Phillip still live in Mangum. They have a son, David who lives in Norman, OK and daughter Sandy who lives in Mangum. They have three grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way.

Bob "Bobby" Shannon and his wife Jenny live in Oklahoma City. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year - a wonderful, momentous occasion! They say that they "stay busy with church work and granddaughter activities." (No grandSONS here!) The girls are 20. 18, 16, and 15. The Shannons also say that they "try to exercise daily and enjoy our friends and family!"

Don Smith and wife Joey, still live in Mangum and are both retired. Don keeps busy by restoring Cushman scooters. He plans to attend the reunion.

Hellen Wright-Stickle and husband, Dick, live in Mangum. Hellen stays busy with civic duties, volunteer work and is past-president of the Greer County Chamber of Commerce. Her four children live in Florida so you understand the road trips and plane trips stay active between the two states. Dick helps chaperone the BiGhumni (spouses) during the Banquet and both deliver t-shirts to Alumni who have ordered them. They will be very visible during alumni activities.

Sandy Cypert writes: “The following information about the "whereabouts" of the rest of our classmates is accurate, as far as I can determine. Please forgive me if there are errors.”

Nettie Warren-Griffin lives in Mangum; Oleta Henson-Shoopman lives in Oklahoma City; Gordon Reeves lives in Weatherford, Oklahoma, and Betty Rosebure-Culver lives in Marlow, Oklahoma. Living in California are Mary Ruth Burden-Lausten in Lakeport and Ruth Reynolds-Losacco in Laguna Hills.

Thirteen of our classmates have passed away and remain in our memories: Mack Crossland in 1966, Barbara Day Anderson in 1992, Harold Burris in 1998, Mary Catherine Jackson Powell in 2000, Valda Sue Hendricks in 2002, James Rodgers in 2004, William "Willie" Henson in 2008, David Bearden in 2008, Peggy Brooks Roach in 2010, Lillie Palmer in 2010, Larry Rocher in 2010, Forest Halford in 2011, and Laverne Adams Bennett in 2013.

Note from Historian, Joy Hall Grant: These two Alumni members, Sandy and Neda, have done an outstanding job writing, calling, e-mailing, texting and internet researching classmates in order to bring their class up-to-date as near as possible for their 55th reunion. Thanks so much ladies for your help and input. You’re a Historian’s dream team.

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