John A. Schwartz
309 Pinelake Court
Spartanburg, SC 29301
(864) 574-1869
jaschwartzsr@bellsouth.net
After 25 years of being a “snowbird,” (someone who spends the cold winters in sunny Florida and then spends the summer up north), Doc and Betty Brockway Nevers have decided to make Fort Pierce, Florida, their yearly residence. Doc and Betty still plan to take shorter vacation trips to New England in the summer to visit family and friends.
Doc made me aware that our class president Bill Johnson had taken a very serious fall at home and broke several ribs along with an injury to his spine.
I had a conversation with Bill in March. He told me of the lengthy rehabilitation he is going through and the multiple designed wheelchairs he has had to use in an effort to repair his spine. Bill and his wife, Mary Atkinson Johnson ’55, have moved from their farm (can you visualize Bill and Mary being farmers?) into a house that will make living easier for Bill. They are still in Saco, ME.
I am sure that Bill’s best nurse, Mary, is one of the reasons Bill is in high spirits, has a very positive attitude, and is looking forward to our 65th Class Reunion.
An aside:
As our class gets older, and age takes its toll, we are doing less traveling and therefore, have fewer opportunities we can report on. At the same time, we are trying to fight and cope with COVID-19. Consequently, there is less news being received to report in the class column.
We all probably have had an event in our lives where we surprisingly ran into a classmate. When you were finished bringing each other up to date with your lives and departed, you would say to yourself, “It’s a small world, isn’t it?”
Since 1956 how many times has that happened to you? How about reporting the event to your class correspondent? It will make great news for all the class to read.
Here is an example:
In November of year 2006, my wife, Laura Krueger, and I were on a cruise to go through the Panama Canal. The name of the cruise ship was Infinity and it had a passenger list of close to 3,500. At 4:30 a.m. on the 14th, we went on deck to get what turned out to be a great view of entering the canal. At about 6:30 a.m. we decided to have breakfast and headed toward the dining room. As we were walking off deck, someone said, “Look! The Schwartzes.” That someone was Jane Wiseman Johnson ’61G with her husband, Charles.
We talked for a while and then went on our way to breakfast. We did not run into the Johnsons for the rest of the trip.
See! It’s a small world, isn’t?