Classmates
Laura Wyraz (Simonds)
| Marital status: | Committed Relationship |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Co Owner / Manager Barry Bagels Ann Arbor |
| Comment: | First of all I want to thank all of you who have worked so hard locatiing people and getting us to respond. Tony you should run for office or something, you really shamed the slackers into responding! I was never contacted for any other reunion, so I am excited to attend and see former classmates and catch up on what people are doing. I still live in the area, and it will be almost 37 years that I have worked for Barry Bagels. It has been my first and only job. So funny that I had to beg to be hired (Barry's best friend hired me on his day off), he thought that because I drove to school in Jay Achenbach's "van" that I was a burnout. In 1992 Barry asked my ex husband (he was a laid off electrician) to be partners in and run his Ann Arbor location. I had to be dragged up there kicking and screaming since sometimes I don't like changes. I now absolutely love Ann Arbor and will never leave. Got divorced (still friends), and increased business so much that we had to move next door to triple our store size. Met my current partner of 17 years at a UM football game. He runs a catering business "Whips Dog Days" in Ann Arbor. We are extreme UM sports fans. I got to realize my dream of living on a horse farm in Michigan and raised and showed horses on a National Level for many years. Still have the horses and 3 Austrailian Shepherds that we love dearly. Survived thyroid cancer, life is very good have no regrets. |
| What would your friends be the most surprised to know about you now?: | That I still am at Barry Bagels, that I still have horses, and am still crazy about animals. |
| Share a favorite memory -- something that made you laugh or cry or feel pride in your school...share: | Riding my horse with Stacy Slifko and Lynn Thornton through the creek and up the hill. |
| Who was your favorite teacher?: | Chip Davis |
| Share an embarrassing moment or a prank that was played on someone else or on you...: | This was very traumatizing...Mom dropped me off at a Friday night school dance,I left with my Michigan boyfriend (he lived right over the state line)went to J and G's Pizza then to his house. Apparantly Mom changed her mind as to what time she wanted to pick me up so she came back and went up on stage and grabbed the microphone from the band and said "Laura Simonds where are you?". A friend called me at his house and told me what she had done. I came back and called her from the "pay phone" and she told me to have the police bring me home, which they wouldn't because I didn't do anything wrong. That is probably why I graduated a year early! |
Robin Yackee (Smith)
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Legal Secretary |
| Comment: | After school I went to work for Sylvania Bank and stayed there for 23 1/2 years and 3 name changes. For the last 12 years I have worked for the county prosecutor's office. My IOE steno class really paid off. I met my husband playing volleyball, got married and moved to Wauseon, Ohio. We live in the house my husband grew up on. Just 11 miles into Fulton Co. We have two children, Chris, 13, and Beth 11. Chris is in 8th grade, plays trumpet in the band and is throwing the disc (sp?) for track. Beth is in 5th grade, plays soccer in a travel league. We do 4-H and I am a 4-h advisor with our club. The kids raise beef cattle. We grow corn, wheat and beans on our farm. One of the really special things that we have done, 2 years ago we went out west to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, and to South Dakota. What an awesome trip and great family time! Now that the kids are a little older, it is harder to fit that time in. |
| What would your friends be the most surprised to know about you now?: | Left the "big city" of Sylvania and now live on a farm |
| Share a favorite memory -- something that made you laugh or cry or feel pride in your school...share: | Going to Toronto with the girls in the IOE - steno class. |
| Who was your favorite teacher?: | Mrs. Snyder, junior year IOE teacher and Mr. Kreps, my 8th grade social studies teacher at Arbor Hills |
| Share an embarrassing moment or a prank that was played on someone else or on you...: | I slid down the back steps on my knees going to gym in 7th grade at Burnham. Also in Government class, Mr. Mauk pulled my desk out into the middle of the room for talking to much! |
Mark Yates
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 3 |
| Occupation: | Business |
| Comment: | I am looking forward to being in Sylvania and seeing friends and getting reacquainted after so many years. Following graduation I attended college in Tennessee, where I met and married my college sweetheart. Mary and I have been married 27 years this June and have 3 wonderful children, Elizabeth (22), Mark II (20), and Tim (17). Elizabeth graduated from Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee with a psychology degree this May. We love the Southeast and our lifestyle in Chattanooga, with the mountains, lakes, and many outdoor activities in a nice sized family friendly city. I have been able to continue to pursue a lifelong study of Martial Arts in the area. I have enjoyed and been challenged in my business career, grateful to have worked in several industries, traveled the Southeast, and been fortunate to work with some amazing people and organizations. I have especially enjoyed teaching on finances and involvement with the Ideals Foundation based in Atlanta, which is committed to leadership training to high achieving high school student athletes. Our family enjoys traveling and a highlight a few years ago was a trip to Japan, where we enjoyed the beauty of the Japanese Alps. My wife and I have enjoyed several mission trips to the Dominican Republic and made lifelong friends. Our daughter, Elizabeth, went with us for the first time when she was only 11, and loved the experience. Since then she has been to Mexico, an orphanage in Haiti, and most recently spent her senior year spring break in Latvia (in the snow instead of the sand). We love the beach and I traveled for 14 years regularly to our corporate office in Orange Beach, I have been blessed to have my parents, both of whom are severely handicapped and now in their early 80s, living in Chattanooga for the last two years. They are living with my brother Tom (Sylvania Northview 79) his wife and 3 children.. Thanks to the organizers for all your work to make the reunion happen! |
| Who was your favorite teacher?: | English - Mrs. Engle, and Coach Turner |
brian yoder
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 3 |
| Occupation: | golf course architect |
| Comment: | The old dude to my left doing the "I" in O-H-I-O is Jack Nicklaus. Jack is one of three people other than the OSU Marching band to ever "dot the I" in Script Ohio. The other two are Bob Hope and Woody Hayes! My wife and kids laugh at our American Society Golf Course Architects plaid jackets too! I figure if Eric Stratton from the movie "Animal House" can wear it then so can I! Haha! |
| What would your friends be the most surprised to know about you now?: | Climbed upon the Great Wall of China while on a business trip to Beijing. Incredible! |
| Share a favorite memory -- something that made you laugh or cry or feel pride in your school...share: | Watching my oldest daughter Lauren (Class'07) cheer on the Northview Wildcats in Wildcats Stadium |
| Who was your favorite teacher?: | Definitely Pat Kelso. She was a babe. I had a big crush on her and the fact she was a huge Buckeye Fan made it even better! |
| Share an embarrassing moment or a prank that was played on someone else or on you...: | Witnessed Mr. Periat try and tackle Jeff Denny and Kirk Moellenberg while they were streaking his hallway. Jeff got busted and Kirk, literally hauled ass! |
Sharee Youssef
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Owner of Guardian Angels Home Health Care, Inc. |
| Comment: | I still live in Sylvania Ohio, I have two kids, my daughter Lami 26, is in the Air Force, and she is a Medic/Trauma EMT Specialist. My son Tyler 22, is a Senior at BGSU. I was divorced in 1992 from their dad (we are still great friends) and I have been married to Tom Spy for 17 years. He has two kids Sarah 26, is in the Air Force and Flies Jets. Garrett 30 has his own Tool Business. |
| What would your friends be the most surprised to know about you now?: | That I am as immature now as I was back in HS. Maybe more! |
| Share a favorite memory -- something that made you laugh or cry or feel pride in your school...share: | The last day of school as I left the building for what I thought was the last time..i cried! |
| Who was your favorite teacher?: | Mrs. Marlow - my third grade teacher at Maplewood. |
Jack Zamecnik
| Marital status: | Married |
|---|---|
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Senior Fellow Engineer |
| Comment: | I went to Purdue in chemical engineering and then on to University of Wisconsin - Madison for a PhD in chemical engineering. There I met my wife Ingrid while singing in the Slavic Choir club. So I do owe Chip Davis (8th grade) and his "special music programs" and Louis Davis for my love of music that resulted in my singing at UW and meeting my future wife. We've been married 24 years and have two kids - our daughter will be a senior at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland and our son will be a freshman at James Madison University. I'm a senior fellow engineer at the Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken SC - have worked there for 23 years. Definitely the research nerd. And, unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. |
| What would your friends be the most surprised to know about you now?: | They wouldn't be surprised at all - I'm still a science nerd. They might be surprised that I live in Georgia (I still am!). |
| Who was your favorite teacher?: | Louis Davis, of course. |