Then & Now

This section of our website allows you to tell us what the heck you've been doing the past 50 years and add any other comments you would like.  Please enter your profile and you can come back to the site at anytime to change it.  You will need a current digital or scanned photo of yourself to upload to our site.  If you are computer-challenged in this respect, perhaps you can seek help from someone who is more informed on this, or call your local Kinko's or office supply store for help.  If none of that works, just contact us at >>blackshirts1961@yahoo.com<< and we are pleased to help.  You will also need some narrative on what has happened in your life since graduation.  So please ADD YOUR PROFILE below!  It will probably take at least one day before your information is posted and once it is, you may edit it at any time.

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MAKE SURE TO WRITE DOWN YOUR USER NAME AND PASSWORD WHEN YOU ENTER YOUR PROFILE SO YOU CAN COME BACK TO CHANGE IT AT ANY TIME AND USE FEATURES ON OUR WEBSITE.  ENTERING YOUR EMAIL INTO YOUR PROFILE IS IMPORTANT.  (Your email address is not visible to those viewing your profile.  When they send you a message with "Send This Person A Message", their message is automatically forwarded to the private email address you used when you entered your profile.)
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You do NOT have to enter a picture from your high school years (the "then" picture).  We have it and will add it to your profile once you have entered your information and "now" photo, and saved it.

Kathleen Rather (Rumisek)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 3
Occupation: retired
Comment: "Awesome" you guys found me.  But, what a wakeup call - 50 years already!





Have there been reunions since the 10th?  This is the first notification I've received since our tenth class reunion.  I am definitely planning on being at this one.





My life, briefly:  moved to Texas July 5, 1976.  My husband had a job offer and quite honestly we were tired of the winters in Wisconsin, so it wasn't too difficult to move.  Spent the first year in the Austin area, then Corpus Christi for 7 years, then to San Antonio for the last 27 years.  We live in the Hill Country and love it.





After graduation I worked for Miller Brewing Company; married; started a family.  Upon moving to Texas, I worked for my husband in Corpus Christi.  Living in San Antonio, I was the Marketing Director for a retirement community.  After leaving that position, I did substitute teaching at Ft. Sam Houston Elementary School and realized I missed my calling.  I loved it!  I stay at home now, ( Retired?) there's not enough time in the day to get things done!





My husband, Jack, is still actively employed, but, we do manage to do some traveling.  Great times are spent with our 3 children and 7 grandchildren (one more is on the way I am proud to announce).





Family and friends stilll reside in Wisconsin (New Berlin, Waukesha, Pewaukee, Hartland, Oconomowoc and Milwaukee areas), so we do get back often.





Looking forward to seeing as many classmates as possible in August 2011.





You've set up an awesome website.  Thank you. It brings back many memories.

Mary Rogalski (Montgomery)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Retired
Comment: I attended UW Madison for several fun years, spent a couple summers in San Francisco and Denver, before marrying John 43 years ago. We have lived in Decatur, IL, Marshall, MN, and Tomah, WI, and now are enjoying our home on a golf course at Lake Arrowhead.





We are blessed to have two wonderful sons and two equally wonderful daughters-in-law. Mike and Shari live in Eden Prairie, MN with our two grandsons, 6 and 3 years old, either of which could easily hit the winning home run in the 2030 World Series. Joe and Liz were married last September and are living in Sydney , AU, hopefully only for two years.





I have enjoyed mini-careers in real estate and retailing, and have been actively involved in politics and the pro-life movement.





Currently I am interested in gardening, genealogy, buying and selling good junque on eBay and sitting on the deck watching the Bittersweet grow.





It would be great to see more Zion Grade School grads at the reunion!-- Connie, please email me.





Thanks to the committee for all your work over the years!!!

James Russell

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 5
Occupation: Teacher-Retired
Comment: Note from your Website Administrator: James passed away May, 2019, and is listed in our “In Memoriam” section.  We are leaving the picture/profile he listed with us as a tribute to him.

Pamela Ryall (Mansur)

Then Then
Marital status: Married
Occupation: Retired med. tech.
Comment: I attended LaCrosse State majoring in medical technology.  I then worked at Waukesha hospital and then West Allis for many years, mostly in hematology.  I sat at a microscope a lot and of course then we never heard of ergonomics so ended up with neck and back trouble. I had 2 operations and happily retired. I married John Ryall, a dentist, practicing in Burlington, Wi.  We have always been attracted to water, first living on the river in Waterford and then and still on Lake Beulah, East Troy. We have no children but sure do spoil our dog. We have been campers and fishermen and love kayaking. I wear a back brace so do not do a graceful job of getting in or out but I make it.  We have a Klepper fold boat so take it along on vacations. In it we have caught everything from sharks to chinook to blue gills. We recently bought roughing it property in Mo. I love flowers and gardening and have mastered planting and weeding laying on my side. I raise and tag monarch butterflies, and recently cecropia moths. The cecropias were a challenge as they mate at 2-3 a.m. and to keep the female is tough.  She then can lay up to 200 eggs.  The caterpillars eat for almost 3 months and get huge so require lots of food.  I had a monarch that I had tagged recovered in Mexico. I volunteer with handicapped youth and adults and treasure my friendships with these friends.

Nancy Sampson (Schuetze)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Professor of Management
Comment: What an accomplished group of classmates!  Fifty years must allow for that.  Most those years have found me "in" school, primarily at the University of Denver as a student and a faculty member.  Much of my service relates to university committees and to my role as the University's Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA.  I tell people that my husband (Emory) has allowed me to have the best paid hobby in the world for a career.  Working with young adults gives me energy.





Our children have taught us many things, including that, regardelss of ages, they are always our children.  Our daughter is a talented vocalist and artist.  Our son is an outdoorsman teaching others to flyfish, whitewater raft, and snowboard in Montana.





The "now" picture was taken during the 2010 Athletics Hall of Fame Induction as I thanked everyone in attendance (including Jean Oettinger) for being PIONEERS on that special recognition for me. 





It is regretable that many of those graduating from high school these days did not experience the dedicated teachers and administrators we had---50 years ago.

Neal Sanders

Then Then
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Retired
Comment: In the fall of 1961, I enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, Madison where I was fortunate enough to earn my B.S. degree in agriculture in four years.  My social highlight was attending the 1963 Rose Bowl game where Ron Vanderkelen and the Wisconsn Badgers were almost able to pull a fourth quarter victory against Southern Cal.





During the spring of 1965, with my college deferment about to end, I chose to enlist in the US army.  I did this after I was guaranteed by the army the opportunity to attend Officer Candidate School.  I completed OCS at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in July 1966 and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the field artillery.  Immediately after receiving my commission, I went to airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia and then was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina where I served for a year.  Like all other junior army officers at that time, I was then deployed to Vietnam in 1967 where I served for a year with the 25th Infantry Division with a field artillery battery in the southern part of the country.  After being separated from active duty, I served three years in the active reserves.





After leaving active military duty in 1968, I tried my hand at dairy farming.  It didn't take me long to discover the long days of farming did not mesh well with equally long nights partying on Milwaukee's east side.  In 1969, I landed a job with the City of Milwaukee as a dairy sanitarian.  Unfortunately, this job was eliminated at the end of 1971 when the city turned its dairy program over to the State of Wisconsin.  This turn of events led to me getting a job with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture in 1972 as a food and dairy sanitarian.  I remained in this capacity, working primarily in southeastern Wisconsin, for over twenty years.  In 1992, I took the job of Food Compliance Chief for the department and remained in this capacity until I retired in May of 2000 after almost twenty-nine years of state service.





My wife, Joan, and I were married in 1972.  Joan was a public school teacher for thirty-five years with thirty-three of them in the Menomonee Falls school district.  She retired in 1999.  We bought our first home in Menomonee Falls in 1974 and have lived there ever since.  We have two children, ages 37 and 33.  Our son, Steven, is a police sergeant with the Menomonee Falls police department.  He and his wife, Therese, have two children - Ava, who is 6 and Austin, who is 3.  Our daughter, Allison, works as a research scientist for a biotech company in Madison.





Joan and I are enjoying retirement.  Since retiring, we try to take an extended trip every spring and fall.  In addition to travels in the United States, including Alaska, we have been to Canada, England, France and Italy.  This fall we are going to Ireland and in 2012 we are traveling to Australia, New Zealand and fiji.  I spend a lot of time at our eighty acres of woods in Marinette County improving the property and hunting.

Barbara Scherr (Kramas)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 3
Occupation: retired
Comment: After graduation went to cosmetology school , got married  had 3 sons  have 6 grandkids youngest is 20  moved from Wis  to Florida in 1981 to work at Walt Disney World which I did for 9 years . Married 58 years and just enjoying retirement.  We try to come back to Wis for the summer. 

Sandy Schley (Voigt)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: Dental Hygienist
Comment:

Sandy Voigt Schley



After graduating from South, I attended the University of Minnesota,earning a degree in Dental



 Hygiene,a profession I still practice today. In 1964 I married “Tec” Carstenn, WHS ’60.



We spent most of our married life in Arlington Heights, Ill raising 2 wonderful daughters.



Our oldest, Carey, husband Greg Lambert and children Alex 20 and Victoria 18, live in



 Franktown, Colorado.



 Our youngest, Anne, husband James Breeden and girls Madeline 8 and Tess 6 reside in



 Washington DC.



After being widowed in 1986,I reconnected with Bill Schley, WHS ’62,marrying him in 1989 and



 then moved back to Wisconsin.



Besides my work, I enjoy Tennis and Golf. I like to cook, read, travel and volunteer.



I’m looking forward to our 50th reunion.

Bonnie Schmitt (Buege)

Then Then
Now Now
Marital status: Married
Occupation: Retired Registered nurse/Certified OR
Comment: Thanks Jack for all of your hard work to put this together for us, it's wonderful.  I love the music!





The past 50 yrs. have been a whirl wind of hard work, fun and travel. Remember when our parent's would say "Time goes faster when you are older" Boy Does It!





After high school I went to Methodist-Kahler School of nursing in Rochester, MN.


I worked at the Mayo CLinic for a while, then moved to the cities for a year or two; then back to good ole Wisconsin.


I  retired in 1987, out of the VA hospital where I was responsible for heart, orthopedics, and inservice education.


We continue to travel the world and are still doing it. We've been on all seven continents.





Note from your Website Administrator: Bonnie passed away January, 2022, and is listed in our “In Memoriam” section. We are leaving the picture/profile she listed with us as a tribute to her.  Thank you, Bonnie, for your many years on the reunion committee.

Bonnie Schwalbach (Barney)

Then Then
Marital status: Married
Children: 2
Occupation: customer service
Comment: Wow! The journey continues. What fun to be on the committee and get in touch with people or attempt to locate them.





I'm still working for a sugar broker and actually enjoy it. My husband Jim is retired and enjoying his free time.





We have 2 girls-Darcey and Brian who live in Waukesha and Kari and Frank who live in Winchester, Virginia.  They also have our only grandson Brendan who will soon be 2 yrs. old. Great finally being a grandma but difficult due to distance between us.





Hope to reconnect with many old friends in August.


Till later, Bonnie