William Rissler

Cathy Swisher (Kibler)

Kenny was simply the best!

RIP Brother. We will miss seeing you 9ish for ☕️

Cathy & Bruce

Roger McDonald

Gale Cady reminded us recently that "she was still here."  So are Dave Richards and me!  (Center of Effort vineyard, outside San Luis Obispo, early April 2026)

Diana Holmes (Brown)

Hello fellow classmates from NHS Class of 1968. 

The reunion committee met yesterday to discuss our 60th class reunion in two years and plan an informal get together later this year  In attendance: Kathy (Applegate) Danner, Linda (Miller) Brucker, Donetta (Phillips) Kirk, Bob White, Jeff Danforth, Linda Korns, Jan (Burch) Campbell, Larry Wilson, and Diana (Holmes) Brown. 

Preliminary plans for the reunion is to have a sit down dinner on October 3 or 17.  We are beginning by looking at Licking Springs Country Club.  For those of you who may not be familiar, it is the former Licking Springs Trout Club that was bought by Moundbuilders Country Club.  This will hopefully be a minimal charge for attendees,  

The plan for the informal get together is from late August to the end of October. We are tentatively thinking of October 24 @ 6PM.  Bob White is checking with the FOP and the Buckingham House.  Not sure what the food option will be until we have a location  it could be a variety of pizzas or attendees would pay for their own food.  We will advise more details as soon as we can  

Keep these dates in mind and, hopefully, everyone can plan ahead for one or both. Would really like to see as many classmates as possible. 

We will advise you as more details are available.

Further, if anyone knows of a classmate who passed away and is not listed on our In Memory page, please let me know. There are still several classmates that we do not have an obituary for them or a date of death. As it gets closer to reunion time, I will start a search on websites,  For the time being, I am relying on the Newark Advocate, local funeral homes and Licking County Area Obituaries on Facebook.  Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

The following is a list of those i know or have been advised who passed away (for further details see my forum post on 10/23/2023):

Robert Scott Brickels
James Henry Decker
Carolyn Clara Ford (Butcher)
Karen Sue Hurst
Philip Ivan Mick
Anita Ruth More (Butts)
Linda Lou Pierce (Frischen-Lee)
Roderick Neil Simpson

Nancy Baughman (Fetter)

Thank you, Diana, for all the hard work you and the committee are doing. Sounds like fun.

Nancy Baughman Fetter 

Patricia Gould (Ritchie)

Bruce Erwin passed away in Jackson, Ohio on March 3, 2024. He attended NHS for two years, graduating with the 1968 class. There is no obituary or death notice. He and I were married for a short period, but lost touch over the years. I know he spent most of his adulthood working for nonprofits in New England, returning to Ohio after retirement. 

Charles Price

Diana,

Thanks to all of you being so proactive in planning the 60th.

Thank you for your post  #992 on 6/18/26 at 2:58 PM.

It is not uncharastic for me to be confused.

The preliminary plans for the reunion is to have a sit down dinner on October 3 or 17.

My question is are you referring to a planning sit down dinner on Saturday October 3 or Saturday 17 2026? If you are referring to the 2028 60th Renunion year October 3 and 17 falls on a Tuesday as does the 24th at 6 PM. 

Thank you for helping with my confusion.

Charles (Chuck) Price

Diana Holmes (Brown)

Thank you Patricia (Gould) Ritchie for the info on Bruce Erwin.  If you can provide any other information or know where I can obtain motor information, it would be greatly appreciated.  The committee wants to assure that all deceased classmates are included in our memory page.

To Charles Price,  thanks for letting me know about the mistake.  Our meeting location ended up not being the best place to conduct a meeting (too much background noise) and catching up with classmates we haven't seen since 2023. Exact dates aren't definite at this time, but it should still be in October on a Saturday. I'll make sure that we update whenever we get together again.   

Larry Wilson

The 24th refers to Saturday, October 24th of this year.  We are trying to have an informal get together that Saturday evening, possibly at the FOP.  Plans for the 60th in 2028 are up in the air.  We are just beginning to talk about that.

Larry Wilson

Thank you, Pat, for your information on Bruce Erwin.  I will make sure we post your information on our "In Memory" section.  May Bruce rest in peace and may his family and friends be comforted.

Bruce Erwin

Deceased March 3, 2024

Larry Wilson

Diana Holmes (Brown) sent me an obituary notice on Willard Dillon.  May Will rest in peace and may his family and friends be comforted.

Willard Eugene Dillon

August 9, 1948 - February 2, 2025

Willard E. Dillon, Jr., passed away peacefully on February 2, 2025, in Virginia at the age of 76. Born on August 9, 1948, in Ohio, he lived a life marked by hard work, loyalty, and love for his family. Willard was preceded in death by his father, Willard E. Dillon, Sr., his mother, Mildred Lake, his brother, David Dillon, and his sister, Dora Quick. He is survived by his brother Steve Dillon, his loving children Tiffany Dillon Griffin, and Willard Dillon, III, his five cherished grandchildren (Emilee, Allison, Reef, Bruce, Little Will), and two great-grandchildren (Cloe and Leonardo). Willard is also remembered fondly by his nephews Dennis, Joshua, Zachary, Taylor and Matthew.

Willard proudly served in the Army and fought in the Vietnam war. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal. After completing his Army obligations, he built a respected career as a skilled machinist at Norshipco in Norfolk, VA, where he served with dedication and integrity repairing many of the largest military ships and sea vessels in the United States. His skills and commitment to excellence led him to a prestigious appointment to refurbish the USS Sequoia (former Presidential Yacht), a testament to his professional capabilities and trustworthiness.

Beyond his work at the shipyard, Willard was a passionate woodworker, who built two personal garages from the ground up. Above all, Willard cherished the time spent with his children and grandchildren, who brought immense joy and laughter into his life. He had a love for the ocean, and would often take his son, Will, surfing. He greatly enjoyed going out to eat with his daughter, Tiffany, and sightseeing around the Hampton Roads area.

Though he will be deeply missed, Willard’s spirit lives on in the hearts of those who knew him. His life serves as a reminder of the enduring power of love, hard work, and the joy found in everyday moments.

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Willard, please visit our Tree Store.

Larry Wilson

Diana Holmes (Brown) has found through several sources that Linda Lou Pierce (Frischen-Lee) passed away in 2023.  As we discover more details, we will post them here.  May Linda rest in peace and may her family and friends be comforted.

Linda Pierce (Frischen-Lee)

April 7, 1950 - March 12, 2023

Margaret Freytag (Stewart)

I so appreciate all the work all of you do to keep this class of 1968 message forum going and also for all the work you do for the reunion.  I had some catch up to do reading the site.  My husband Bill had a massive stroke in early May of 2024, and after six weeks of hospitals he was sent home but he had no use of his right arm, had lost cognitive skills to a large degree, could walk with help a tiny bit at first, could not swallow without horrible choking and consequently could only eat totally pureed food plus other health issues.  I cared for him at home which I would have been unable to do, but could because my oldest son lives here and helped me.  Bill then developed further problems and ended up bedridden and on hospice in our home which means a weekly nurse visit, twice a week bed/bath tech and a social worker for me. My son and I did everything else.   Bill passed away last September.  I miss him oh so much.  During this time, multiple house, yard and financial mysteries (Bill could not talk and had all that cognitive damage), arose and I was clueless on handling a lot of it and had to find an accountant and lawyer, and I've been overwhelmed with it all and still have to fix a lot of those.  But, I do plan, God willing, to attend the next reunion.  There is an ever so slight chance that I could be in Ohio late this October too, but that is slight.  My granddaughter starts college this August at Cedaraville University in Cedarville, Ohio which is just east of Dayton and I might go there to see her flying in and out of Columbus, but that is very iffy, but still a slight chance. With God's help, I'm working my way through all of this.

Deborah Miller (Pintz)

Margaret, I am so sorry you are going through all this. My husband is disabled with Amyloidosis and ATTRCM.  It is a daily struggle to care for him, but when you love someone that's what you do.  You are so right that it is only with God's help that we get through these rough times.  I will keep you in my prayers. 

Larry Wilson

Margaret, Deborah, and all of our classmates who are dealing with any kind of issues, especially from old age (sorry -  but we are getting old), may we keep one another in prayer, and may we give life all the gusto we can for as long as we can.  Hope to see everyone in October and looking forward to our 60th reunion in 2028.

Kathy Applegate (Danner)

Margaret,

My prayers go out to you.  You sound like a very strong person  but I can understand how overwhelming and tiring the past couple of years have been.  No matter how difficult the situation,  you are now dealing with grief loss, and sadness.  My husband, Ed, had a stroke in 2017 and then a heart attack in 2020.  He was so athletic and healthy, it was difficult to come to terms with it.   It is a miracle that he survived both and  with making some modifications to our lifestyle, we have survived and are pretty much thriving.  A day never goes by that I am not thankful for each day that we have together.  I pray for peace and comfort for you and your family.   You are blessed that you have a dedicated son!

We are working to put together an informal get together in the fall for our class and will be able to firm up date and location very soon.   We will begin working on our big 60th reunion next year and be in a position to announce date and location at least a year in advance so it will give all our classmates time to plan to attend..  We are hoping to have a strong turnout.

Diana Holmes (Brown)

Our reunion committee met yesterday to finalize the informal get-together on October 24 from 6PM to 10PM @ the FOP Lodge, 255 S 6th St.  There will be pizza, snacks and drinks. Each attendee will receive one free drink ticket. The cost to attend will be $5/person. Also, the informal get-together will be open to all NHS classmates, regardless of year, and a guest.  All reservations must be paid in advance by October 1, 2026.  There will be no admittance at the door the night of the event. We will provide information for paying on-line or addresss to mail checks. Further details will be provided after our next meeting in August.

Larry Wilson

Information and registration are in the left panel under "58th Class Reunion".  Address is there for mailed checks after you sign in.

Roger McDonald

David Richards died earlier today at his home in San Luis Obispo, California.  Prostate cancer had spread into his bone marrow and progressed rapidly.  My wife and I had seen him in April; he was in good spirits.  (See #991.)  I thought he had much more time.

Dave was my best friend for nearly 64 years, since 7th grade at Wilson.  Those of you who knew him, know what a class act he was:  After all, he was "most likely to succeed."  Our class has lost one of its best and brightest.

Larry Wilson

Thank you, Roger, for your information about David Richards.  I will post his obituary as soon as I receive more information about him.  May David rest in peace and may his family and friends be comforted.

Nancy Baughman (Fetter)

I am sorry to hear of David's passing.  May he rest in peace.  

Roger, accept my sympathies for the loss of your best friend.

Larry Wilson

I found David's obituary when I Googled the information. Rest in peace, David.

David Richards Obituary

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Reis Family Mortuary and Crematory - San Luis Obispo on Jul. 23, 2026.

David H. Richards

Passed away on July 16th, 2026

Internment in Parkfield, CA. will be scheduled at a future date to be determined. David had many friends and circles of friends in the community and would be honored that they gather on their own and reminisce, share stories, and laugh.

Donations in David's honor may be made to SLOMA(San Luis Obispo Museum of Art), Local NPR station KCBX, or a charity of your choice.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Your friends and peers at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art will forever miss your energetic support and passion! There will never be anyone quite like you beloved David!

Roger McDonald

Larry et al.:  David Richards' "official" obituary may be found at the Reis Family Mortuary website.  I had some technical glitch trying to post it here.  You may have better luck.  

Thanks, Roger

Diana Holmes (Brown)

Larry Wilson

Thank you, Roger and Diana, for your help on David's obituary.  I guess I should proof read the material better. I didn't notice the mispelling of "interment."  I guess we can laugh along with David at his "internment."  I have updated his obituary in the "In Memory" section.  Rest in peace, David.