Ithaca High School Class Of 1961

Michael Ocello

Then

Now

Birthday:September 30, 1943 City:Ithaca State/Prov.:NY Occupation:CAD Operator Website:www.purevolume.com/russandmike Marital Status:Married No. of Children:3 What elementary school(s) did you attend?:South Hill What Junior high school did you attend?:Boynton Did you attend ninth grade at Boynton or IHS?:IHS What have you been doing for the past 50 years?:I have been a musician since 1957. I play guitar and compose music tracks on my computer music program. I had a song that appreared on the Billboard charts at #30 in the Netherlands. It was called "In My Face & On My Case." I have been part of many bands over the years, such as "After Hours," "Wayward Wind," and, my latest, "Russ & Mike." You can find me on the internet at purevolume.com/russandmike.

From Michael:I'm still working at the City of Ithaca Water & Sewer Department mainly to get medical insurance. I'm too busy to retire just yet.

Michael passed away on May 12, 2014. To read his obituary, click here.

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Barbara Oeser (Hoyt)

Then

Now

Birthday:April 10, 1943 City:Ithaca State/Prov.:NY Occupation:Retired Marital Status:Divorced No. of Children:3

From Barbara: I am really excited to be apart of our 50th reunion committee.We all hope to bring back as many classmates as we can, for one big fantastic weekend during the month of July 2011.

Barb passed away on November 29, 2022. To read her obituary, click here.

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Thomas Overbaugh

Then

Now

Birthday:August 13, 1943 City:Trumansburg State/Prov.:NY Occupation:Propane & Oil marketer Website:EhrhartPropane.com Marital Status:Married No. of Children:4 What elementary school(s) did you attend?:Fall Creek What Junior high school did you attend?:Boynton Did you attend ninth grade at Boynton or IHS?:Boynton What have you been doing for the past 50 years?:Life has been good to Kathleen (Denison) and me. We married in Aug 1963. After a stint of 13 years climbing the corporate ladder in the retail business (Century House wares) we elected to move back to Tompkins County from the Springfield, Ohio area in 1976. I spent over a year rehabbing a 150 year old farm house which we still live in.

In January1978 I went to work for Kathleen’s uncle Gerry Ehrhart, Ehrhart Propane with the plan to purchase the business. April 1984 we purchased the business, Sept 1984 we purchased Mor-Gas, and so began our interesting life in the propane business expanding thru acquisition and just plain hard work. In 2002 we talked our youngest son Bill into coming into the business and now have our oldest daughter, Tracy with us also. Our youngest daughter, Lydia is working on her PHD at the University of Texas – San Antonio and our oldest son; John works in the software business, Medi-City, in Salt Lake City. I have served my industry as President of the NYS Propane Gas Association and currently am on the National Propane Gas Association Board of Directors.

I joined Rotary International in 1984 and it too has been good to us. We both are deeply involved in the Rotary High School Youth Exchange Program on a local, national and international level. Currently I am the Chairman of our District’s Program for the second time (either I didn’t learn or they didn’t). I also serve on the Board of Directors for the North American Youth Exchange Network for the US, Canada and Mexico. It has brought to us many students who we are in contact with all over the world. It also has enabled us to make many friends (Rotarians) all over the world. As a result we have traveled to many different countries and stayed with our friends and former students, a very different experience than as a tourist. As a result, not only do we have our natural children and 5 grand sons but others who we love as much as our own and they too have provided us with grandchildren.

I have the best of two worlds, I work when I want and I am retired when I want and I still get a pay check each week. I still own that old Model A Ford I drove while in high school and have collected a few more cars since then. When traveling I am always looking for a car museum. I am still wondering what I want to do when I grow up!

From Thomas :Although I have atteneded all the previous reunions I am looking towards this one with more interest than the others because we all have had a lifetime of experiences that I hope we can share with each other.

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Karen Palmer (Compton)

Then

Birthday:May 23, 1944 City:Brooktondale State/Prov.:NY Occupation:Housewife Marital Status:Married No. of Children:4

From Karen:George and I have 9 Grandchilderen

Sue Parsons (Corcoran)

Then

Now

Birthday:March 30, 1943 City: Zionsville State/Prov.:IN Marital Status:Married No. of Children:2 What elementary school(s) did you attend?:West Hill What Junior high school did you attend?:Boynton Did you attend ninth grade at Boynton or IHS?:Boynton What have you been doing for the past 50 years?:Still procrastinating. But here goes:

Spurred by a sense of adventure and a deep desire to be far enough away that I had to do my own laundry, I headed off to the University of Rochester. Loved the whole liberal arts concept. Found IHS had prepared me well for all the many majors I sampled. Met Cork, a Renaissance man and ultimately my husband of 46 years (and counting). Spent a summer in Europe on the Experiment in International Living. Masters at University of Michigan. Another fine educational experience and season tickets for the Big House. Married. Taught. Added 2 daughters to the mix. Moved from Northeast to Midwest and back again as Cork’s career required. Opted to stay home and raise our girls. Baked bread. Never did master a really good rye loaf. Grew tomatoes in Michigan, Connecticut, Ohio and New Jersey. Got pretty good at handling the household emergencies that always seemed to occur when Cork was traveling. As the girls grew, I moved on to queen of the volunteers. Cut my organizational teeth on book fairs and ice cream socials. Graduated to Girl Scouts, Red Cross and local rec program. Taught a mess of Red Cross courses. Trained a couple of generations of lifeguards and swimming instructors. Ran trips for teens. Backpacking, canoeing, camping. Taught primitive camping skills to adults. Dabbled in politics and not-for-profit boards of directors. Lived in Singapore for several years. Saw a lot of places, exotic and mundane. Have boxes of photos yet to be dealt with. Currently living on a barrier island outside Charleston, South Carolina. No longer planting tomatoes and now content to stay stateside and photograph the adventures of our 9 grands, all of whom live in Indiana. And so the adventure continues…..

From Sue:

Terrific website! It’s been great fun to follow. Thanks to all who've worked so hard on this.

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Sandra Passman (Tesch)

Then

Now

Birthday:May 21, 1943 City:Georgetown State/Prov.:TX Occupation:Art Therapist/Retired Marital Status:Married No. of Children:2 What elementary school(s) did you attend?:Falls Church What Junior high school did you attend?:Boynton Did you attend ninth grade at Boynton or IHS?:HuH? Did we have a choice? What have you been doing for the past 50 years?:After graduating from Cornell I married Tony Zavadil III (CU '65), moved to NYC and worked while he finished CU Med school. Moved to Boston for his internship/residency, had daughter (Velouette). Moved to Chapel Hill, N.C. for his required service duty. Had son (Anthony P Zavadil IV) who was born on his great grandfather's and father's birthday July 3rd. I started work on my FA degree in Boston and continued in N.C. where I pursued fiber arts and started weaving. Moved to Washinton DC/ McLean Va. Where I got my FA and then an MA in Art Therapy at The G.W.U. As an artist I became known as Saundra. I sold as part of a Fiber Arts group, participated in many juried shows and won a few prizes. I produced a public TV show called Heels and Wheels about car shows/ clubs/ races. It was great fun as I got to get on the tracks and speed around at 125+MPH like I always wanted to do in Ithaca, but as you may recall my Dad was with Allstate Ins. and only let me drive a VW. I was a member of a Middle East Dance troupe which performed through out the DC area and for five years produced a 2hr. show in McLean, Va. divorced.

As an Art Therapist I worked with every age(3-104),and diagnosis including medical illnesses. As my thesis was on Art Therapy with dementias I lectured, taught, and had several positions in Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Centers (Marriott). In my private practice I was a certifed NLP practitioner, ran mandala meditation and guided imagry groups, as well as individual therapy. Met my current husband (Bob Tesch, a fifth generation Texan and U.T. grad) at an Alzheimer's convention in Chicago. Moved to Austin, married in 1996. Together we designed, built and ran an Assisted Living Center in Plano, Texas. I worked there until I came down with breast cancer. I had difficulty getting well. So when Bob asked me what I wanted to do I said, "Raise Llamas and get back to weaving." Got the first of my 15 Llamas, six longhorn steers,numerous dogs and cats and moved to an 85 acre "farm" and retired_HA! Our business format changed, got out of the Assisted Living Business, or so we thought! In Dec 2009 my mother had a TIA that left her unable to live in Florida alone so I brought her back to Texas with me to rehab. She is still with me and is the major focus of my days. I do what I can with limited short bursts of unfettered time. Mostly spinning Llama fiber, knitting, weaving, making art quilts and fabric art dolls

My daughter is a Pediatrician, and the director of the Pediatric Hospitalist division at Medical City, Dallas Tx. She has two children a girl and boy. Her son was born this year on her brother's,father's, and great-grandfather's birthday July 3rd. And I thought I did good! My son is in finance, lives in Soho NYC and dates like The Donald. Luckily there are no grand kids there! My orange blood husband has two daughters and four grandchildren here in Texas. So that gives us a total of six grands- 5 girls (one set of twins) and one boy. They all say that is it for them.

God willing I'll outlive my mother_ she'll be 95 this year_ and there will be more adventures ahead.

From Sandra:

Hope to make it to the reunion. Mom still has a brother living there, so if she is able to make the trip we'll be there. Good health to all of you, Sandra

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Christine Pease (Bizik)

Then

Now

Birthday:March 30, 1943 City:Indian Land State/Prov.:SC Occupation:Homemaker Marital Status:Married No. of Children:2 What elementary school(s) did you attend?:West Hill What Junior high school did you attend?:Boynton Did you attend ninth grade at Boynton or IHS?:Boynton What have you been doing for the past 50 years?:How does one condense 50 years of living, which could make a novel, into a short story? I will make an attempt! The first chapter begins after high school graduation. I attended Bethany College, in West Virginia, graduating with a B.S. in psychology in 1965. I became a social worker in WVA, and married Dave, my college sweetheart (we have just celebrated 45 years of wedded bliss!) Dave’s job (a real estate appraiser) required us to move frequently and in the next 6 years we moved 5 times (OH, IN, ME, and several areas in NY). During this time we had two sons and I became a full time mom.
In 1979 we moved to Guilderland, NY, outside of Albany, and actually got to stay for a while…over 31 years! Our oldest son, Jeff, went to Western New England College, married, and moved to Cary, NC. While employed by Lucent Tech., they lived in Switzerland for 3 years…visiting him was fun! 1987 found us heading to Ithaca as IC was the choice of schools for our son Michael. After his graduation from IC he married and moved to FL where he became a buyer for Champs Sports. They now live in Fresno, CA with our two granddaughters, ages 5 and 7.
In Sept. 2009 Dave retired and we moved to SC to escape the snow, taxes, and politics of good ol’ NYS. It was an overwhelming and challenging process to close that chapter and begin the next one in our lives. Throughout the years, besides being a wife and mom, I have always been very involved in church, school, and community activities. I have taught Bible Studies for adults, directed adult and youth choirs, taught Sunday school classes as well as being Sunday school superintendent, directed VBS and led adult small groups. In our new home this continues. I have a choir in our new church and a weekly Bible Study for 25 ladies in our new neighborhood. I try to squeeze some of my favorite pastimes such as gardening, birding, scrapbooking, reading and knitting into my free time. Dave is the president of our HOA (a full time job with no benefits but lots of problems) but manages to make time for a few days of golf each week (even in Jan. and Feb.!). Did I say we had retired? Perhaps that will be written about in a chapter yet to be lived!

From Christine:I won't be able to make the reunion this summer, but wish all that are attending a grand time.

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John Pete

Then

Now

Birthday:February 11, 1943 City:West Des Moines State/Prov.:IA Occupation:as of 5/1/11 Retired Marital Status:Married No. of Children:4 What elementary school(s) did you attend?:East Hill What Junior high school did you attend?:Boyton Did you attend ninth grade at Boynton or IHS?:Boyton What have you been doing for the past 50 years?:After graduation I spent a year working
in Ithaca. The following year I started college at Paul Smiths. After graduation with a hotel degree I planed on going to Florida State. During the summer Bill Sullivan and Art Smiths brother Bill convinced me to follow them to Kearney Nebraska.Sully had family ties at the food service where I put my degree to workas well as working towads my BS in business.After graduation I had an offer to retun to Ithaca and take part in the Morse Borg Warner Industrial Sales training program. I spent a year in training and was offered the supervisor/directors postion for the next two years. After transfering to sales I spent 2 years in Detroit and was movede to Iowa in 1972. I have been in the same industry my intire career.The last 22 with SKF in industrial bearing sales here in the midwest. Fre time has been spent biking all over the US. Best ride was self contained ride with Judi around lake Michigan. Still play a little golf
and get as much time in the gym as I can.Now that I'm retired plan to do more of the above.

From John:Judi and I have two each 3 boys and one girl.
As of last week we have 10 grand children.

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Ellen Peterson (Kirbert)

Then

Now

Birthday:December 27, 1943 City:Boynton Beach Occupation:retired Marital Status:Widowed No. of Children:2 What elementary school(s) did you attend?:Belle Sherman,Cayuga Heights, What Junior high school did you attend?:Boynton Did you attend ninth grade at Boynton or IHS?:Boynton What have you been doing for the past 50 years?:Graduated from Cornell Univ, in Home Ec Education, minor in Child Development, 1965.Married, taught one year at Commack High School, Long Island. Husband enlisted in the air force and we were sent to McCoy Airforce base (now Orlando International Airport). Taught two years, two years, moved to South Fla. where husband opened a Veterinary Clinic. Son, Todd was born 1972, divorced husband in 1973, continued to teach in Deerfield Beach. Married John Kirbert in 1977. John, Todd and I moved to Tallahassee, where I obtained my MS degree in Early Childhood Education. In 1978 was hired at the College of Boca Raton, (home of the Golden Girls)where I was the Director of the Early Childhood Education Program. Son RJ was born in 1980 in Boynton Beach. I continued to be Early Childhood Program Director until I retired last year. While working I also owned and operated Kradle to Kindergarten Book House, a bookstore for parents and teachers of pre-K. I enjoyed seeing everyone at the reunion. HUGS Ellen

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Millie Pirko (Triff)

Then

Now

Birthday:February 15, 1943 City:Hancock State/Prov.:NY Occupation:Retired Marital Status:Divorced No. of Children:3 What elementary school(s) did you attend?:East Hill Elementary What Junior high school did you attend?:Boynton Junior High Did you attend ninth grade at Boynton or IHS?:IHS What have you been doing for the past 50 years?:Updated July 2019: I live with four cats who keep me busy vacuuming up cat hair! After completing my studies at Katherine Gibbs School in NYC, I worked at Cornell for about 10 years, then I took 10+ years off to raise children and immerse myself in their activities, and then I returned to the work force. For the last several years I was the Registrar at a therapeutic boarding school for at risk teenagers. I have two daughters and one son and seven grandchildren that range in age from 7 years to 30 years. My oldest grandson is in the Army and served our country in Afghanistan before being stationed in Germany for three years. The school where I worked for over 14 years closed in August 2014 due to lack of funds. I am using this unplanned retirement to continue with my writing and to crochet.

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