Jo Lanzrath's message:

I want to thank the Class of '55 for the lovely anthurium plant that was displayed at my mother's funeral - it was so touching to see "Class of '55" on the card and such a generous gesture. I really appreciated it. And thanks to all the classmates who honored my mother by attending the viewing and funeral.

It was a hard trip to make, but even in death, my mother took care of us: we were able to make the trip to Kansas before this big snow storm struck here in Colorado!

Gratefully,
Jo

Josephine Lanzrath's mother, Ella Ratzlaff, passed away Thursday, January 26 at the age of 99.

ROSE HILL: Ratzlaff, Ella M., age 99, passed away Thursday, January 26, 2012. Visitation 1-8 pm Monday with family present 6-8 pm at Smith Mortuary, 1415 N. Rock Road, Derby. Funeral service 10 am Tuesday at Rose Hill United Methodist Church, 19551 SW Butler Rd., Rose Hill. Interment 2 pm Tuesday at Hoffnungsau Cemetery, Inman, KS. Ella was born March 4, 1912 to Henry and Kathryn (Williams) Ratzlaff in Buhler, KS. She married Herman J. Ratzlaff February 4, 1934 and unto this union 7 children were born.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; son, Dale Ratzlaff; granddaughter, Amber Ratzlaff; sisters, Agnes Hopkins and Justina Schroeder; brother, Abe Ratzlaff.

Ella is survived by her children, Leila (Richard) Hinderliter, Lynn (Judi) Ratzlaff, Josephine (Bernie) Lanzrath, John (Donna) Ratzlaff, Roger (Judy) Ratzlaff and Greg (Nancy) Ratzlaff; 17 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great grandchildren; sister, Evelyn Plett. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the church. www.smithfamilymortuaries.com

Our condolences go out to Jo and her family. Read More...

Sharon Bacon sent us the following yesterday:

"Wayne is in Wesley Hospital. He went in on Tuesday morning with a high fever. They think he has pneumonia in one lung, also a bad urinary tract infection. He was doing better today. They started him on high powered IV antibiotics, but had to change to oral medication today, as he kept pulling out the IV's. He says he does not remember pulling them out. He has never done that before. We are waiting on the urologist to give us his opinion and or treatment. Hopefully Wayne will be going back to the nursing facility soon."

We are all pulling for Wayne to overcome this latest challenge. Thank you Sharon for keeping us informed.

Jim says things are looking very good out his way. Check his Graduate Page for details.

Jo Lanzrath is in the process of moving from California to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Her new address and email is listed on her Graduate Page, but she will not be on-line until around Thanksgiving.

Lloyd "Bill" William Dunnell (August 22, 1915 - June 8, 2011)

"UDALL Dunnell, Lloyd William "Bill", age 95, died Wednesday, June 8, 2011. Visitation 9-10 am with funeral service at 10 am Thursday, June 16, Senter-Smith Mortuary, 501 SE Louis Blvd., Mulvane. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, John and Edna Dunnell; wife, Mary Dunnell; daughter-in-law, Ruth Dunnell; brothers, John, Howard, James and infant John R. Dunnell; sisters, Marie Owens, Jean Bielby and 2 infant sisters.

Survivors include: sons, Lloyd W. (Anna) Dunnell Jr of Winfield, KS and Jerry Dunnell of Fairbanks, AK; grandsons, Lloyd W. (Amy) Dunnell, III of Winfield, KS and Donny Dunnell of Fairbanks, AK; sisters, Gloria (J. Warren) Sickles of Winfield, KS, Virginia (Lawrence) Alley of Douglas, KS; sister-in-law, Margaret Dunnell of Peck, KS plus numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorials to Harry Hynes Hospice.

Our condolences go out to Bill and his family.

The annual Alumni Banquet was held Saturday, May 28, at the Rose Hill School and several class of '55 members were there. Attending the banquet were, Larry & Peggy Webster, Don & Charlene Davis, Larry & Ann Young, Jack Carr, Richard Pearson, James Walton, Ray & Cecilia Young and Marion Futhey.

After the meal some of them went to Marion's house for more visiting.

Around the table: Jack Carr, Don & Charlene Davis, Jim Walton, Richard Pearson, Larry & Ann Young, and Cecilia & Ray Young.

Josephine Lanzrath made a trip from California on May 12 to visit her family in Rose Hill. She was able to spend time with her mother, Ella Ratzlaff, along with her brothers John and Lynn. Ella turned 99 in March! Naturally the kids are planning a big celebration next March.

Jo also had time to see a few classmates during her brief stay. Read More...

Mr. Crouch fell last Tuesday, May 3, breaking his hip. It was a clean break which did not require pinning, or replacement, however, while in the hospital his heart rate dropped to 40, so they installed a pacemaker, quite successfully. He is now in a rehab facility in Topeka for an unidentified time. As we all know, recovery can be slow when you are 88, but we certainly hope he can bounce back from this mishap. Our thoughts are with him and Betty.

The picture shows L. C. and Richard Pearson during a visit last month.

North Alabama was hit hard by several tornadoes last Wednesday. The good news is Jack & Barbara Phillips are unscathed. The bad news is the damage is all around us and six people are confirmed dead in Arab just two miles from our home with many more killed around the state. Electric power was out for over five days from 2:45 pm Wednesday to 6:05 pm Monday, May 2. Read More...

Richard and Paula Pearson were in Topeka on business last week and had the opportunity to visit with former Superintendent L. C. Crouch, and his wife, Betty. They reside in Topeka and were very excited to have Rich & Paula stop by for a visit. They are in pretty good condition considering he is eighty-eight and she is almost eighty-five. They remember the class of '55 well and spoke highly of the class and of the Rose Hill community.

Mary Ann (Jones) Roger's funeral was held this morning and all of her Class of 1955 classmates that were able attended the service. The remainder were certainly there in spirit. Read More...

Mary Ann (Jones) Rogers lost her final battle Wednesday morning, April 20, 2011. Her funeral will be 10 AM Saturday, April 23, at Smith Mortuary in Derby. Our condolences go out to Ray and Mary's family. Read More...

Our former teacher, Cole Culver, died Tuesday, March 15, 2011, at the age of 92. Cole was loved by the students and provided all of us many great life lessons along with the required subjects. Rest in peace Mr. Culver. Read More...

Yesterday Richard and Marion visited with Bill in his St. Francis hospital room. He has been moved from ICU to a regular room while they continue to run tests. It appears the main problems are complications from out-of-control blood sugar levels. Infection is present in both hands and feet, but how severe is unknown at this time. We will update as we know more.

Since Richard and Marion were in that part of town they stopped by to see Wayne Bacon and found him to be very alert, witty, and in good spirits.

For the latest updates... Read More...

Friday morning (February 18) Bill was taken to Winfield Hospital by Marion Futhey. All we know at this time is he has an infection in the body which has affected his left foot the most. Since then Richard has reported that Bill was moved to St. Francis hospital in Wichita. We'll have another entry when more information is available. Get well soon Bill!

Thelma Ruth (Polly) Carr Bush, Jack's sister, has passed away at the age of 77. Our condolences go out to Jack and the family. Read More...

Jim Miller died of a massive heart attack on December 19. Our condolences go out to Elsie and the family. Read More...

This modern day video uses social media, web and mobile technology to tell the classical Christmas story of the birth of Jesus. Times sure have changed, but the message remains the same.

We have added the capability to make comments to each post on the news page, so try it out. This should work unless the SPAM robots start making entries. Time will tell. To make a comment click on the Comments link and you will see a message box where the entry can be made. At the moment there is a large gap between "Add New Comment" and the message box; we're working on the code. If you can't get it to work please let me know via the Contact page.

Dale "Doc" Carr, Jack's brother, has passed away at the age of 88. Our condolences go out to Jack and the family. Read More...

Well, high in the sky that is. For his recent birthday Dick's children gave him an antique airplane flight. That's a fine looking aircraft too, even if it is almost as old as Dick. I bet he was hoping for a nice, clear day too with no rain showers.

(Click the picture for a larger image.) Read More...

Jim has finished chemo and been given the green light by his doctor. Congratulations Jim, we are glad to hear about your recovery! Read more in the update on his Graduate Page.

Paula Pearson's dad, Paul E. Moore, died on July 11, 2010. Our condolences go out to Paula, Richard, and all the family. Classmates Larry & Ann Young, Marion Futhey, Dick Albright, and Don & Charlene Davis went to the funeral in Howard, Kansas. Read More...

The year 55 class reunion is now history and everyone who came had a fine time. For a summary check out the 2010 Reunion page. We have a few pictures, but would like to add more if anyone has some to share.

Marion Futhey and Dick Albright will have everything for supper on Friday night, so there is no need to bring anything. See the complete schedule on the Reunions Page.

The 55 year celebration is about a month away now and it is time to make reservations for the banquet. Check the Reunion Page for details. Sounds like an excellent turn-out in the making! See you there.

It's next month folks! Are there any additions or changes to the reunion page?

Jim recently had surgery and is recovering well. For more about his situation please read the update on his Graduate Page.

Chad S. Kingsley, Cecelia Young's 27 year old grandson has died from injuries sustained in a car wreck. Read More...

Dick Albright has made some corrections to his graduate page. It's mostly about the kids and grand kids status, but we like to see all these types of updates.

Juanita wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Read her Christmas letter to family and friends on her Graduate Page.

Six members of the class of '55 met last night to discuss a reunion for our 55th graduation anniversary. Marion Futhey, James Walton, Jack Carr, Dick Albright, Don Davis and Richard Pearson decided on May 28, 29, and 30 as the best dates. It will be similar to the 50th reunion and will include a catered meal at the senior center Friday night, the alumni banquet on Saturday night, and Sunday brunch. More details will be published as planning progresses.

We all have birthdays and some celebrate each one. Marion Futhey's kids and grand kids got together recently for his big day and here is the result.

They said I needed a stronger prescription. Is this really the latest thing in eyewear? Read More...

The Rose Hill Historical Society now has a web presence thanks to Daryl Futhey. And Marion is the treasurer. Jack Carr is also an active member. We now have a link to their web site on our Welcome page too. Check it out and support this worthwhile endeavor.

Marion Futhey has provided information about the upcoming celebration for Rose Hill High School.

The 100th Anniversary of Rose Hill High School's first graduating class; 1909 - 2009. Read More...

Some of the Class of 1955 members gathered on April 4 to help Juanita and Chuck Wiseman celebrate their 45th Wedding Anniversary. Read More...

Daryl Futhey, Marion's son, was recently featured on the Davis Moore Ford web site. He is a Ford Senior Master with over 20 years experience and was the Number One Ford Tech in the nation in 2007. Daryl is second from the left in the picture. Great work!

Dick Albright had a good day at an unnamed fishing hole near Piedmont yesterday. Between three anglers they caught 81 bass and crappie in three hours! Click on the picture for a better look. Hope they know a lot of ways to prepare fish.

Marion Futhey just provided us with the news that Dean Carlson died on August 13, 2007. His graduate page has been updated with what we know. Our belated condolences go out to his family.

Sharon sent a nice note with details of Wayne's move to another room in the same facility. He likes to have people drop by too. And for Sharon's words... Read More...

Today we unveiled the new, and hopefully improved, class web site. As you can see from the tabs above the News Blog is now integrated into the main site. The tabs provide all the navigation to the various categories of the site. The content is much the same as the previous site, however, the newer site should be more compatible with all the different types of browsers and computers. Please let Jack know if you encounter any difficulties or have suggestions for changes. The Contact page is the best way to send comments. We hope you enjoy the new layout!

No it was not Richard or Paula, but their sister-in-law, Jane Pearson, of Redding, CA. She and her 14 co-workers from the Shasta Lake Middle School are WINNERS of the $76 million California Lottery!!! Jane is a petite, brown-haired, big brown-eyed 60 something year old who has worked in the Special Education deptartment for many, many years. Each fall they pool their $104 contribution and play the same numbers every week. It's nice to know that real people do win.

Rich Pearson recently paid a visit to Wayne Bacon and found him to be in good spirits.

In her own words: "We are planning a trip to Wichita for a grand child's birthday. Charlie will be 4 years old on Valentine's Day. I am looking forward to seeing all the kids in Wichita again. We have plenty of family to visit. Twenty four people to be exact, just counting our immediate family."

Sounds like an opportunity for some of the class members to gather too. Keep us posted.

Juanita is on Facebook; you can join at this link. And it even persuaded Jack Phillips to sign up also. As Juanita says, "You're never too old for anything"!

Marilyn Van Deventer has a new email address: alwaysfeelingood@hotmail.com (which reflects her upbeat personality). She also reports that the economy in Las Vegas is having real difficulty.

Jo's report (with picture): I didn't see any classmates when we were in Kansas. We were there just a few days and spent the time doing things for Mom... Read More...

Richard Pearson visited Wayne Bacon on Tuesday, October 7th, and found him to be in good spirits. He was playing a game of solitaire when Rich arrived. (Thanks for the news Paula.)

From the lady herself: "We have been in Wichita (spent some time with Wayne) and Missouri. We got back home on the 12th. Catching up and resting up has been a struggle. This O' disease I have is cramping my style. But, I will not let it get me down. I'll be going back to surgery on the 28th of August. A hernia has developed above the incision from the surgery I had in January. It is big. I have to wear a belt. The doctors say it is the biggest one they have seen. Leave it up to me to have something silly and unusual to happen."

Sounds almost like a tropical storm forecast, but really it's about Jo and Bernie heading to Kansas later this month. They will be uniting members of the family to take a "five generation picture" at Rose Hill with Jo's mom! Must also be a great opportunity there for a mini class reunion.