John Armstrong:  

Class of 1960 Reconnect 2010. 50 years to yesterday. This is my "yes" to exploring the pathways between 14th Street in San Jose and Wildhorse Creek near Athena, Oregon¿from the Santa Clara Valley to the Blue Mountains. I started the Classmates timeline, but may not add much detail. I am more inclined to scribble on this keyboard. After graduation, --with warm memories of Sadie Hawkins, the Big Bone, a 1957 Ford, Damn Yankees-- on a bit of a whim (actually a bit lost), I applied for Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon instead of SJS. Graduated in 1964 as Senior Class President and Class Speaker, but but unsure of my next step! So I applied for a Ford Foundation grant to earn a Master's in Education. I taught English at McMinnville for a year, then at Gresham, OR where I also coached swimming, speech, and skiing. Married Sharon Hassman in 1965 (Divorced in 1974). Amy Suzanne was born in 1971. A 1996 OSU graduate, she is now a wonderfully warm and wise wife of Bart, mother of Luke and Drew, and astute small business owner (wholesale nursery) in Hillsboro, Oregon. I left teaching in 1973 to sell insurance and mutual funds with IDS through 1974. Accepted an offer to manage the home office of Oregon Trail S & L and to serve as HR Director until 1977. In 1974 as a member of the Board of Directors of the Sandy, OR Chamber of Commerce I envisioned and founded the Sandy Mountain Festival, an arts, crafts, and music festival set in a beautiful park halfway between Portland and Mt. Hood. It thrives today. Married Pamela Ferriera in 1976. (Divorced in 1990--still trying to learn the lessons of married life!) John Lige, born in 1981 graduated from OSU in 2006, married Lisa (nurse) in 2008 and completes his Masters through George Fox College in May 2010. In the 1960s and 70s all of my immediate family, following different paths, established homes from Medford to Portland. An unexpected opportunity developed in 1977: I was offered a partnership and management responsibilities in Oregon's largest mortuary--definitely not a career on my list! Nevertheless, I took the challenge. It may be difficult to understand why this decision was one of my best: I value the resulting personal and professional devel...Expand for more