Dennis Hopper:
CLASS OF 1966
Beloit Memorial High SchoolClass of 1966
Beloit, WI
Lincoln Middle SchoolClass of 1966
Beloit, WI
Aldrich Middle SchoolClass of 1963
Beloit, WI
Converse Elementary SchoolClass of 1960
Beloit, WI
Royce Elementary SchoolClass of 1957
Beloit, WI
Dennis's Story
After graduation I married my sweet-heart, Linda Nichols, a 1966 classmate. We have grown old together, and I am very fortunate to have Linda sharing her life with me. Believe it or not .. we finish each other's sentences, and we actually know what each other is thinking. That really saves a lot of talking!!!
Linda and I have raised two beautiful daughters, and we have enjoyed lots of interesting experiences in doing so.
Where has the time gone? Our kids are raised, we are now retired, and we have two fantastic grandsons growing up even faster than our girls did!.
We were blessed with careers that allowed us to raise, parent, and educate our kids so they could end up being successful, happy and healthy citizens.
Over the years we have been able to thoroughly enjoy our lives. We have no regrets. At least I do not.
Now we are grandparents way beyond the 'nana and papa' years. Yes, being a grandparent means we are much, much older than we were on graduation day back in 1966. It also means we are experiencing another, truly great chapter in our life's journey.
Being honest, life has not always been that wonderful bed of roses. There have been many bumps in the road to deal with, and adversity to overcome. I am sure we are not unique in having those types of life experiences.
Sadly, we have seen others who were very important to pass on. We have lost our grandparents, our parents, our aunts and uncles, two of our siblings, two of our dear pets who for 28 contiguous years were family members, and many very close friends. We miss them all.
And we must always remember, and never forget, all of our 1966 classmates who have passed on before us.
We have seen many interesting places around the country, and even some places outside of the country - which were all very memorable. That includes the...Expand for more
opportunities we had to live in several enjoyable communities, both here in Wisconsin, and in Iowa. For nearly 15 years we lived in Stoughton -- near Madison, WI. Two years ago we retired, ending our active work careers.
Since our retirement we returned to Beloit to live out our golden years closer to family and old friends (key word is OLD), near former school classmates that stayed in the Beloit area, and with new neighbors and new friends.
The icing on the cake is that our grandsons are now only 45 minutes way ( 35 minutes if I go 90mph). We get to see them nearly any time we choose. That is really cool.
One final thought: Linda and I believe it was a very special thing growing up in Beloit, WI. Especially with all of the Beloit community opportunities that were available to us in our younger days; The Second Congregational Church, and Beloit's great public school system and the entire Beloit community -- all were influenced by so many quality people (teachers, coaches, community leaders, scout leaders, role models, spiritual teachers, loving neighbors, employers, our fellow classmates, family and friends), who all helped mold us into good - productive citizens.
Thanks to all of those great people and leaders, plus our parents and family, we were prepared to be able parents when our kids came along. (AND we include George Stankowicz, owner of the Pop House, in that group of leaders who kept so many of the Beloit community teenagers off the streets, and out of serious trouble during our high school years.)
I hope everyone reading our story appreciates what we ALL had and truly enjoyed as kids living in Beloit, WI and the good fortune we had from graduating from BMHS back in 1966.
AND, Linda and I believe that WE were a part of the GREATEST CLASS that ever hallowed the halls of BMHS!
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