Lori Brayton:
CLASS OF 1979
Parsippany High SchoolClass of 1979
Parsippany, NJ
Stevens Institute of TechnologyClass of 1986
Hoboken, NJ
Lori's Story
As for my friends remembering me I was not a social bug, I lacked self-esteem and confidence. As a kid since I lived behind the football field I always watched the cheerleader and twirlers and I taught myself to twirl and I made the squad and I was co-captain of the twirling squad. My friends I hung out with in high school I am still in touch with Jeanne Becker, Rhonda Ruccio, Cheryl Schoeder - in the last couple of years I lost touch with Lori Thiel but got back in touch with Patty Aperawic and Debbie Barbagallo(who I need to find again). I know my Mom still heard from Lydia DeVito from time to time. As for my career I worked hard and obtained my career aspirations. I always wanted to go to college and be successful where I could support and live on my own when I grew up - and I did it. My father thought that was wrong, I should get married and have kids at the age of 19 like my Mom did. As it turns out, they were wrong. Not to long after graduation I was hired as a Key Punch Operator at Bell Labs and was exposed to a very different world and great people. I worked there through all the years and changes from Bell Labs in Whippany -> Lucent and then I was outsourced to IBM. My first 4 years at Bell Labs I worked second shift in the computer center and went to college and got my degree in engineering. At the age of 19 moved out and lived in Hackettstown for many years then moved down to Boonton - was SICK OF THE 80 EAST COMMUTEe and lived on my own until I met my husbandTom in 1993. I would try to live as many summers as I could down the shore and still do. My most favorite thing to relax is to sit in the sun and enjoy the sun, sand and surf. I love to swim in the ocean and body surf. The wildest thing I ever did in high school - drink beer while play football at BK, Richie Piva would drive up with his car and we would open the doors he would burn rubber and fill the entire inside with smoke.
Bleacher Parties..... My biggest suprise is that I married someone from Iowa but then again if I go back and look back at past relationships many of my friends/boyfriends where from the midwest not NJ. The other biggest surprise was I had twins until my son Nicolaus passed away in 8/2000 from Ecoli H:157 his sister Samamtha is now 9 and I have another son Jonathan who is 13. I am sure everyone remembers a family in Parsippany who lost their son to Ecoli from bad hamburger meet from Karl Heimer's in Lake Hiawatha - well that was me.
If I could improve my home I would love to have my laun...Expand for more
dry room upstairs on the 2nd floor otherwise now that my kids are older 5 bedrooms is way too many and would love to downsize but it's still more cost effective to stay here then to move - we pay for our kids to attend private schools it is more cost effective then moving. My husband Tom and I have a dream plan that one day since we own property on the west coast of Costa Rica is to finish building our home there, sell our home here and own a townhome down the Jersey Shore. From November -> June we live in Costa Rica and come back to NJ for the summer and fall during their rain season. As a Parent the one thing I have learned is how fast upi can lose a child and have them taken away from you. I have learned to be truley happy you need to be happy with yourself and who you are and simple things in life like the sun hitting your face, the pretty colors of the leaves changing colors. With who you are with and friends are all part of being happy but material things and th ego of today's world are not the things that you should rely on to be truley.
My current age is 47, when I was 12 I thought people my age now would be very old and I was so completely WRONG!
My first crush was John Baranowski - I have no idea I don't think he even knew who I was. Well as for how I dress my favorite store is Talbots, Nordstroms or Bloomingdales. I am not into dressing very classic and stylish, I like the classics. My hair has turned blonder as I have gotten older, granted it turned golden color in the sun but since I started turning gray it normally stays that golden color but gets really bleached blonde in the summer. If I got on do one thing over I wish I was who I am today when I was 17. In 10 years I hope to be fully retired and spending my winters in Costa rica and summer/fall at the Jersey Shore and I will get there by being a smart saver, my husband is a very smart business man who is a Managing Director at JP Morgan Chase and is starting his own company in Costa Rica. My oldest and dearest friend is Jeanne Becker Earl we met back in grade school and we have been with each other through everything even living thousands of miles apart.
As for how I have changed - I have gained my self-esteem and confidance and even though I have gained a few pounds I am still happy with "who I am" and I am not afraid to be social and get to know people - I am not shy like I was in high school. I also do not judge people by how they look or material things I get to know people and for who they are inside.
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