Date: Fri Dec 28, 2001 11:16 pm Subject: Encina Update (huber/feast/memering/siblings/adventures/whats new) ENCINA ALUMNI, Margaret Shelton '62 is the sponsor of this week's update! I wasn't intending to send out an update this week but I thought some of you would appreciate an update on former math teacher Lou Huber. LOU HUBER Lou's daughter Michele Huber 77 wrote... "Dear Harlan, Dad is still in the Intermediate Care Unit Room 2023. The nurses cannot put phone calls through unless my brother Marty and I are there. Then you can speak with us if you'd like. Dad is not able to speak at this time as he suffered a Stroke on Tuesday which set him back big time. He can communicate by hand signals and groans. His recovery will depend on getting him stable and a lot of rehabilitation. He certainly is a fighter and we are praying for and with him everyday. He seems to have a very large extended family and friends. The YMCA, his church, his McDonald's buddies, the Encina crew, and several others. This is very supportive as we are struggling emotionally everyday praying for his recovery. It sounds like we will need to take some thumb tacks with us to post any cards coming to his room. We read them to him and he understands what we say. I believe that he needs support and encouragement now and in the months to come during his recovery. So I hope the Encina alumni will continue to send notes. Take Care Sincerely Michele and Marty" Florence Kunder forwarded me these additional messages she received from Lou's children. I'm not up to editting such sensitive material and I hope Lou and his children don't mind me sharing these messages with you. "I'm forwarding messages Michele and Marty sent to the family from Dec 20-23. The situation is grave, and they are doing a magnificent job of coping, and of giving love and support to Lou. Michael and Mark will be going to Anchorage to relieve Michele and Marty in the next few weeks. You can edit and/or forward as you feel appropriate. Florene Kunder fkunder@sacog.org " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Subject: Dad's condition, Dec 20th. Hi Michael, We couldn't call because it's a little late but here's what we know. Dad, prior to me and Michele leaving Sacto, had been recovering from his heart attack nicely. The thought was a full recovery within monthes. The day before we arrived he suffered a bad stroke, he probably has a complete closure of the artery feeding the right side of his brain. He is unable to speak more than a few gasped words and has very limited movement on the left side of his body. His mind hears and comprehends most of what we say, but wanders into a narcoliptic state every so often, it's difficult for him to open his eyes but when he does he can see and recognize most things. A vast improvement from when we arrived Wednesday evening and things looked very bleak. If his body stabilizes, his heart is still at risk, and his brain after suffering from stoke can shutdown, he will need alot of physical rehabilitation, the extent of recovery would be unknown. I do know his grip is very strong on the right side and he can move his right leg fairly well, so perhaps he can regain some physical independence, were not there yet because he has to gain the body strength in his heart and lungs, and avoid the brain swelling that might develop from the stroke. He has a sense of humor and loves everyone and there are lots of people encouraging him. He has three big ballons one from me and Michele and about 20 christmas cards. No flowers are allowed for fear of carrying diseases. I put a picture of Jesus by his bed and hopefully that is encouraging as well. Well that's it for now. Garry is taking us to dinner tomorrow and he gave us Gym passes to the health club which me and Michele shall use after the emotional rollercoaster we are riding at the moment. God bless you and everyone back home. Love Marty." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Subject: Dad's condition Dec 21 Dear loved ones. Michele and I awakened with high hopes for dad this morning. But when we entered his hospital room we were saddened to see our hopes erased. His breathing has become labored and we were only able to get occasional hand squeezes from his good hand. He knew we were near and made several groans that we have come to know means I love you. We told him we were close and held his hand for hours. We expressed everyone's love for him as best we could and each time he seemed to try and open his eyes and let out a approving groan. I guess it was a pretty emotional sight as a orderly brought us a box of tissue to dry our tears. We recited the Lord's prayer and that also seemed a fitting way to end our morning visit. During our afternoon visit it was apparent we needed to just hold Dad's hand and be near his side throughout the afternoon as he was experiencing much difficulty in breathing. We received a call from Ruth and she prayed for the three of us to be brought comfort from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.Valerie called and we discussed Dad's health and concerns. Dad is in a serious phase of recovery at this time. As stated earlier he is experiencing alot of discomfort, and should his health decline any further he may soon leave us. Michele propped open his eyes this evening and it seemed to bring him alot of pleasure to channel surf as he watched some television. We told him we would bring tape to keep his eyes open tomorrow as we plan to watch the 49er football game together. Keep us all in your hearts and prayers this christmas season and remember the three of us, Marty, Michele, and Dad, are sharing the closest christmas any three persons could possibly share together. God bless you all. Love Marty, Michele, and Louis." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Subject: Dad's condition Dec 22nd Dear loved ones, this morning we visited Dad and we were a little distressed because his breathing was a little more erratic than yesterday. We were joined by Gary, his best friend in Anchorage. The doctors joined us shortly after and stated what we already know, that Dad has suffered a large stroke and that new problems are a continuing result of that stroke. However, once the stroke area in his brain stabilizes, then his body should try to compensate and heal as best it can. Michele was awesome today. She sat beside Dad's head all day and whenever he awakened she would grasp his hand and ask him how he was and tell him we were there for him, whatever he needed. I know Dad felt very loved and comforted by her selfless devotion. Ruth called twice and it gave us great comfort and strength to here her love for us. Debbie, even though were miles apart this christmas, the love you send makes us like one, no matter where we are, and thanks for praying for Dad and keeping him in your heart. Mike and Mark thanks for your loving e-mails and calls they are greatly appreciated. And to everyone else calling and writing dad appreciates your love. Until tomorrow have a blessed and grateful holiday season. Love Marty and Michele." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Subject: Dad's condition Dec 23rd. Dear loved ones, Michele and I started our day by attending Dad's church. Everything went well until the end when the pastor announced Dad's setback and asked the congregation to comfort Michele and I after the service, it was very emotional for us to explain about Dad's health and hear their hearfelt sympathies and encouragement. In fact I slipped away to the bathroom to compose myself and left Michele to try and suppress her tears, because it was just to much hearing the great things people had to say about Dad, and knowing how special he was to everyone. When we arrived at the hospital it was with apprehension, as everyday there is hope the next day is bad. And if today followed course it was time for a bad day. Well when we greeted Dad it was obvious the good/bad trend was over. His breathing was pretty normal. He had more strength in his grip, and could open his eyes for short periods at a time. We hugged him as hard as we've ever hugged him and kissed his head over and over. We messaged his hands and feet, and spoiled the crap out of him. He let out little grunts of appreciation and smiled at us through tear reddened eyes. It was a wonderful experience, one Michele and I will never forget. The rest of the day we let Dad rest and when he awakend we would tell him how much we loved him. We read him some e-mails from his friends and said some prayers together. It was wonderful to hear from Ruth as she called and comforted us with wise and loving advice. Debbie your calls are always a nice surprise for us and I love you deeply. Jamie and Mike thanks for the e-mails they are filled with love for Dad and we certainly appreciate them. Mark thank goodness for coming next week, you will certainly be a loving companion for dad as he continues his rehab. God bless you. Everyone else thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers, have a wonderful Christmas Eve." You can send your good wishes to Lou at: PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL, 3200 PROVIDENCE DR, ANCHORAGE, AK 99508. Phone number is 907.562.2211. You can write Lou at HbrLouis@aol.com where his family is reading his mail and can print out messages to read to Lou at the hospital. FRESHMAN FEAST Principal Myrtle Berry wrote: Hi Harlan, We had another successful "Freshman Feast" due to the efforts of the Alumni folks and Point Rotary. We will be sending out individual thank you cards to those who contributed. I especially want to thank the Alumni who took time from their busy schedules to come down and join in on the serving lines! It was heartwarming to see so many of them show up and give back to our kids. As in the past, we had tons of food and all of the kids had plenty to eat. What a great way to start the Holiday Season. Thanks again Alumni. You always come through for us. STEVE MEMERING 62 Hey Encina Gang~ I'm going to have a one-man show at "Daniel's" which a charming little bistro at the corning of Watt and Fair Oaks in the Arden Town Center. Come check me out. I have a lot of watercolors there which are really reasonably priced. So go have a crepe and check out my crap. Say things like "My word Maude, these are a bargain at half the price!" and "Good Lord, does his genius know no bounds?" Merry Christmas to all, Steve The show is hung today and will be up for a month. Hi Randy and Gary, Since Smith Gallery is handling me now he is showing my current oils on the smithgallery.com web site. Eventually I'll have to have my own site and deal with selling my stuff on line. As for now I'm just referring people to Smith. What's interesting about the stuff at Daniels is I'm trying to sell my watercolor inventory so the prices are really low for me. We'll see what happens. Gary, I wouldn't make a special trip to see this one but I'd love for you to come to my May show at the Smith Gallery. That should be something. Steve SIBLINGS Valerie Poetker 80 wrote: Mike Boom 76? (stepbrother) Susan Boom 79 (stepsister) Valerie Poetker 80 SUMMER ADVENTURES Greg Fox 78 wrote this about Greg Vitaich 62's note in last week's update... "My name is Greg Fox I graduated Encina in 1978. Your "Summer Adventures" brought back some serious memories. Although most of your story takes place 3 years before I was born you've brought back memories of places I've forgotten. I used to live on Wright St. and used to walk to Green pool, that green fence, swimming till 8:00 on summer nights, (wondering were all that hair in the pool came from haha), The Hobby Shop, Anderson Bros. Pharmacy, The creek behind Dyer-Kelly, by the way was the house on Edison next to Dyer-Kelly haunted in you day? All these places bring back fond memories of growing up and having a million and one "Summer Adventures". So I'd like to thank you for reminding me of this time in my life. I truely feel that kids now a day's have missed out on those simple times. Things like dirt clod fights in the field with kids from another neighborhood have long since vanished and will never return I fear. So I guess in reality you and your friends blazed the trail for all the old time fun me and my friend all had in that era and area of our childhood." This got me thinking about my own kids, who I do not believe have ever gone out to play underattended by an adult. In this paranoid age we live in, they are dropped off, picked up and all the play dates are arranged. There's no running out the front door yelling "I'm going out to play, see you later". Maybe things are different in the country? WHAT'S NEW 12/27/01: Paula Irvin 80 update, Elaine Anderson 75/76 update, Shelly Burns 70 update classmates.com: Kathleen Shaefer 62, Thomas Frey 64, Jerry Eddleman 64, Ray Joslin 66, Thomas Hannon 68, Christine Wilkerson 78, John Mellberg 83, Syndee Flemmer 83, Rhonnie Horn 85, Don Reid 87, Lisa Strain 87, Silvia Foga 87, Dacia Moody 90, Amy Beller 92, Byron Keefe 94, Wayne Griesbach 98, Eric Roberts 99, Marcie Murtha 00 12/25/01: Angela Walther 91 update, John Smith 66 update, George Newhouse 83 update, Susan Johnson 68 update, Michelle Dubonnet 89 update, Michael Hair 76 update, David Clark 82 update 12/22/01: Rick Thomas 64, Linda Thomas 66, Rob Thomas 69, Jack Turner 66/bio, Barbara Bell 77, Evan Tanner 75, Valerie Poetker 80, Susan Boom 79, Ken Parsons 70 update, Liz Glaholt 89 update, Marleen Edwards 82 update, Tim Dugas 66 update, Teresa Buckalew 93 update, Jeff Tobin 95 update, Rod Moore 72 update, Erik Hutton 83 update, Jeff Robinson 76 update, Jim Williams 81 update, Carla Moehlman 77 update, Alan Meacham 64 update, Bob Williamson 63 update, Dan Johnson 80 update, Richard Rolloff 63 update, Jenny Bender 75 update, Jed Bittner 75 update, Bart Holdener 72 update, Sue Levy 77 update, Kristi Kauffman 93 update, Beau Pendergraft 92 update, Steve Ball 62 update, Janice Gerber 64 update, Aaron Ford 88 update, Christine Rapp 62 update, David Greitzer 82, Dorian Gunn 96 update, Benjamin Lee 94, Tom Spencer 88 update classmates.com: Craig Fairburn 62, Scott Passmore 79, Justin Sinclaire 90, Stacie Lawrence 92, Gabriel Ortiz 97, Mike Mitchell 97, Shu Peng 99, Jd Moffett 99 Don't forget to submit your contact information or bio: contact: www.encinahighschool.com/directory/submit_contact.htm bio: www.encinahighschool.com/submit_bio.htm Happy holidays to you all and a happy new year! Harlan Lau '73 Encina HS alumni webmaster www.encinahighschool.com harlan@rambus.com