Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 1999 12:00 PM Subject: [Encina Update] Encina Update (81/96/siblings/search/david wagaman/store/stanford/whats new) ENCINA ALUMNI, This week's update is sponsored by Jeff Copley 72! A short update this week. When you see friends and family this weekend, don't forget to spread the word about the Encina website! CLASS OF 1981 Melissa Tovar has volunteered to be reunion contact and chair the reunion committee for the 20 year reunion in 2001. You can contact Melissa at melissatovar@aol.com CLASS OF 1996 Audrey Smith Castro is interested in organizing the 10 year reunion for the class of 96. Please contact Audrey if you are interested at audge03@yahoo.com SIBLINGS Laura Bui 93 wrote: Daniel Bui 85 Mary Bui 88 James Bui 90 Laura Bui 93 Carolyn Coppock 66 wrote: Carolyn Coppock 66 Allan Coppock 66 Kim Bettencourt 81 wrote: Jack Bettencourt 70 Larry Bettencourt 73 Ronald Bettencourt 77 Kim Bettencourt 81 ALUMNI SEARCH Phillip Hearnesburger 62/63 DAVID WAGAMAN 73 Lorna Cline 72/73 wrote me that this article about classmate David Wagaman 73 appeared in the Bee last Saturday. David passed away on November 12th. Love affair with fire engines lasted a lifetime By Steve Gibson Bee Staff Writer (Published Nov. 20, 1999) David Wagaman's love affair with fire engines began when he was 10. He would stand in front of his Carmichael home in the morning and salute as the local fire chief drove by. "Finally the chief came up to our house and said he wanted to meet the little boy who saluted him every morning," said Wagaman's brother, John. That meeting with Fire Chief Dan Donovan in the '60s led to a continuing relationship between neighborhood firefighters and Wagaman, who despite a developmental disability lived independently until he died last week at the age of 45. He wanted to be a firefighter so much that he became a regular at Engine Co. 109 in Carmichael, visiting and sometimes eating lunch with firefighters. When he was a student at Starr King Middle School and Encina High School, he stopped by the fire house in the afternoons and firefighters would help with his homework. Because of his disability, he couldn't do simple math, but he could use the Internet, read technical manuals and repair personal computers. He lived on Supplemental Social Security and kept a scanner in his apartment tuned to the American River Fire District dispatch channel. That way, whenever the firefighters from Engine Co. 109 were rousted out, Wagaman heard it. "If we were going down Fair Oaks Boulevard, he'd be out on the street to give us a wave or a salute as we went by, even late at night," said fire Capt. Brian Rice, his voice cracking with emotion. "He just loved the fire department. He used to say, 'I know I can't be a fireman because I'm different.' "That didn't stop him from coming in and talking about fire department stuff," Rice said. "He loved us, and we loved him. He knew every fire engine the . . . district ever owned, all the way back. "He was such a gentle person, just a good, good guy. I don't know how I'm going to put into words how I felt about him. If we all had the same attitude about life, we'd all be better people." Rice is to deliver the eulogy at a memorial service for Wagaman, scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at Lind Brothers Mortuary, 4221 Manzanita Ave., Carmichael. As part of the service, Rice said he will present Wagaman's mother, brother and sister the American flag that flew at half staff over Engine Co. 109 on Nov. 12, the day Wagaman died. Wagaman, who lived alone in his apartment, was sitting in front of his computer reading a letter from his brother when he collapsed and died Nov. 12, said family friend Don McKenzie. Cause of death wasn't immediately known, family members said. Results of an autopsy are pending. Wagaman always knew he was different from the other children he grew up with, but he embraced life with dignity, McKenzie said. In high school, where he had a perfect attendance record over four years, bullies would sometimes "force David into the bathroom and work him over," McKenzie said. "They'd beat him up. "But David had such a big heart that his response would be, 'Well, they must have been having a bad day.' He was not only forgiving, but as generous as could be." Wagaman's interest in firefighting led to his father, the late John B. Wagaman, serving on the governing board of the American River Fire District. Though his disability kept him from holding a regular job, Wagaman was able to volunteer three days a week at public libraries with a group called Employment Enterprises for the Developmentally Disabled. "He couldn't make change for a dollar, but he could surf the Net and work in the library," his brother said. "He wanted to be useful." Disarming people with his sincere smile and cheerful greeting, he made the rounds in Carmichael nearly every day, stopping to visit with business owners, sometimes at the Chamber of Commerce office. "He made his own world out there," said his mother, Mary Klingbeil Wagaman. "Since he died, I've gotten calls from so many people I never knew anything about. He had a severe handicap, yet he communicated with nearly everybody in the community better than we did. "He made you want to love him. I am so proud that I could be the mother of David. He taught me so much. He made me realize that the disabled world is full of gentle and loving people." STORE As you start your Christmas shopping on the internet, please take the time and trouble to link to the Encina Store: http://www.encinahighschool.com/store.htm STANFORD Woke up Saturday morning and it was clear and sunny. Soon after entering the stadium it began to rain on and off with one big downpour. Fortunately we brought ponchos and my boys camped out under their ponchos with their gameboys. The Big Game certainly had it's ups and downs this year. Stanford scored quickly on their opening possession. Cal's Deltha O'Neal runs back the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Stanford later scores another touchdown. Shortly thereafter, Deltha O'Neal runs back a punt for another touchdown. Showing some signs of intelligence, Stanford begins kicking out of bounds to avoid Deltha O'Neal. Stanford finally broke open the game when Casey Moore broke free for a 94 yard touchdown run. I'm just Cal didn't let Deltha play offense. Bad enough he intercepted a ball in the endzone. So Stanford goes to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1972! WHAT'S NEW 11/23/99: Karen Pearce 88 update, Brandy Walls 92 update, Cynthia Webber 82/bio, Larry Bettencourt 73/bio, Jay Davis 85, Lee Pratt 61 bio 11/21/99: Michael Mehdi 80, Allan Coppock 66, Mike Edwards 95, Elliott Jeffs 92/bio, Wanda Myrick 82, Marci Sanschagrin 86, Jeffrey Howser 86 11/19/99: Carolyn Coppock 66, Kim Bettencourt 81, Jack Bettencourt 70, Larry Bettencourt 73, Ronald Bettencourt 77, Rob Christophersen 73 11/18/99: Daniel Bui 85, Mary Bui 88 update, James Bui 90, Charles Kloczko 63 11/17/99: Darleen Edwards 80, David Taylor 74, William Taylor 78, Kelly Murphy 79, Cheryl Smith 88, Robert Smith 85, Laura Bui 93, Renee Christenson 93, Michael Helton 91 11/16/99: Lisa Brown 95, Jeffrey Weston 94, Thomas Burns 80, Lee Bennett 82, Shelbi Flahive 82, Mark Noya 85, Eric Noya 82, Don Cooper 73 update, Pamela Maples 77, Thom Maples 74 Happy Thanksgiving! Harlan Lau 73 Encina webmaster www.encinahighschool.com harlan@rambus.com encina@encinahighschool.com