Cleveland High School Class of 1964: Classmate Bios J

Bryan Laycoe

I came to CHS from Canada in 1960, when my father Hal Laycoe coached the Portland Buckaroos. I was lucky to be coached by Lynn Roumagoux , who pushed me to Lewis and Clark college where I thrived in Track and Field under Eldon Fix and was pushed into pre-med by an old college wrestler and chemistry prof., Bill Shearer.

During the Vietnam Years, I was fortunate to continue to get deferments from the draft for college and medical school at Oregon Medical School.

My identical twin, Bob, went back to Canada after CHS. He excelled in coaching collegiate football at University of Toronto until he retired to central British Columbia.

While at L&C, I finally matured and married Diane Bedrossian in 1969. We had a boy and girl in early 70s.

In 1973 I volunteered for active duty (you just hear the call and step up).. We spent two years in the USN, medical officer attached to USMC near Pearl Harbor.

After returning to Portland, I spent the next 39 years practicing orthopedic surgery in Vancouver. We have 3 grandchildren in area.

Diane and I have a small horse farm in Ridgefield, Wa. We compete in Stadium Show Jumping. As the Irish say, The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.

I remain active with Veterans and am American Legion Post 44, Commander, Ridgefield. For God, Country and All Veterans.

Adele Lavagetto

After graduation from Cleveland I attended Portland State University, graduated with a BS in Education, and got married in August of 1968. I moved to Alameda, CA with my husband, Jerry Hemstreet, who was in the US Navy and I taught school in Hayward, CA and Alameda, CA.

Over the next 12+ years we lived in Jacksonville Beach, FL, Milton, FL, Norfolk, VA, and I taught school in Florida for 10 of the 12 years. Our first daughter, Melissa Ann, was born in 1972 and Emily Suzanne was born in 1976, both in Florida. I was able to travel to Europe and Asia while my husband’s ship was on deployment in both areas. Singapore was my favorite of all countries I visited.

When Jerry retired we moved back to Portland, purchased a house and found employment. Unfortunately, we found we could no longer live together and be married. Our girls attended Elementary and Middle school in Southeast Portland, and then graduated from Franklin High School. Melissa went on to Willamette University in Salem, and is currently an attorney in Kitsap County, WA. Emily went to Puget Sound University, and American University in Washington DC and now is a CEO for Alliance Insurance and lives in Chaska, MN (just west of the cities.) They both have two children, one boy and one girl, and my son-in-laws are gainfully employed.

My mother passed away early in life at age 66, and my father was my neighbor until he passed in 1999. He and I were very close, and helped my with the girls a great deal. In 1984 I met Robert Heinrich, an interesting courtship ensued. Bob owned his own copy repair company in Southeast Portland for 19 years. Bob also helped me care for my Dad over the years. We married in January of 1999 and unfortunately my father passed away one month and one day after we were married. He was very happy that we finally did the deed! Through Bob I gain a new family, two daughters, two son-in-laws and four grandsons. We all enjoy each other’s company, and enjoy visiting here in Poulsbo and in Portland.

In 2001 we moved to Vancouver, WA, and then in June 2005 we moved to Poulsbo, WA (Kitsap County). Quite a quieter lifestyle, but we do have Seattle a ferry ride away for fun activities, and enjoy taking the grandchildren and visitors to the aquarium and for boat rides in the Puget Sound. Bob started his own business as a handyman, “Let Bob Do It”. After a few months I was bored so I went to work for the Sons of Norway Lodge here in Poulsbo. I was the first and only full-blooded Italian Lodge administrator among all these Norwegians.

Poulsbo was settled by Norwegians and is still true to Norwegian traditions and thinking. After a couple of years, I applied for and was hired to be the Executive Director of the Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce. It was a totally different skill level but I enjoyed the people, activities, challenges and growth of a chamber of very different businesses. I worked at the chamber for four years almost to the day, retired from that, and did a few odd jobs before I realized I was ready to quit working full time.

Last May we were informed we were going to have a new grandson here in Poulsbo, and my daughter approached me if I would like to be Nanny and Nonna (Italian for Grandmother). So in August I took on a new role, full-time, with a six year old going to kindergarten and a new baby. I forgot how much hard work a new baby can be! Bob and I are enjoying both kids however, and they love their “papa” as he is very patient and good with them.

So that is what I have been doing for the last 50, and am happy to say I still stay in touch with five of my high school and college friends, and exchange Christmas greetings with several more.

Bill McNeill

After graduating from CHS, I enrolled at Lewis & Clark College and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 1968. My real passion has always been music. I played drums in numerous bands in Portland throughout my high school and college years. A highlight was the summer of 1967, I played with a group called “Four in the Morning” and we spent six weeks entertaining troops on a USO tour in Vietnam, Thailand and Hawaii.

That experience prompted me to enlist in the US Army after graduation from L&C to ensure that I would be assigned to the 21^st Army Band at Ft Lewis, WA after completing training. I became the company clerk in addition to the percussion section leader and did those jobs well enough to be promoted 4 times in 20 months to Staff Sergeant, E-6; a rarity without reenlistment or an overseas tour of duty.

After separation from the Army in 1971, I embarked on a professional musical career, playing six nights a week, 45 weeks a year in New Orleans, Reno, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. I got married in 1974 and came to the realization that I had to get a real job, so I sold my drums and started a management career in transportation that took my wife and me from LA to Boise in 1981, Denver in 1983, and Pittsburgh, where we now call home, in 1990. In January of 2009 I retired from FedEx with good health, an intact sense of humor and financial security.

I’ve rekindled my musical interests since retiring and have been playing drums in rock and jazz bands in Pittsburgh which has an active local music scene.

I sincerely hope my classmates are all well and happy and are lovin’ life as I do.

Tom Miller

I went into the military July 1964. The draft was on and all my friends were taken. I decided I wanted all special training I could get if I was going to Viet Nam. I went to jump school, artillery forward observer school, West Point preparatory school, Rangers and Raiders training at Fort Bragg, N.C., I was attached to the 82^nd Airborne Division, as a Ranger/Forward Observer trained with the 7^th Special Forces. I deployed by parachute into the Dominican Republic with a small team into Santo Domingo, to find the rebels and Russian weapons and neutralize them. I ended up staying one year.

I jumped into Viet Nam with a small team of Rangers/Special Forces Unit and most of the team were killed shot down coming in or within a week. I survived with two others, taking several weeks to get through enemy territory gathering intelligence and ended up spending one year in Walter Reed Hospital, and discharged with honorable discharge as a service connected disabled veteran. I still maintain that certification, verified annually by the V.A., providing a business advantage when working for government agencies, City, State or Federal.
One year at Reed College before the government refused to pay tuition since Reed College was protesting and refusing to accept that I served in Viet Nam. Three years Lewis & Clark College getting a B.S. in Chemistry. 10 years graduate school, including Oregon Graduate Institute in environmental Chemistry, and 3 years at OHSU in environmental toxicology. Worked in forensic toxicology for two years. Worked in steel industry, aluminum industry, before going into environmental consulting. I was recruited into government where I worked for Federal EPA developing State environmental cleanup programs.
Then I went to Japan to work for Fujitsu Limited as a Corporate Environmental Manager developing sustainable environmental practices at all of their plants worldwide. I married in 1968 while going to college, had two children, both have graduated from college. That marriage lasted 10 years, we were both too young, and I had undiagnosed PTSD and neurological damage that made life very difficult for me and my family at the time. I remarried in 1992, to Nichola Zaklan a Serbian, and professional writer who graduated from Brown University and Missouri writer’s graduate school. We have a 15 year daughter attending the Annie Wright School in Tacoma, WA. In 2002 I started my own environmental and management consulting firm.

Currently I have an office in Portland, Irvine, California, and London. My current focus is coaching executives and management teams on how to work together to solve their own problems. I present seminars, workshops, and speak at events and conferences on organizational learning and problem based learning. I was technical coach to the Oregon Sectretary of State – Mr. Bill Bradbury on Sustainability. My team are developing template Sharepoint Web sites which kick-start organizations on using Sharepoint as a platform to work better (more efficiently, effectively, and as a community), as an organization.

Liz Reynolds Thomas

Oh, our CHS64 Reunion is going to be so much fun. I am signed up and paid up already. So keep my name tag and goodie-bag! I will come to Portland after things calm down here. Perhaps I can have coffee with several folks and

learn what is happening with Portland politics - I have thought of moving to Portland after all these years. In any event, I will visit with my Dad when I am there - the Doc was released from the Rehab Center recently now that he

is mending from a fractured vertebrae in his neck. Life is Large...at times.

So my challenge is that I likely will not attend the CHS64 Reunion after all...ugh! As I shared with the Class leadership earlier my daughter who is visiting Seattle has foot surgery with a specialist here so the week of Aug

4-8 is Doctor-Mother mode. And recently my dearest friend's husband unexpectedly passed. The "celebration of life" memorial service is on Sat. August 9 and I will be right there for my friend and her family! They are highly respected and loved by the Seattle community, and I expect this will be an overwhelming day for everyone.

For whatever reason - the stars are not aligned this time around - I am so disappointed that I cannot be there with YOU! I will e-send some info to Terry B for the 1964 Class "where are they now" updates. If there is a slim possibility I can squeeze some time from the Saturday memorial activities to hop a plane to Portland and rent a car - you just might see me! I don't like to make promises I can't keep, but I do believe ANYTHING is possible.

Meanwhile, I send you love and light, as we all must pool our energy to heal

ourselves and the world.

Dan Scott
Two very important events have taken place on November 22nd! The first being my birth on Nov. 22nd ,1945 and the second being the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963! (my 18th birthday) I will never forget that day as Dave Deering, John Fyre, Bob Reed and myself headed to the old Oregonian building and got some of the first newspapers to come off the press! I still have them in their entirety!

I will try and keep this short and sweet however I must share an awesome story regarding my wonderful parents! They first met at a U.S.O. dance in Seattle! My dad was on leave from the U.S. Navy and my mother was working as "Rosie the Riveter" for Boeing! They were both 18 years old! Within 2 weeks they decided to wed! They went to a justice of the peace in down town Seattle to get married only to find they needed a witness! My mother was a little fireball and was not happy! They left the building and pondered their next step when my mom spotted another couple at the other end of the block! She proceeded toward them and asked what they were doing! They replied they were trying to get married but needed a witness! Yup, that's right, they stood up for my parents and my parents stood up for them and the 2 couples became life long friends! Surprisingly I was born 9 months later!
Okay, on with a short history of my life! I have been gifted with 3 awesome kids and 1 grandchild! I worked in the commercial printing business for 37 years for Graphic Arts Center! My job afforded me the opportunity to travel quite extensively throughout the U.S., Europe and China! In the year of 9/11, 2001 I flew a total of 286,000 miles! It really got old!

The biggest hilite of my life was the birth of my first and only (at this point) grandchild! She (Kendal) will be 10 this coming Dec. She is a very bright, sports minded little girl! She's very athletic and most definitly the apple of my eye! From a personal standpoint my 2 passions are fishing and golf! Fishing mostly for Salmon & Steelhead consumes a huge portion of my life! Both here locally on the Willamette & Columbia Rivers as well as most of the North Coast streams! In 1989 I had the fortune of going to Alaska and fished the Kenai River for the first time! On June 28th of that year I hooked a fish and battled it some 45 minutes! Upon landing it every one in the boat went crazy! Weighed in on a commercial scale it tipped the scale at 81 lbs! No brag, just fact I learned later it was the largest fish checked in in 1989! Incidentally the largest salmon ever caught on a line (not a net) weighed 97 lbs 4 oz. also on the Kenai!

I could babble on forever but won't as I've truly had a fun filled life! Aside from being 20#s over weight life is good! I'm pretty darned healthy, been walking 3 miles each morning and WILL lose that excess tonage! I'm currently engaged to a neat lady (Micki) who'm I hope those present at our upcoming reunion get to meet! For now, that's about all I got! Over & Out!

Classmate Bios J - Z