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DON McCARTER - After high school, I attended the University of Alabama,
earning the degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Business
Administration. Graduated in 1967 and had to go into the military service right
thereafter. After Artillery School in Lawton, OK, I was assigned to Fort Gordon
outside of Augusta, GA for the balance of my service. After getting out of the
service, I got a job with Alabama Power. Spent eight years with them, then moved
on to New York Life Insurance company for two years. Left there to join Hancock
Fabrics. They moved me to Nashville, TN; then to Midland, TX, where I currently
reside. After Hancock Fabric became an office manager for an accounting firm for
four years. After that I became a sales rep. for Xerox Corp. Spending twenty
years selling Xerox products as a rep and sales manager. Then I went to work for
the Midland Independent School District. Stayed with them for ten years so that
I could keep my health insurance. I retired in 2017. Currently am enjoying
retirement in Midland. Also need to mention that when I moved to Midland, I met
a wonderful man that allowed me to ride and train his Tennessee Walking Horses.
I have been riding ever since. My family still lives in Alabama, my daughter in
Hanceville and my sister, Sandra, in Trussville. My brother in law, Ralph Lyles,
lives in Springville, AL, he has a family get together every Thanksgiving. If
anyone would like to contact me, it would be great to hear
from you.
MOLLY
McKEE -
A year after graduation, I married Lionel Freeman, an
Ensley man, and came to Orlando FL. We have 3 fantastic children, Jeffrey 34,
Sean 30 and Susan 27. After 16 years of marriage, we divorced. I became a
travel agent and took some great trips to Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Aruba,
London, Switzerland and Greece. I moved on to become an airline customer
service agent at the Orlando Int'l Airport for 15 years. This has afforded
us the opportunity to continue traveling. We have very good friends in Munich
Germany and England. Sean has spent 2 years in the Peace Corps in Papau New
Guinea and is preparing to leave for China in 3 weeks to spend a year teaching
English in a small town outside of Beijing. Jeff is a private pilot and spends
his spare time flying planes and going to Munich. Susan is married, lives in
Tallahassee and has a beautiful 3 year old son. I have 2 gorgeous macaws who
occupy my time. A Blue and Gold named Miss Dalton and a Greenwing named Caidy,
hence my email name. UPDATE -
I
worked for 29 years with USAirways, which is now American Airlines. The 31st of
July, I will be retired for 4 years. I am loving setting my own schedule and
doing my own thing which includes visiting with my four grand children (2
boys, 2 girls),
sewing for my granddaughter, having lunch with my friends and traveling. Last
year a friend and I went on a cruise which took us to Havana,
Cuba. It was a great trip. The people are hard working and friendly. My son and
I also went to Scotland last October, which included a trip to the Isle of Skye.
What a glorious trip! The Fall colors were brilliantly displayed in every tree
and all of the leaves. This fall we will be traveling to Munich,
Germany to visit dear family friends. My years at West End are still some of my
best times in my life.
BARBARA
ANN MCREE - I was supposed to graduate with my May '63 class, but I
failed Steno. I made it up in summer school and got my diploma in Jan '64. I
married Gary Harper (my teenage boyfriend) before I graduated. We had a son;
(actually I was in the hospital having our son when I was supposed to attend the
Jan '64 graduation) We got divorced in 1966. In '68 I married Sherman Lawson,
from VA. We have been married for 41 years and have 3 children, 8 grandchildren
and 1 great grandchild. I worked for Southern Bell. When I married Sherman, my
son and I moved to VA for 10 years and I worked for Chesapeake and Potomac Bell,
then we moved back to Birmingham, where I got back on with South Central Bell, which
turned into AT&T. I retired from AT&T in '04. We live in Adamsville, AL. We are
very active in our church at Faith Worship Center in Sumiton. My husband and I
are both retired and enjoying our time together and with our family and our
church. Memories: I enjoyed my 4 years at WEHS; I think most days my head was in
the clouds but I managed to learn enough to graduate. My most embarrassing
moment was in Spanish with Mrs. Hilleke (Spanish was not one of my best
subjects). She asked me a question in Spanish, "Do you have any bananas?" and
she said I said, "Yes, we have no bananas". She said that didn’t make any sense!
MARGARET
MELCHER -
I have wonderful memories of my classmates and friends and thank Clifford for
"finding" me in Atlanta and making it possible for me to stay in touch with you. Since graduation I had 25 years of adventure with Eastern Airlines working in
various departments and locations. Life after Eastern continued at
Georgia-Pacific until Atlanta's rush hour traffic got the best of me and I threw
in the towel! Does anyone else remember first period English with Rootin'
Tootin' in the dead of winter when she would throw open all the windows on
Monday mornings for a little fresh air? It was a chilling experience as I
recall. She died many years ago and I still miss her trusted friendship.
LYN
MOFFATT - After graduation, I worked for a while at an insurance company then married Sam
Sutton ('63) in '64. We were "in the Army" for about 6 years, then
relocated back to Birmingham. We had 3 boys and a girl. David, 35, works
for as a construction foreman and lives in Tuscaloosa. Daryl, 33, works as
a policeman and lives in Gardendale. Jason, 30, works as a computer
analyst and lives in Atlanta. Jamie, 24, works as a nurse and lives in
Meridian. After Sam and I divorced, I married a great guy named Ed
and we have been living in Center Point since '79. Ed works for the Postal
Service and I work as an administrative assistant @ Baptist Montclair. We
enjoy traveling in our motor home, being with family and playing with our 6
GRANDchildren (4 girls and 2 boys). I have enjoyed browsing through the
web site for WEHS - it's so much fun!
RON
MOON -
(deceased)
-
My wife is Patricia Stewart
from Dothan. We have 2 sons, Jason 27 and Justin 21, who is a Jr at the
Univ of Montevallo where Pat and I met and graduated. Pat is a retired primary
school teacher and I am Dean of Instruction at Bessemer St Technical College.
ROMA
NEAL
-
(deceased)
-
After
graduation, I started working for Forbes Piano in '63 and am still here. I
got married in '71 and lived in IN for a year in '73 and had a baby there. Divorced in '74 and came back to AL (I missed this state) with a 7 month old and
raised her with help of my mother. Cindy and Alan have given me 2
beautiful grandchildren, a boy named Connor MacKenize Marchman who is 3 1/2 and
a girl named Cydney Nicole Marchman who is 1 1/2. These 2 keep me young
and happy. I love my job - it's the people that I work with that get me down
sometime. I love the web site and hope we can keep it up. I like
knowing what everyone is doing and has done and seeing how we have matured. If
you are every close to Forbes, please stop by and see me!
NANCY
NORTON -
I married Pete Stewart
(Ensley) in '64. We have 2 married sons, Steve and Jeff. Steve has 2
boys, Casey, 10 and Kyle, 7. Jeff has a son, Grayson, 18 months. We are both retired and love to travel, work in our yard and keep grandchildren
every chance we can.
SHARON
ORR -
I have been married for 33
years to Aaron Ponder and we have 2 children. Todd is 29, Meridith is 26. Aaron is retired from BellSouth. I taught school and am now working as a
Nanny for husband and wife doctors. We live in Homewood. We like to
travel and just got back from a cruise to
Alaska.
PEGGY
PEARCE -
I married Leroy Sizemore a
year out of WEHS, 37 years ago. We have 3 children. Paul 31 is a
lawyer in Inverness and has 2 children. Kristy 25 is married to a sailor,
gets to move around a lot and has 1 child. Kelli 23 is working on her
graduate degree at Auburn and will be married in Aug. Leroy and I took
early retirement when offered from BellSouth but he is doing contract work for
them now. We have recently moved to Lay Lake outside of Childersburg. I
have many fond memories of people and activities from Robert E Lee grammar
school (I get upset at the thought of the name being changed) and WEHS.
LEEDA
POLLOCK -
My home has been New York City for more than 20 years,
after living in Oh and CA. Over 6 years ago, I began a home and garden
furnishings business in Charleston SC that includes a mail order catalog, a web
site and a retail store. My family lives in NY. My daughter,
Kristin, 34, is Exec Dir of HERE, a performing arts center in Soho; my
son-in-law, Carl, is a college teacher; and my 2 year old grandson, Griffin, has
no career aspirations to date. Hope to see you in Charleston or New York. And many thanks to the people who have organized this web site, without which
this communication simply couldn't exist. I have wonderful memories of my
years at WEHS. I was blessed by excellent teachers who gave me the foundation
that enabled me to complete a PHD at Ohio St and to graduate from the Harvard
Business School, and by friends who taught me things that have been just as
important.
CAROLYN RIDDLE - I left school after getting married, but would have
graduated in '63. I was divorced in "65 and remarried in '68. That
same year we moved to Newburg, MO (pop 500+). My husband traveled as a Mfg
Rep for 25 years and I was a home maker and mother to my daughter, Sonya. In '94, I acquired my Real Estate License and am now associated with Century 21
First Choice in Rolla, MO, a college town about 5 miles from my home. My
daughter married and lives in Kansas City with her husband of 20 years and 3 of
the best looking boys ever: Josh 17, Jacob 15 and Jordan 12. My email
address reflects the loves of my lives. jjjsgm stands for Josh, Jake and
Jordan's Grandma. There is so much I remember about WEHS. The
wonderful teachers, coaches and especially all of my friends. I look
forward to getting in touch with you again!
RON
ROBBINS - After Graduation, I attended U of Montevallo (BS '68). Shortly after entering the workforce, I married Carolyn Eady of Banks and U of
Montevallo. I started a plastic injection molding company that we operated
until '87, when it was sold. In '86-'87, I served as Pres of the Southern
Section of the Society of Plastic Engineers. Since then I have worked
selling plastic process equipment in the SE, have done consulting and am
currently a business analyst for a utility auditing firm. We have 2 great
children. Paul 25, in Austin TX and Ginger 21, in Birmingham. We reside in
Gardendale, AL. We are active at Gardendale First Baptist Church, where I
have served as a Deacon and youth teacher. We are also active in the
Gideon Ministry placing Bibles in our area.
MARY
LOUISE ROSS - Hello everyone! I was thrilled to find this
great site and get in touch with friends and with Jack Hulon, my first love and
steady while in school. I have been married to a wonderful man for 38
years. We have live in 12 different places but have called Beavercreek OH
our home for 18 years now. We have 3 grown children and 7 grandchildren!
We keep telling them what causes all the grandbabies but they just keep coming
and are a joy! Melissa is 35, Sheri is 33 and Ross is 28. I am a
Videographer and enjoy my work very much. It is very rewarding and I can
work at my own pace. There are so many memories of days at WEHS. Friday night dates and marching at football games. Drive-in movies,
remember Auto movies#1? Oh yes, I remember the day that I drove my sister
Barbara's tiny blue car to school. I had pleaded with her for weeks to
allow me to drive it. She gave in one day and I came out after school to
drive the cool, cute car home only to find it missing from the parking lot. It had been picked up and placed in the school hallway!!!! I remember taking up
money for friends who had gotten speeding tickets. I used to go into Mr
McIntosh's math class and write 2+2=14 or some other wrong answer. He
always knew it was me. I remember Ms Ezell saying, "Your High School
record stands for you or against you and it will follow you the rest of your
life. Know what, she was right!
LEW
ROWELL - Went to Howard College. Dated my WEHS sweetheart for
3 years and we've been married 35 years. Jerry Evans ('65). We have
a son Jeff, 3 grandsons and a granddaughter due in July. Moved to Atlanta
in '67 and this is home. I am a life insurance agent for the last 33 years
and my son works with Jerry and I for the last 11 years. We been all over
the world but we still love Panama City and have a beach cottage in Lugana
Beach. We are there about once a month. I still love to act and am
involved in church theater annually. I do some motivation speaking for the
insurance industry. I am a piano student for the last 2 years and love to
play. Teach Sunday School for over 25 years. I had the privilege of
performing the marriage ceremony for Jeff and his wife and for my brother
Raymond's daughter and her husband. God has blessed us in so may ways.
SANDRA
RUNYAN
-
(deceased)
-
After graduation I went to
work for Southern Bell performing various jobs but ultimately winding up in
marketing. I was married in '67 to Barry Gilliam, Ensley '61. I quit
work to become a full time mom and raise my 2 daughters, Andrea and Melissa. Barry is a geologist and has worked for Southern Co for 29 years. I have 2
grandsons, Will 6 and Devin 4. I am active in my church and occasionally
teach a Ladies Bible study group. Barry and I have a small antique
business, Sandbar Antiques (Riverchase Antique Gallery), which keeps us busy.
JUNE SCHNEIDER - I have a Grandson who
graduates form USC in May of 2021. Also I have 2 granddaughters and another
grandson. I have traveled the world and I now live in Nolensville, TN with my
German Shepard named Zeus.
LONNIE SHOULTZ
-
(deceased)
-
I left WEHS and graduated from Philips. Would have
graduated in'63 had I stayed there. I am disability retired from wounds
received in Vietnam. I write an Internet column on veteran-military
affairs that is published by many online publications. This tagline, which
appears at the end of each article I write, sums up what I've been up to since
WEHS: "The author is a Purple Heart veteran of an 18 month combat tour in
Vietnam as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division and a Green Beret with
the 5th Special Forces Group. When he returned home, he entered police
work and rose through the ranks from uniformed patrol officer with the City of
Birmingham to finally serve as a Special Agent with the US Treasury Dept. He
holds a BS in Accounting and Finance, an MA in Military History and has
completed his post graduate academic work toward his doctorate at the U of
Alabama and George Washington Univ in Washington DC. He now resides on the
Gulf Coast in Foley AL."
JOE
SMITH - After WEHS, I attended U of Alabama. I married Janelle
Wallace (Jones Valley '64) in '68 and that same year was hired by IBM, where I
have been for 32 years. We were transferred to Miami in '76 (great place
to live, not so good to work). In '82 we transferred to Pensacola (ya
gotta love the Redneck Riviera) and in '93 to Atlanta. We have three grown
sons, Scott, Jason and Corey, a daughter-in-law and 2 granddogs. Scott lives in
Atlanta and builds custom stairs. Jason is an electrical engineer with
Allison-Smith Co (no relation) and Corey is at Troy State. We hope to
retire to the Gulf Coast (Navarre) in a couple of years and get out of the rat
race. Many fond memories, but who can forget Mr Baughan's chemistry class or Ms
Whatley's history class?
CAROL
THOMAS - Following graduation from WEHS, I attended Sanford U, then
Howard College. Married an Auburn Tiger in '66. Returned to his home
in Panama City FL following graduation where he went into the family business
(pharmacy). Married 28 wonderful years with 2 daughters, both married and
I have the 2 best sons-in-law in the world. The older one still lives near
me in Panama City and the younger is in Houston TX. Tragically, my husband
died suddenly and unexpectedly from a massive coronary in June '94. It's
been quite an adjustment! I have kept busy working as the Staff Accountant at
First Baptist Church for the past 15 years and keep involved in local civic
organizations. No grandchildren yet, but I'm hopeful. Love this
website and have enjoyed reading the comments of old friends!
ANNETTE
THOMPSON -
We live on a 60-acre farm
in Thorsby AL, where my husband, Bill, is a real estate attorney and serves on
the Board of Trustees for the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. I am a
housewife and volunteer. We are both bible class teachers and have been
selected by our Chamber of Commerce as Citizens of the Year. We helped organize
the first YMCA and United Way in Clanton. We have 2 children. Our son, Jason, is an ER Nurse at Brookwood Hospital in
Birmingham. He and his wife,
Lisa, who teaches choir at Trace Crossings Elem School and Hunter Street Baptist
Church, have a 1 year old girl, Piper, who is our pride and joy. Our daughter,
Jennifer, is an intensive care nurse. She was in PICU at Children's Hospital
and is now doing agency nursing in Birmingham hospitals.
ROBERT
W. WILFORD - Of course, those of you who knew me, it was “Bubba” and not Robert
or Bob. Since my academic prowess was “zilch” during my high school years, the
only real claim to fame I had during my days at West End was being the very
first lion mascot, “Abba Dabba,” in '62 at the
football games. It all started as a joke by Sammy Self, Charles Cargile, John
Landman, and me. Of course, it went surprisingly well and I did it, acting
absolutely crazy, for the entire football season. I do not know if it had
anything to do with it, but we did beat Woodlawn for the first time in years.
The aforementioned 4 jokesters, however, owe all of
our classmates an apology. The money we and the cheerleaders collected from the
students, and even some coaches and teachers, to rent the costume for games not
only paid for the costume but financed the purchase of some questionable
beverages and all of our snacks and food for the Friday nights we spent at
Legion Field during the football season. After graduating, I immediately joined
the U.S. Navy with Charles Cargile. I spent 20 years
on active duty, did overseas tours in the Philippines, Japan (twice) and Guam,
spent 10 years in Pensacola, and 1
year in Ft. Meade (MD). While on active duty, I married Diane in
'70 who hails from Jacksonville. We have been married
to this day and have 1 son, Scott, who resides in
Nashville. Scott is married to Virginia and they gave us a beautiful
granddaughter, Natalie, in 2009. After leaving naval
service in '83, I worked in healthcare administration
for 4 years in Savannah, Jacksonville and Columbus. I
then became the CEO in '87
of a substance abuse treatment facility in Panama City and served in this
capacity until '97. Beginning in '97
and continuing to this day in '13, I have served as
the CEO for 3 community action agencies (Bonifay, FL,
Jonesboro, AR, and Gainesville, FL) whose mission is to develop, institute, and
deliver anti-poverty and self-sufficiency programs. In addition, I was elected
as a City Commissioner (Alachua, FL) in '10 and
recently reelected in '13 (unopposed) for another
3-year term. I completed my A.A. degree at Pensacola
State College, B.A. degree in Political Science with a minor in Management at
the U of W Florida (Pensacola), M.S. degree in Public Administration at Troy
University, M.S. degree in Human Resource Management (Troy), and M.S. degree in
Counseling and Human Development (Troy). I look forward to rekindling old
friendships in the near future.
MARTHA
WILKINSON
-
(deceased)
-
Married in ‘63 and moved to
Oak Ridge, TN. Divorced. In ‘77 I started to work at Y-12 Credit Union in
Oak Ridge and currently serve as Executive Asst to the Pres/Board of Dir. Hope to retire in the not too distant future. I have 2 children, Jimmy 36
and Jenna Leigh 32. Jimmy and his wife have a son, Drew 7; Jenna and her
husband have 2 boys, Joshua 5 and Jacob 3. 3 grandsons, no granddaughters yet! Happily married since last year to Jim Drewry. My sisters are Barbara '61
and Donna '65. Our mother still lives in B’ham and continues to drive to
visit us in Charleston SC, TN and Palm Harbor FL. Since graduation, I have
stayed in touch with Ginny Bragan VARDAMAN and Gwen Bryars Johnson. I
remember the halls of WEHS and look forward to walking them again. Hopefully I can do this without Ms Ezell catching me in the hall with Jack
Sellers after the bell has rung! Added
in
2010: Didn't realize how much time had passed since my
original bio was printed 9 years ago. Jim is
now 45; Jenna Leigh 41. Jim and his
wife Christy, both graduates from U of TN, have
3 children, Drew 16; Megan 4; Ransom
2. Jenna, also a graduate of U of TN,
and her husband David, who graduated with Masters in Hospital Administration
from UAB, have 2 sons, Josh,14 and Jake
12. Both children live close to us. I am sill
married to Jim Drewry, who retired several years ago after attending the U of VA,
leaving with 2 degrees and attending the U of Toronto
for a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering. He spent time in the Air Force. Jim moved
to Oak Ridge in '90 to work with Oak Ridge Associated
Universities. We met in '93 and married in 2000. His
son, Kyle (Chicago) and his wife
Penny presented us with twin granddaughters in '08. Life is so good. I plan to
retire this year after working for 33 years at the Y-12 Federal Credit Union.
Jim and I will do as much traveling as we can. I still love to dance. Will
always remember the dances at Dukes (with Jack Sellers (deceased '07) and what
fun I had with my friends at WEHS.
JANICE
WILLIAMS -
I have been
married to Bill Oliver for 20 wonderful years. We live between Alabaster
and Columbiana. Retired 3 years ago because of my health after working in
accounting for MailSouth in Helena. Bill is a minister and we pastor a
church in Hueytown called "Calvary's Way". We are very excited about this
change in our lives! I work with the Praise and Worship Team, playing the
keyboard. I also work with the Ladies Ministry. I have 2 children,
Danny, 35 and Melissa, 30. Danny and his wife Angie have 3 precious girls,
Becky, Tiffany and Laura. Melissa is not married, but has my other
"grandchild", her dog, "Bama". I can truthfully say that God has been good
to me these last years. My best to everyone!
JACK
WILSON -
After WEHS, I entered U of
Alabama. Planned on a law career but after 2 years realized that was not
what I wanted (but I learned how to play a passable game of pool a good game of
bridge!) I left 'Bama in '65 and took a job to think things through. I lost my student deferment and when the draft board came sniffing around, I
joined the USAF and was stationed at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery), Wildwood AFS,
AK and McCoy AFB, FL during my 4-year enlistment. Returned to Birmingham in
'69, entered UAB and graduating in its 1st class after it became a fully
independent university (back when UAB had 4 bldgs). In '71 I entered the
novitiate of The Order of the Holy Cross, an Anglican Benedictine Order, in
which I was a monk for 24 years. Early in that period I went to The
Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley CA ('74-'77). After receiving my
degree I was ordained deacon and priest in the Episcopal Church and spent the
ensuing years until '95 in various monasteries of the Order in NY, CA, IL
and Liberia, W Africa. I left the order in '95 and moved Washington DC to
take a job. When the Republicans cut funding, my job evaporated. I filled
in part-time at The Church of the Nativity in Huntsville (the mother church of
the TN Valley. I ended up taking a full-time position as Sr. Assoc. rector and
am still here at Nativity. I never married but have a 3-year old miniature
Schnauzer named Sheela who thinks I owe uxorial allegiance to her! My favorite
pastime is ornamental gardening. It is a great joy to be able to see one of my
brothers and his wife (who live here in Huntsville) at any time and we share a
lot of interests and activities.
MARGARET
WRIGHT
-
(deceased)
-
I live in Northport, AL. I have 3 children. I
have recently moved back to Tuscaloosa and returned to college. I work at
the U of Alabama and take classes at night. My husband Jerry and I have 3
children, all of who are currently in school at U of Alabama. Our oldest,
Ginny, is about to get her Masters in Aquatic Ecology. Bill, the middle
child, is a Math major and a vocational missions volunteer. Our youngest,
Bob, is a Junior in Public Relations. I
remember B-YTeens with Ms Baughan. We did lots of community projects that
I enjoyed, especially Easter for a little girl and Christmas dolls. I
enjoyed working at the Goodfellows Store during Christmas break. The
camaraderie of the girls in that club was great. I also liked Shorthand
and Typing classes, I guess because that was the only thing I did really well. Remember Ms Martin "The verb to be never takes an object." The WELION gossip
columns. Registering for classes in the lunchroom. Now they do it by
computer - no interaction and begging to be let into a class! |
