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Joseph Gentilini

I stand corrected on who the sister standing next to Clare. joe

David Mitchell

Joe,

You are forgiven.

Michael McLeod

Mike B: thanks for the advice about retirement I shall take it to heart.

John Maxwell

Michael McLeod

Mary Clare was a giver and a sweetheart and a steady car pool companion -- chipper regardless of the pickup hour or situation. There was an unflappable constancy to her.

Bill Reid

Mary Clare’s death has clearly affected many of us. I’ve been pondering my own reaction to this news. On one hand, I’m happy for her. If we really believe what we say we believe about eternal life, then she’s in the best place she could possibly be in. But for the rest of us, we mourn her death. Those of you who live in the Columbus area are fortunate to be close enough to each other to be able to see some of our classmates more frequently. Those of us who live farther away regret not being able to do so. Mary Clare’s death makes it all the more important for us all to savor our relationships with each other and to maintain those relationships. This blog is but one way to do that, and thank goodness for it. Our class reunions, which Mary Clare helped spearhead, are another way to keep our relationships going.

When my mother died, Fr. Grimes presided at her funeral Mass, and he said something I’ll never forget. It’s been a source of consolation for me, and I’ve shared it with others who grieve the death of someone they love. I share it with you in hopes that it might ease your grief, paraphrasing it to apply to Mary Clare: “When Mary Clare was born, everyone around her was happy, and she was crying. Now that she has been born into eternal life, she’s happy … and everyone around her is crying”.

Rest in peace, Mary Clare.

Monica Haban (Brown)

Monica Haban (Brown)

Hope the previous photos will bring a smile to our sadness.

 Cinco de Mayo.  The real Clare.  She IS resting in peace.  She earned it. 

David Mitchell

Thanks for the photos Monica.

It just dawned on me that we would probably have missed the opportunity to share this news if it had not been for the Forum. 

So thank you again, Janie for putting this together (for keeping us together).   

Joseph Gentilini

Thanks for the photos, Monica. Clare was a sweetheart to so many. Joe

Michael McLeod

A class act through and through. RIP to a beautiful lady. And I can attest first hand to what you said about her kindness and sensitivity, Shiela. 

Joseph D. McCarthy

Just an idea, yes Dave I stole it from someone else.

Does anyone want to have a get together to remember those classmates who have passed recently, say the past three or four years?

I will be starting my travelogue, which I didn't get to do last year, this coming Saturday as I start my drive to the Columbus area.  If someone wants to have a lunch gathering, how was the MCL cafeteria?  Or does someone else have an idea.

Jeffrey Eisenman

I read the blog regularly, but very rarely post.  Anyway, here goes.

Clare was a genuinely nice and caring person, even with people she disagreed with.  She will be greatly missed.

Her obituary mentioned that she was a lifelong Democrat, and as i recall, not shy about sharing her opinions.  Of course, I was at that time an outspoken Goldwater Republican.  So I recall that she and I had a couple of “interesting" discussions.  No bitterness or anger, just vastly different opinions.

It took me another 20 years to realize that she was much closer to the compassionate truth than I was. My Republican party (the true original party of Lincoln) had transformed itself so as to welcome in extreme right-wing zealots, former KKK members, so-called "Christian" nationalists, racists of all stripes and colors, and their ilk.  There were still good people in the party, but their voices (and mine) were being drowned out by all the extremism and hate-filled rhetoric.  The R's tried to smooth over and disguise the change, but eventually the truth became evident. 

I remember a reporter once asking Ronald Regain why he had switched political parties.  (He once voted for FDR.)  He replied that he had not left the party, that instead the party had left him.  I ended up feeling similarly, although I decided to go in the opposite direction.

So now we have a twice-impeached, convicted-felon as president, who thinks of the federal government as a giant piggy bank to be used at his discretion.  He thinks of the Emoluments Clause as something old and quaint, and certainly not to be taken seriously.  But at least all the malfeasance is now open and obvious to all the people who are open-minded and still care about such things.

I hate the current treatment of people who have taken refuge in our country.  Their incorporation into our communities could have, and should have, been handled in a much more intelligent and compassionate way.  A few are criminals who should have been dealt with accordingly.  But mass expulsion is not the answer.  It is the antithesis of what we are (or supposed to be).  Why is it that too many Americans conveniently forget that we are all a nation of immigrants?

And the recently-passed "Big Beautiful Tax Bill" is a massive giveaway to the top 20%, at the expense of the poor and progressives whose assistance programs are severely cut.  Of course, the deficit and the national debt continue to soar.

At least Trump now appears to be doing the right thing for Ukraine, in pursuing the dual tracks of seeking a settlement, but at the same time providing the weapons they need to defend themselves.  His motivation seems to be that he feels disrespected and played by Putin.  For Trump, it is always personal, but heck, if it results in the right policy, we’ll take it.

I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone.  But my honest thoughts result from my 77 years of higher education, extensive traveling, marrying a very wise woman from New York, constantly reading from good sources, and talking with wise friends whose opinions I respect and value.

James Hamilton, M. D.

To all,

It is a sad but a true fact of life that death seems to bring more people together (in many ways) than does life. And that goes for acquaintances, friends and even families.

On another topic, politics seems to divide people from each other frequently, and often, with hostility. 

Janie has given us an excellent format to not only reconnect with old friends, but also add some new ones with whom we may have had minimal contact in our days at BWHS.

Claire's death appears to have touched many in a more personal way than expected. We are all in the evening of our lives and all have experiences and tales to tell that we could share with our fellow classmates. I, for one, would like to read about them.

Hey, reality is we are in the truly old age group. Let's share our thoughts, experiences, successes and maybe our failures with each other. Think of this Forum as a life's "yearbook". 

Yes, time is finite.

Jim

Monica Haban (Brown)

Joe-

MCL was good.  We had our own private room, and we weren't rushed out of there. 
Food was good, Friends were and are great.

Joseph Gentilini

Jim H - thanks for sharing on #15911 as your words are true. My parents had difficulty reading so I got in the habit of reading the newspaper's obituaries for them, especially as their friends one-by-one passed on. We are now at that age also. Your thoughts are a good reason to stay in touch with friends and spouses and not let days go by before we tell them we love them.  Thanks again.  joe

John Schaeufele

Janie, sad news indeed!  Thanks for posting Clare's obit, what a great tribute to a wonderful lady!!!  Clare and you encouraged me to attend the 75th Birthday gathering a couple years ago and I am so glad I did.  Reconnecting with Clare, you and others was so good after all the years.  Clare still called me "Joey" from the character I played in our senior play.  She was a star on stage back then, a star in life and, now a star in heaven.  I echo what Bill Reid posted, for those who believe in Christ, we know we will one day be with Clare.  RIP Tammy from your friend always, Joey.

And for all those who participated in "Tammy Tell Me True", here is the program (autographed by Bill Reid) from the play along with some clips from the Cols papers (sorry I could not rotate the pics.)

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Dear Classmates,

I have been struggling these past few days upon hearing the news of Clare's passing. I knew of her emergency surgery and subsequent health issues as my sister and her sister are good friends. Although Clare and I began school at IC in the first grade, it wasn't until my family moved from Chatham Rd. to Oakland Park in the middle of 4th grade that my friendship with Clare began to take root as the Hummers and Clarks lived only 3 houses away from each other. Our friendship continued throughout grade school, high school, and our college years. We shared in each other's wedding celebrations, and while our married lives tooks us down different paths, we always maintained our connection, especially when Christine Woodward would return to Columbus from her Montana home. Certainly the Watterson get-togethers helped to maintain that childhood bond. 

In the past 13 years, that friendship became strained, mostly I think, because of the political differences shared on this forum. It is not lost on me that I have missed an opportunity to repair the differences which lay between Clare and me, and today I am grieving for that which I can never revisit. It is such a cliche to say, "Life is short", but as we sometimes learn too late, the truth is we never know what time is left to us to make our peace with those who stand on the other side of the bridge we hesitate to cross. It is too late for Clare and me, but perhaps this is a moment given to us to soften our hearts, to forgive, to reach out, to seek to better understand ourselves and each other. 

Clare was good at practically everything, but what she was best at, was providing a nurturing, loving and welcoming home for Jim, Aaron, Stephanie and their spouses and children. That nurturing, as we all can attest to, did not stop there.....it extended to all of her beloved siblings, their families, to all of you, her BWHS classmates, and far beyond. 

It is with a heavy heart that I surrender the recent past, but I hold on to the precious and treasured memories of the life-long friendship we shared. 

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.

Daniel Brown

I didn't know Clare. I wish I had.
 

May she resquiat in pace.

Michael McLeod

ohmygoodness. tammie tell me true -- that corny production we had a blast performing -- just how long ago that was, bittersweet memory that it is under the circumstances. and clare was our leader and a rock solid trouper backstage as I recall.

I'll echo mm#1's sentiment about softening ourselves when opinions cloud out the connection we have of growing up together in a beautiful time and place.

And Jeffrey: I'm mulling over the points you bring up and will weigh in if anything useful comes to mind, but for the time being I'll just say welcome and thanks for the food for thought you've been storing up in the pantry all these years.

Joseph Gentilini

Dear Mary Margaret, I read your posting about Clare with sadness. As I get older, I realize that I shouldn't politics or anything else end a friendship. It was also a reminder to make sure I tell those I love that I do love them because none of us knows when God will call us home. 

Clare now knows how much you loved her and she holds nothing against you. She is now with God who is full of graciousness and mercy.

As a help maybe, before my mother passed she said to me, "Joe, I will only be a whisper away so talk to me." I have remembered this and I talk to my mother, assured that she is listening.  May you do the same with Clare and be at peace.

Joe

John Jackson

I can’t begin to match the eloquence of the rest of you on Clare’s passing so I’ll try to express my feelings with music.   The song below, “The Parting Glass”, is sung by an Irish group with the perfectly awful name of The Voice Squad.  Others have sung it but their version, in this case recorded on New Year's Eve as a farewell to the passing year, blows me away every time I hear it.  

You might consider it a drinking song - the parting glass is the last glass of the night before the pub closes and everyone says goodbye and heads home.   But the song is about a more final farewell as the singer will rise early the next morning to emigrate to America. But I’ve always thought of it as something much more than just an emigration song - a song of “going away” and all that that means... 

Joseph Gentilini

Beautiful, John J.  Thanks for sharing.  joe

Michael McLeod

Jeffrey:

thanks for the thoughtful post.

I was struck by your mention of what a blessing it is to be with a woman who is a source of both love and education. My signficant other is a grade school teacher, with a skillset that qualifies her quite nicely when it comes to enlightening a manchild such as myself-- all on a regular basis, free of charge.

Speaking of thoughtful I'm struck by the fact that thoughtfulness itself is under attack in our country these days, what with institutions of higher learning in the sights of the president. The headlines remind me of the scary distopian mind control novels I used to read when I was into science fiction. You may think I'm overstating the case. If so I can only hope you're right.

David Mitchell

I love this thought;