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Mike Floyd

I just received an email from Brenda Jenkins Armstrong that she and Jon lost their son Jon Armstrong Jr, on April 22, due to heart issue. It was sudden. He leaves his wife and 3 children.  

Please keep Brenda and Jon in your thoughts an prayers.

Mike Floyd

Brenda & Jon,

I am so sorry to hear of your loss.  Harriette and I lost our son 15 years ago at the age of 29.  He was single and living alone in Tucson, AZ.  My sister (TJ Class of 1960) lost her son 4 years ago.  He was 48 and he left his wife had two children one who was extremely autistic.  I know the pain you and Jon are going through.  There will always be a part of you that is missing, a hole in your heart that doesn’t heal, but the pain will become less intense with time.  Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Mike

Russell Flammia

Dear Brenda, I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of your son.  You and your family will be in my thougths and prayers.

Sally Kincannon (von Rumohr)

Dear Brenda,  There can be no greater loss than  one of our children.  My heart breaks for you.  Please know that  you have love and sympathy in great abundance, and also healing wishes to you and your family.  Our children, no matter their age, make us so vulnerable — to good times AND difficult times.  Please know that you are not alone.  Take care, Sally

Jo-Ann Olkowski

Dear Brenda,

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your son.  I can't think of anything more devastating to a parent. My thoughts will be with you and your family.

Jo-Ann

Allan Forman

Brenda, so sorry to hear the loss of your son. It’s the worst. Children are supposed to bury their parents, not the other way around. Take care. 

Allan Forman

Dick, thanks for your cataract advice to Marilyn. I used it myself. Just finished the second eye. Had two follow up appts with the doctor himself and he gave me his cell number should I need it. Very surprised. Both went well. 

Carolyn (Kay) Grinnan (Drinard)

Dear Brenda and Jon,

We were so saddened to hear of the loss

of your son. Please know that you and your 

family are in our thoughts and prayers. We

can’t imagine the great loss that you feel.

May the heartfelt sympathy of your friends

give you comfort at this devastating time.

With love,

Kay and Dan Grinnan

Mike Floyd

One of my favorite posting from Begin with Yes.

When we lose someone we love, we discover that time does not heal everything. After a while, the ache in our heart begins to ease a bit, and we laugh again, life goes on and many times we reconnect with those still physically with us in much deeper more beautiful ways. And eventually the good memories outnumber the sad thoughts and we begin to sense that what we thought was lost, has actually been with us all along. We can’t explain it, touch it or prove it – but there are moments we catch ourselves smiling because we know it's true. ❤ Begin with Yes

Marilyn Wolfe (Ruben)

Brenda  & Jon - I don't think we ever met at Tee Jay, but I  join my classmates  in extending my heartfelt condolences to you on the loss of your son!  I am so sorry you have gone through this ordeal, and hope you can find some peace in your good memories of him as well as the comfort provided by your family and friends. Life is so short, and we need to cherish each day like it is a gift!   Many prayers and blessings are being sent to you and your family as you go along your way. I wish I could be there to console all the people in our class who have lost those that they love, but this is the best I can do from 3,000 miles away.

Melvin Katz

Brenda: I want to add my condolances to you on the loss of your son. I am very sorry for your ,oss and wish comfort to you and your family at the loss you have suffered.

Brenda Jenkins (Armstrong)

Marilyn Wolfe (Ruben)

Sorry I have been so out-of-touch lately!  I caught a nasty cold on Easter Day & have been fighting it, all the way through to a Wedding we attended in Texas last weekend!  I could not believe how GREEN Texas is!            I always thought those "Cowboy Movies"  were filmed there, but I guess more than I realized were filmed in Arizona, or places like El Paso!.......Allan Forman, you were lucky!  There is NO followup procedure in Arizona  by M.D.'s who do Cataract Surgery!  I asked & was refused. Also, the  Medical Assistants who do the follow-up are not Certified! The New Law to cover that was just passed in January, with a window of the next 7 months for them to take a course & pass a test to be Certified.  I am always "the tip of the iceberg" because Arizona is only 100 years old, instead of 412 years , like Virginia, or 243, like the rest of the original "colonies" turned to states.  I'm debating whether to return to the same facility for the second eye, or to declare my independence from "The Assembly Line!". Time will tell, but we have a lot of traveling yet to do this Summer, and I need to get rid of this cold!  There are a lot of allergies in the Desert this year!......Regards to all you classmates out there! 

Peggy Smith (Robins)

To Barbara Seely and T.J. friends, thank you for the birthday wishes.  Alex and I went to Florida to visit with my  sister and her husband, and I had a wonderful birhday.  We went to Sea World, which was so fun!  Many blessings to you all for a wonderful year ahead.  Love ya, Peggy Smith Robins

Marilyn Wolfe (Ruben)

Hi, Peggy!  Happy Birthday!  I see you loved Florida!  We try  to visit there each year & I love it, too!...........                    I remember you were in many of my classes at Westhampton!  I still have all those old photos from school!

Marilyn Wolfe (Ruben)

Just read the new story about Westhampton School. We will be in Richmond in June, so I hope there is something left of our school for my Granddaughter to see when we arrive.  I seem to remember that Belle Landrum said they were going to save one classroom for Memoirs of our days at Westhampton.  I hope that    still stands!  This new transition is breaking my heart & those of my classmates, as well!!

Jo-Ann Olkowski

Russell, many thanks for taking the time with the librarian to figure out the meaning of the wall hanging.  You are absolutely right ... FREEDOM does not come free.  We owe our thanks to all who have served to give us the freedom we have in this country.  I make it a daily practice whenever I see a veteran to shake their hand and thank them for their service; the same holds true for all our uniformed first responders - police officers, firemen and women, and rescue squad members.  The smile on their faces when they are acknowledged and thanked is so worth the good feeling you get about that few minutes you took to make them feel good.

Jo-Ann

Russell Flammia

Hi Jo Ann, I know the Vet appriate your graitude, it means a lot to them. You said it better than I can in your message.  We're on the same page.  

Jo-Ann Olkowski

Thanks, Russell.  Oddly enough, right after your post I was watching some of the Fleet Week in NYC things on Fox & Friends and there were two vets demonstrating the proper way to fold our flag and the meaning behind each of the 13 triangular folds - it gave great insight into something I did not know and an even greater appreciation for our flag.  There was also a veteran who played The Star Spangled Banner on a harmonical!  Great stuff!  He was a medic stationed in England and part of the D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy.

It's true that what we don't learn from history and change is likely to be repeated.

Have a great day!

Jo-Ann

Linda Fiske (Wehrle)

Thank you for the thoughts on Vets. It is very special when someone says Thank you for your service. 

Marilyn Wolfe (Ruben)

I also thank all those in our class who have served in the Military. But I am confused as to WHY we celebrate Memorial Day with a Picnic!!! Does anybody know WHY????

Mike Floyd

Marilyn, Google doesn't know either, but it started with decorating the graves of soldiers after the Civil War.  All agree that Memorial Day isn't just about picnics and cookouts.  It's about honoring all of those who served to protect our freedom.  The cost of freedom isn't free.

Marilyn Wolfe (Ruben)

Yes, I know "Freedom isn't Free,"  Mike!  I am just thinking about all my family members who were in the Army & WAAC during World War 2 (photos of whom I sent you last year), Joel's Uncle  in the Navy, and how they are now buried in 3 different cemetaries in different States, far from here! It wasn't until I moved to my condo (5 minutes from the Marine Base in Yuma, Arizona) that the meaning of this holiday was truly explained to me!  Not even those very same relatives talked about it, when they were alive!  It was "just a picnic day!" Now I think we should have celebrated it more appropriately by visiting the Cemetary where my relatives were (are) buried! Each time a plane from the Marine Base flies over my house during "Training Season" in April, May, and June, I think about all the Servicemen in trenches in the fields, with planes flying overhead, and I can get some sense of the terror or pride they felt, depending on whether those planes were flown by Enemies or Allies. Also, there are a lot of patriotic people here who Retired from the Service.  Yuma was recently voted "The Most Patriotic City in the USA !"

My Granddaughter has been in Israel for the past 3 weeks, with "The Birthright Program."  She has toured many areas with her group of 40 Arizona State University students and members of the Israeli Defense Force go everywhere with them, for protection.  In addition to visiting "Yad Vashem Memorial Museum" in Jerusalem, the tour also took the students to Mount Herzl, where members of the IDF are buried.  The Security Guards in the IDF were in tears, because some of their friends were buried there.  My Granddaughter wrote: "It was a surreal experience!  If I lived here, I would be in the Israeli Army NOW!"  I think she is learning MORE about "Freedom" on this trip than she EVER did in school! 

I am thinking that during our trip East to show our Granddaughter "Where Grandma grew up,"we need to stop in Baltimore & Richmond to show her where her Great-and-Great-Great-Grandparents are buried. I don't know WHEN we will have another chance to do that, because she has such a busy schedule, and we only visit Richmond ONCE every 5 years.  "Family History" is becoming important to her!

Jo-Ann Olkowski

Marilyn, probably a lot of the silence after returning from a war is a combination of many factors. "War is Hell" is a true statement (General Patton?).  When faced with enemy guns determined to kill you it's terrifying enough 24/7.  Some of your relatives could have been part of a group who suddenly found themselves looking at unimaginable horror at one of the many German concentration camps ... the shock of seeing mere skeletons of men and women in prison clothing ... and with all those Stars of David ..... "it's ,,, true ... all those rumors and denials of death camps for Jews ... ."

My mother-in-law's only brother survived the Death March at Bataan ... for the rest of his life, he never mentioned a word about war when he got home.  Another uncle was a medic landing in Normandy, France - he never talked about the war.  A cousin returned and just wandered around the rest of his life. popping up unannounced here and there at relatives' homes only to silently disappear a day or so later.  He never recovered from what, during WWII, was called "shell shock" and is today's PTSD. It takes a toll people in many different ways.

Memorial Day IS a day of memory and honor - in NYC it's a week long event called "Fleet Week."  But, it's also a sort of "unofficial" start of summer ... time to pull out the grills, get together with family and friends ... some of whom may be active military home on leave or who are now veterans ... a time to relax and enjoy together the freedom we have.  So, there are picnics.

Jo-Ann

George Armstrong

 If you search on “cemeteries use as social sites” or “picnic at a graveyard” you should be able to find articles from the Atlantic and Vintage News resprctively that should shine some light on the history of cemetery usage as social as well as memorial sites.

Since I’m already on line, as we remember those who died in the uniformed services (“it is altogether fitting and proper that we do this”) I believe we should also remember those who died in war times while serving in the Merchant Marine.  Those who served, especially in WWII, knew they were at high risk of being killed as the transported vital goods and equipment  to our allies even before we officially declared war.  Without this vital life line, it is possible (some say probable) that the war would have been over before we entered it.  How likely was a merchant seaman to be killed — about 1 in 26.  This represents a higher mortality rate than any of the uniformed services.  To my knowledge, I have never known a merchant seaman, but I can’t begin to acknowledge how much I respect and appreciate them.

In closing, please remember those who died so that this nation “of the people, for the people, by the people shall not perish from the face of the earth.”  Besides the great words of Abraham Lincoln, I recall the words of Ronald Reagen who said that we should remember that each of these people represented the loss of two lives— the one they had lived and the one that they would have lived.