Current Information
for Class Members

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Jimmy Nolan

Jimmy is a Poet, He also teaches Creative Writing and Spanish at Loyla University. Click here to view a MSWord document with a translation by Jimmy of the poem "LOST CHILD" by Pablo Neruda. posted during 2000 Click here for "Our Hell in High Water" a personal account of Katrina experiences by Jimmy Nolan. Click here for an eye witness account of their ordeal by two paramedics who were attending a convention in N.O. They didn't make it onto the stolen schoolbus [see Jimmy Nolan's story] posted 9/2005

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Greg Noonan

He's in the N.O. Phone Book.

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Ria Parody Erlich

My husband Shel and I continue to enjoy retirement from the Los Angeles Unified School District. We still operate a "mom and pop" writing and editing business from our home in Santa Monica, California, in between rounds of golf, which has become one of our favorite pasttimes. I also have been a member of a fiction writing workshop for the past several years and am proud to report that one of my stories, "Leaving," was published in the Fall 2003 web edition of "The Circle Magazine" (www.circlemagazine.com). Click HERE to go to the article. One of my greatest pleasures was being able to share the news via e-mail with Dr. Charles Suhor, English teacher extraordinaire! In October 2003, we celebrated the wedding of Shel's daughter Kim to Akash Bijlani, who got married the day after our own tenth anniversary. The two of them live in the San Francisco Bay area, where they both work in the UCSF Hospitals Neurology Department, she as a pediatric nurse practioner and he as an assistant director. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend our 40th reunion, but will be there in spirit and certainly would love to hear about the current lives of all my Class-of-'65-mates by email. posted 9/2004 Ria and Shel Erlich Exploring Costa Rica, October 2002

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Diane Pitre

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Ferd Plavidal

Ferd married Linda Capper and they live in Houston. See Linda's entry for details.

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Kay Radlauer

We have Kay's e-mail and hope she will send us a bio to include in the site.

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Karen Rinardo Speier

I came to B.R. in 1978 to go to graduate school. I got married in 1982 to Tony Speier, a fellow graduate student. I did my internship in Martinez and Oakland, CA at a VA Hospital, then returned to finish my dissertation. In early 1983, Tony's son Anthony came to live with us , and then we had a son in 1984. In 1986, I got licensed as a clinical psychologist and Tony finished his Ph.D.. I have been in private practice since 1986 and Tony is the Director of Community Services for the Office of Mental Health. Our older son is 25, graduated from Tulane in 1997, married in 1999, and lives in New Orleans. Austin is 16 and at the end of tenth grade, so we're beginning to look at colleges. We've lived in an older (~65+yrs) house for about 13 years and have just about finished the last and most major renovation, which took almost a year during which we lived in the original part (2 bedrooms, one bath, the living room and 1/3 of the dining room)and essentially functioned as the "contractors". It was crazy at times, but we feel a great sense of pride having done a lot of the design (with the oversight of an architect) and choosing of materials as well as some hands-on work. We were able to salvage some wonderful old cypress that had been used for the interior walls (presheetrock building techniques) and did the refinishing of it ourselves and used it in our kitchen/breakfast room/den. That's the main news in our lives. My family is still in N.O. and I have a nephew who will be a Senior at Franklin this year (Hard to believe that it's now the class of 2000!) so I guess I'll get to see another Franklin graduation. You're welcome to share any of this with our other classmates. Thanks for helping us keep up with each other. Karen Rinardo Speier posted during 2000

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John Roberts

obituary John B. Roberts Passed away unexpectedly October 14, 2008 while hiking in the hills by his home in Lucas Valley. He was 61. He is survived by his wife, Alison, his daughters, Hilary and Megan, and his brother, Phil, as well as family and friends in the Bay Area and across the country. John was a graduate of Stanford University and Creighton University School of Medicine; he practiced medicine in Red Bluff, California. He was an avid backpacker, reader, climber, and Scrabble player, and an enthusiastic prankster. In the past month, John walked his daughter down the aisle, backpacked 50 miles in the Sierra with his brother, and explored Mexico with his family. He will be lovingly missed for his kind words, thoughtful advice, generous spirit, and twisted sense of humor. Memorial donations may be sent to Family Service Agency of Marin, 555 Northgate Drive, San Rafael, 94903. posted 11/2008 A fine time was had by all. Lea, John, Bob, Joe, Eileen Biography from John Roberts: After high school, I went to Stanford, 1965-70. I continued living in California until I went to Creighton Medical School in Omaha in 1974. In 1973 I married Alison Bach, whom I met at Stanford. I did a residency in San Francisco, in OB-GYN, from 1978 to 1982. I have practiced for many years in Red Bluff, CA, a town up north in the central valley of California. I am semi-retired now. Alison and I have two daughters. Hilary is 26 and is a newly-minted attorney working at a firm in San Francisco. Megan is 24 and teaches middle school in San Rafael, near our home. No grandchildren are present or imminent. I'm enjoying reading about my classmates on the web site and looking forward to more of them being filled in. Thanks to Hanan for putting this together. posted 9/2002

Harry Rosenberg

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Joel Rosenberg

I�m happy that Hanan took the initiative to establish this website as I have been quite curious over the years about the many talented people that were in our class. I have been extremely fortunate in so many ways since Franklin. I went to Washington University in St. Louis because Ms. Guidry said to. There I met Cynthia in 1966. Returned to n.o. in 1969 for medical school at Tulane. Cynthia and I were married in 1970 and came to Washington, D.C. in 1973. Kate was born in 1979 and Alex in 1982. We moved a few blocks 10 years ago from D.C. to Chevy Chase, Md., basically the same neighborhood. Cynthia is a psychiatric social worker doing individual and couples psychotherapy in private practice. As you might guess, such services are truly needed in this town. I�m a founding member of a 19 person cardiology practice in D.C. and nearby Maryland. My professional interests range from fancy technology to preventive cardiology to mind-body medicine. Most of my non-family and non-work time is devoted to singing. I began classical voice training 4 1/2 years ago and had my first recital last October. It�s very exciting and I only wish I had started years earlier. I still have family in N.O. and I return several times a year. I love to walk the streets, smell and feel the air, hear the accent, and, naturally, sample the food. posted during 2000

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Ray Russo

Ray married Sonia Adrouny. Their biography can be found here.

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Carol Schaeffer Williams

Update: Hello to all!! I'm not sure if this classifies as news or not - but we have purchased a home in Lacombe LA and plan to move in full time (hopefully) by the summer of 2008. We lost our (retirement) home in Pass Christian MS to Katrina and opted to sell the lot rather than fight rebuilding via long distance (we are still at Tuskegee University in Alabama). We were fortunate to find a place in Lacombe (still close to family) so we bought it. We are looking forward to coming home - at least pretty close to home - boating, fishing, and finally some well-seasoned food in restaurants!!! Take care- Carol Schaeffer Williams posted 3/2007 As far as a bio sketch - I'm afraid there isn't much that's too exciting. I received a Masters in Zoology from LSU in 1970, got married (no children), and moved to Alabama where both my husband and I teach at Tuskegee University. I started in the Department of Biology working in the area of electron microscopy and teaching histology...seven years ago I moved to the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee where I am teaching histology. We live on a lake and are, for the most part, boater and fisher people - with a few vintage sports car races at Road Atlanta thrown in for good measure. We travel to Louisiana/Mississippi several times a year. In fact, we are just returning from a Christmas visit. My family has mostly moved out of New Orleans - I have a brother in Mandeville and that's about it. My husband's folks are in Church Point (cajun country). We are thinking about buying a home (for eventual retirement) on the Mississippi coast - hopefully, that will come to pass in the not too distant future. posted during 2000 following addition July 26,2002 I am still teaching at the Vet School at Tuskegee University. My husband and I purchased a home in Pass Christian MS last year - with a hope of retiring sooner rather than later. The stock market may have other ideas, however!! Take care and keep the humor coming this way. My regards to all. Carol (Schaeffer) Williams

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Joe Schell

Joe Schell graduated from LSUNO with a B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1969. He received an M.S. degree in Chemistry from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1970. During his senior year at LSUNO, Joe married Gail Evans, a Nicholls High School graduate. They are still happily married after 35 years. They have two daughters, Lori and Rebecca, both married. Lori lives in Oakland, CA with her husband Samuel. Lori is expecting their first child in December, 2004. Lori has 18 months of school left to become a doctor of accupuncture. Rebecca lives in Houston with her husband Mark and their two sons, Pierce and Jaden. She is expecting their third child in March, 2005. They started a business in 2004 on the Internet, Nurturedfamily.com. (Click on the name and have a look.) Joe and Gail moved to Baton Rouge, LA after graduate school. He was employed by Dow Chemical in Plaquemine, LA for 33 years, from 1970 through 2002. At Dow, Joe was a Research Chemist and Research Leader working in polyethylene catalyst and process research for 21 years, then in Thermal Analysis for 12 years. Joe has six patents related to his catalyst work. He served as Co-chairman of the Reactive Chemicals Committees at the Dow Louisiana Division in Plaquemine and the Union Carbide (Dow subsidiary) site in Taft. The Reactive Chemicals (RC) Committees conducted RC/ Process Safety reviews at all 40+ chemical plants at both sites to ensure the safe operation of the plants. Joe retired from Dow in 2002 and is enjoying his freedom to visit grandkids and travel. Joe and Gail have enjoyed travel and adventure their whole life together. Joe let Gail "tag along" on business trips to Edmonton, Canada (side trip to Banf and Jasper National Parks), the Netherlands (side trip through most of Western Europe), and Tokyo, Japan. Gail and a friend visited daughter Lori in Prague, Czech Republic after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992, while Lori taught English there for a year between her junior and senior college years. When Lori served in the Peace Corps in Nepal from 1994-1996 teaching kids and training teachers to teach math and English, Joe and Gail visited her for a month. We hung out in Katmandu, trekked a week through the Annapurna Mountains (26-27,000 feet high) in the Himalayas, and chased rhinos in the jungle near the border with India. We chased the rhinos during three safaris - on foot, on elephant back, and by jeep. On the return flight we explored Bagkok, Tahiland for a week. After Joe retired, we spent a month camping at State Parks in Florida all the way down to the Florida Keys and Key West. We went scuba diving several times with friends at Key Largo, once being chased by a large Moray eel and once circled by a 7 foot Caribbean Reef shark We hope to visit Hawaii and Alaska during the next two years. posted 9/2004

Joe (on left) with friends ready to watch LSU become National Champions

Paul Schulman

Paul Schulman teaches government at Mills College in California. His research and writing lately is on electricity de-regulation and medical errors. Paul hasn't been back to New Orleans in a long time but hope to return for a visit soon to show it to his wife and 9-year old daughter. posted 8/2002

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Joe Horton

I went to MIT from '65-'69, majored in chemistry (big surprise to everyone who knew me), Tulane med thru '73, did a residency in diagnostic radiology, then on to a neuroradiology fellowship at U. of Pitt. Bounced around thereafter, staying longest in Pittsburgh--a well-kept secret. Somewhere along the road I had a son, Charles--still have him. He's 21 and has horsepower to burn. Got a classical diploma from Exeter, then to MIT, which he finished in 2.5 years. Saved me a few bucks, but I tried to talk him onto enjoying it. He adheres to the idea that Exeter was, for him, what MIT was for me. And he'll be starting med school in the fall. I've been married and divorced a couple times, still on very good terms with Charles' mom. Professionally, I'm now a tenured full prof of radiology and neurosurgery at UAB (University of Alabama at B'ham), chief of interventional neuro (INR)--a separate division in radiology. I moonlight doing INR in various and sundry places, but that's getting old--as am I--and I'm cutting back most of the travel effective June. Also co-founded a company, Micrus, to make, test, distribute, and sell some devices (which I invented and on which I hold patents) for treating intracranial aneurysms. Not yet to the IPO stage, but stay tuned. For fun, I learned that reading was a lot more enjoyable when Miss Vial wasn't looking over my shoulder and telling me that I didn't understand it. I read maybe 30-50 book/year, mostly fiction, but not entirely. Didn't start reading a lot until I was through my fellowship--had the time then.Also like movies, shooting pool and skeet (inter alia), used to go flying at a place called Sky warriors -- dogfighting with lasers in T-34's (fighter trainers that had been decommisioned) until that ceased to be. And just about everything else that I used to do for fun in high school. Also--been in touch with Charlie Suhor --he lives in Montgomery now. Last I saw him was in New Orleans when we had a 25th reunion. If you're interested, I'll give him your email address. Other than that, just a stick in the mud stay at home kinda guy. posted during 2000 12/2004 update Well, son Charles is now the second Dr. Horton in the family. He's an intern now at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, will be starting his anesthesia residency at Pitt July '05, and is off the payroll !! Very smart guy, that. My company is doing quite well now, as various roadblocks seem to be removed. Who knows? It might actually fly--as in IPO. And then what would a reasonable (or in my case, not so reasonable) person do for amusement? I'm open to suggestions. Click here to go to Joe's company site, http://micruscorp.com

Smile Please !

Vicki Shook

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Bill Sisco

Well, there's really not much to tell: 4 years at LSUNO - B.A. German 4 years in U.S. Coast Guard - San Francisco, Mobile, Tampa 20 years working for Hauni Richmond, Inc., a manufacturer of cigarette-making machinery in Richmond, VA. In 1971 Karen and I married; our son Benjamin was born in 1976; our daughter Nicole in 1980. Right now it's May, 2000, and I am an operator of gear-making machinery for Hauni Richmond. I just came back from a visit to New Orleans during its big drought. Can you believe it, a drought there? While there I got on the old one-speed bicycle that I sometimes rode to high school. I cruised through my old neighborhood near Fortier High School, then on through Audubon Park. I continued to our old high school building; it's Lusher Elementary now. Otherwise it looks pretty much the same. There's a wonderful paved bicycle path on the levee by the school. It goes on forever: the Mississippi on one side and the city on the other. I rode as far as the Huey P. Long Bridge before turning back. The ride's finale was a bust though. When I reached the Plum Street snowball stand, it had not yet opened. Bummer. It's good to be in touch with all of you again through Hanan's website. Each autobiographical sketch arrives like a new present to be unwrapped slowly and enjoyed many times over. Best wishes to each and everyone of you! Bill posted during 2000

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Cyndy Smith Hernández

My info, in brief: Finished Newcomb '69 BA in Sociology. TU Grad. School '71 MA in Latin American Studies. Married José Hernández (my hero) and moved to Mexico City '71. In Mexico City: Taught ESL, Sociology, did conference translations, and was mostly a stay at home mom. Moved to Charleston SC with family 1982. '82 - '02 Taught at the Citadel, worked with husband on several projects, volunteer work, mostly raising children... Three children: José, Andrés and Marisa (31, 28 and 26) - Boys live in Charleston, daughter in Bellingham WA. Parents moved to Charleston 1999. College of Charleston '03 MA in Bilingual Legal Interpreting: independent contractor (legal and medical interpretation/translation) and interpreter trainer. Cyndy has posted her shots from the reunion here. 5/2005

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Kirt Smith

Robert K. (Kirtley) Smith is alive, well, living in St. Louis, Missouri area, married to my second wife for over 20 years now (which I and my parents find hard to believe about me), and raising two children, Abigail (age 16) and James (age 13). What an opportunity to relive teenage memories as you watch your children go through their transition. I am self-employed as a consultant in the protective coatings business (trained as an organic chemist-MS degree) and get to travel all over the USA and the world on projects involving bridges, power plants, ships, and other large industrial structures which have the need for expert assistance where there are corrosion protection programs involving coatings. I never dreamed that in my mid-fifties I would be raising teenagers, climbing in and out of the internal tanks of oceangoing chemical product tankers, overseeing laboratory analysis, writing detailed lengthy reports, testifying in court, wondering where the next project will be and when, all in the same lifetime. It is a great life, but not dull, or predictable. My wife, Dorothea, is supportive and just tough enough to set me straight when I appear to be letting my self-importance get the best of me. I became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a number of years ago, and as there is no paid clergy, my responsibilities there seem to fill any spare time that the above activities and home maintenance do not consume. I welcome any and all of my classmates to contact me at kirtley48@aol.com Looking at the locations of others from many of the e-mails I have read, it appears that a lot of us have crossed paths before. It is nice to recall the relationships that we all developed at Franklin. Regards, Kirt Smith posted 8/2002

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Sandy Stimpson

My daughter, Julia, is attending Loyola University in New Orleans. Katrina disrupted her first year, but she is back on track and on the Dean's List. Julia is doing volunteer work with the NO Center for Racial Justice, trying to help workers, both Afro-American and hispanic. And I am so happy that I have an excuse to visit my native city. In solidarity, for peace and justice, Sandra Stimpson posted 3/2007

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