SIXTH  Newsletter for NTCI Class of 1968 50^th Anniversary Reunion, Friday May 4th and Saturday May 5^th, 2018 

April 23^rd, 2018

Eleven sleeps before the big reunion weekend and we are all set to go on all events.  We would ask people to try and bring the exact amount in cash - $15 per person – for the Friday night event at the school. All other events are free. If you want to pay a little more to make sure all expenses are paid we will accept it with any leftover money being donated to the school on behalf of our class. 

It is also optional (yes, you still have to pay the $15) if you want to bring some baked goods to the school event.  Anu Pettai Marley has arranged for leftovers to be transported from the school to the Humbers’ so your cooking will not go to waste. It is your chance to show off your culinary prowess.  For those going to Mardi’s no need to bring anything. 

ADDRESS CORRECTION for HIRSHBERGS

Stuart Peikes was the only one to notice that the Saturday afternoon event at Mardi (Cornish) and Haim Hirshbergs’ should have said 12 Alexandra Wood and not 12 Alexander Wood.  But even he and Mardi did not notice I got it wrong on a previous newsletter and the web site where I said Alexandria.  Is this a hint I should take that people are not reading their newsletters? Hopefully the map in this newsletter will make sure no one gets lost getting to the house parties – for the Friday night at the school event I assume none of us have lost their memories of where the school is – it is not as though they tore down the  school. 

REMINDERS

There is still time to get tickets to Maytime Melodies . Contact Liz Monteith at elizabeth.monteith@tdsb.on.ca.

Still time to reserve a room at special rates at the Best Western nearby the school.

Call 416- 487-5101.

Still time to change your mind and come to any event or more events at the reunion – just advise me asap. 

Still time to be recognized as someone from outside the GTA. Please tell me if that is the cases so it can be noted on the Attendance Sheet below. 

Still time to write a bio or update – though will be in the one newsletter after the reunion.

STILL HAVE TIME TO LOOK FOR CLASSMATES 

PHOTOGRAPHY

We do not have it in the budget to hire Karsh of Ottawa (  and kind of hard since he is no longer with us) so instead we have Laurie of Ottawa . Start thinking now of groups you want to have your picture taken with and I’ll make it happen. I plan on having the same picture taken of me and those friends who attended my bar mitzvah. Six out of seven are coming ( will have to Photoshop in Arnie Isaacs ) .   I can also think of five of us coming who played clarinet together.   Sorry no contest to name who they are. 

DOUG CAMPBELL’S HISTORIC WALK

Starting at the south/west corner of Eglinton Park, it will be a walk through time. From when a stream ran through the park, when Montgomery’s Tavern on Yonge St. was the centre of rebel activity, & when the town of North Toronto’s high school was initially located on the 2nd floor of the town hall. All that & more!

The walk will start at 10:00 at the park & finish at Montgomery & Yonge close to noon.

Still time to sign up. 

STOP THE PRESSES,   ARNIE ISAACS HAS BEEN FOUND 

It is a long story I will not bore you with – ok I will bore you with it. Over a year ago I started asking, then harassing the NTCI Alumni association to give me the email addresses of everyone they had who graduated from 1957 to 1973 so I could check similar last names to see if they might be siblings of classmates of ours. I only recently received the information and it only yielded a few names because there were a lot of old email addresses and not as many matches I had hoped for.   ( Yes it took a lot of  my time which is why  I am not allowed to work on any more  reunions until the 75^th).  I reached one sibling whose brother Kevin Kates unfortunately passed away many years ago. His brother decided to call me and we had a nice talk about Kevin who I knew from Allenby days.  I asked him about Arnie.  Kevin’s brother asked a relative of his if he knew Arnie’s whereabouts and he found him right in front of our noses  on Facebook. Arnie joined after I started looking years ago and I never updated that search. I looked him up in the white pages of his city but the phone numbers were no longer in service. I wrote an actual letter to the address given in the white pages which was in San Clemente California .   A week later Arnie got a hold of me and we talked on the phone today.  He cannot make it to the reunion but will send a bio of his very interesting and happy life since high school. It will be published in the final wrap up newsletter after the reunion. He sent me a picture of his Pacific Ocean beach view from where he lives in San Clemente.

The moral of the story is to never give up and look everywhere. Martin Hart has been doing that and has found a number if classmates, unfortunately though a few who have passed away. He has found five who I have added to  the data bas of e mail address and others I have found their obituaries for and set out below.

There is still time to find people like Martin has mostly using Canada 411.  I am extending the Find The Classmate Contest right up to when the reunion starts. Please see the database on the web site for the many  people still to be found. 

GUEST ARTISTS at HUMBERS’

Again for this reunion we are pleased to have Warner Clarke (of our class) and Noah Pascoe ( of Carol and Laurie Pascoe) playing all your old favourite tunes   at the Humbers’ house party.  Carol made sure Noah was raised on the Beatles so he knows all the oldies as well as composing a lot of his own material ( don’t worry I will not be selling his CD’s at the party ) . But you can visit  www.pascoe.bandcamp.comto listen to his two CD’s or search him www.youtube.ca  where he has a number of videos. That other guy, Warner, is quite prolific playing the guitar, banjo, pedal steel & singing with The Deloraines, The Lost Boys,l  The Wild Walker Bandand  Willin' & Abelall of which have Facebook pages – check him out . Don’t know when Warner has time to attend the reunion being in all these bands. 

OBITUARIES

KEVIN KATES 

Kevin passed away in 1988 at the age of 38 after a brief illness. He was married. He had a successful career in marketing for many years. He is missed by his older sister and brother who were both North Toronto graduates. 

ARVOLA, GEORGE

May 12, 1948 - April 13, 2016

George was born in Vaasa, Finland and moved to Canada with his family in 1956. He grew up in Sudbury and Toronto but lived in Kitchener for his entire adult life.  George was predeceased by his parents Olavi and Anna-Liisa Arvola. He is survived by his wife Gitta, daughter Susie (Ron), their children Denim and Jada, sister Satu (George) of Oshawa, twin sister Iiris (Ken) of Nanaimo, and nieces Hilkka and Lisa.

George was a lifelong musician and music teacher but primarily a guitarist. He was passionate about music and felt lucky in being able to make it his life's work. George tried to inspire his students with this passion, always hoping that music would bring them joy throughout their lives. At the end of his life he donated his eyes so that two other people could see their world through his eyes.

JOYCE DRIELSMA 

 Joyce L. Dutton, a resident of Willow Grove Pennsylvania passed away, Saturday September 8, 2012 at Sacred Heart Home, at the age of 63. She was the wife of Joseph R. Dutton Sr.
Born in Amsterdam, Joyce was a daughter of the late Rolf and Louise Hankes Drielsma. Her passions were painting, sculpting, education, travel and especially spending quality time with children, her children, her grandchildren and family.
Joyce is also survived by her 4 children, Tracy (Tom) Gaal, Joseph R. Jr. (Valeri), Shelley and Brian; 7 grandchildren, Khloe, Joseph, Richard, Joseph, Jacqueline, Elizabeth and Kristopher; sister, Judy (Henry) Paap; brothers, Stephen (Wendy) Drielsma, Martin (Cynthia) Hankes Drielsma and Renny (Yvonne) Drielsma; and several nieces and nephews. 

 KEVIN LEWIS 

Please see the biography of his wife Patty Sharpe below. 

BIOGRAPHIES 

GLYNNIS THOMAS ( married name FRENCH)

I attended NTCI for grades 9, 10, and 12.  For my grade 11 year, my parents arranged a private student exchange with a family in Utrecht, Netherlands.  The Dutch exchange student Hermine Redeke attended grade 11 at NTCI in my place and some of you may remember her – she was “adopted” by my high school and neighbourhood friends and had a wonderful time in Canada.  A huge disappointment for me was that my family decided to take on a country life-style between my grade 12 and 13 so I experienced the shock of attending a small town comprehensive high school (Port Hope) and graduating there in 1968  instead of my beloved NTCI.  

Thinking back on that time, I must say that I took in the ‘60’s pretty thoroughly and I was more of a rebel than was good for me.   Although active in the music program (the incomparable Mr. Hill’s choir) and on the volleyball team, at other occasions where NTCI students were excelling at extracurricular activities, I was likely hanging out at the Fran’s on Yonge Street.  A highlight of that era for me was hitch-hiking with Heiner Baumhard (listed in the NTCI obits) across Europe and North Africa in the summer of 1967 and then another hitch-hiking adventure with Nancy Rendall (in the 1968 grad yearbook) around the US in the summer of 1969.  Don’t ask where the parents were – it was the age of free-range teens and somehow we figured out how to give various concerned authorities the slip. 

I attended Trent University with a major in English and over the course of that degree, I did gain some focus and some academic credibility.  I worked there as Assistant to the Master and later was teaching assistant while obtaining my Masters in English at York University.  I finished off academically with a degree in Public Administration at Queens in 1978-79 by which time I had decided that it was time to get a “real” job in a field where the glass ceiling for women was starting to show cracks.  

My career has largely been in public administration – I worked first in the provincial government in Saskatchewan and then moved to the federal government in Ottawa where I now make my home.  As they say, I progressed through positions of increasing responsibility and retired in 2009 as a senior assistant deputy minister.  Somewhere along the line, I gained experience in corporate services (HR and Finance) which I have been able to turn into a successful post-retirement consulting career which I am still doing but in wind-down mode.

I married my husband Robert (ex-Brit and 10 years older than me) in 1982 and we have a grown son and daughter, living in Ottawa and Vancouver – no grandchildren yet unfortunately.   We have renovated our house top to bottom, travelled extensively and enjoy our cottage in the Gatineau in the summertime.  Of course by this age, there have been health issues along the way but fingers-crossed for the moment I have been spared.  I play tennis and try to keep fit by other means such as running, cross-country skiing and hiking.  Even though I am sure that for me the reunion will mostly be new introductions rather than recognitions and remembrances, I look forward to meeting all of you at the upcoming NTCI reunion.  

LAUREL MCQUEEN

I attended Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing, graduating in 1970. I worked on the neurosurgical public ward for 21/2 years where I learned a lot about responsibility being in charge of 25 very ill patients at age 20!. I then joined the Canadian Forces, where over 7 years I was posted to Ottawa, Cold Lake, and Germany. I was sent on an extensive ICU course and I think I did every kind of nursing possible during that time. I resigned my commission to marry my then husband. We moved back to Toronto where I had my son and then to Oshawa where my daughter was born. We ended up in Ajax for many years until I decided I needed a good school for my kids - so back to north Toronto.

I worked at most of the Toronto area ICUs over the years while raising my kids, now as a sole support parent. I also went back to school, obtaining a Masters degree in the Sociology of education and then taught ICU nursing at a variety of hospitals and colleges. My kids grew up and moved out, I retired from nursing in 20012 and moved to our cottage which I winterized and now live in all year. I met the love of my life 5 years ago and together we enjoy walking on his farm, travelling and just plain living.

MARY CLIFFORD MAHOVLICH

(Canadian Mothercraft Graduate then after Early Childhood Educator. B.A. U of Windsor.)

I am a retired R.E.C.E having operated a Not for Profit Child Care Centre for 16 years in Wheatley, On. I have remained involved with Girl Guides and received my 50 year pin. I am very active in the community. In July I will become the  Governor of District A-1 , Southwestern  Ontario for Lions Clubs International. Lions are the global leader in community & humanitarian service with almost 1.5 million members.

PATTY SHARPE and DAVID LEWIS 

After high school, I went into nursing and graduated from the Wellesley School of Nursing in 1971. During my first year in nursing I reconnected with David Lewis, who was also in our class , who was studying civil engineering at U of T and we were married in 1972.

We lived in Toronto until 1975 when David’s Engineering firm gave him the opportunity to work overseas. Always ready for an adventure, we took up residence in Afghanistan where David designed the water and sewage system for the City of Kabul.

Our first daughter was born in Kabul in1978. In 1979 when the Russians invaded, we were returned to Canada and made our way west to settle in Edmonton, Alberta. 

David became a partner in a small engineering firm and I continued to work as an RN in a hospital close to home. Our second daughter was born in 1981 and the years flew by but sadly, in 1990 David passed away from Cancer at the age of 41.

Here I am 37 years later, still in Edmonton, both daughters married, 3 beautiful grandchildren and I have plans to retire this year. Among other pastimes, I have developed a love for genealogy, which has given me the opportunity to travel to many places in this world to follow my passion.

Although I spent the majority of my adult life on the other side of Canada, Toronto is still my home and I have lovely memories of my high school years at NCTI. 

UPDATES

MARTA HOLLO

Marta is back from the artic living in Toronto . She will be able to attend to the reunion but 

wishes everyone a good time. 

MIKE GUINESS

First, it's fascinating to learn that two of our classmates have been appointed to the Order of Canada; Bill Schabas and Liz Ingram. Congratulations to both! In many ways I'm not surprised. For more than 40 years I have been extolling the virtues of my high school class to anyone who will listen: family, friends,fellow physicians and residents etc. Americans, especially, have difficulty comprehending how such anabundance of talent could flourish in a public high school.

For my own update, a few things have occurred since our 2014 reunion. You might recall that I left NTCI as a somewhat burned out competitive swimmer who hoped to return as a high school geography teacher like my hero, Mr. McMurray.
Well, the Varsity Blues turned my focus back to swimming but secure teaching opportunities eluded me for some time. Geography did not work out and I found myself in Emergency Medicine. So, looking back, it's amusing to list the following occurrences:

University of Toronto Sports Hall of Fame Induction: Swimming: 2015.
University of Toledo: Academic Faculty of The Year: Emergency Medicine: 2014 and 2016.

Incidentally, in moving to this Ohio/ Michigan border area in 1979, I was repeatedly asked the following sports question: Are you for University of Michigan or Ohio State University? For decades I had no answer to this question until my youngest daughter Laura enrolled at Ohio State University in Columbus in 2010.  Naturally I became an Ohio State supporter happily noting the school colours: Red and Grey! ( sort of).
And now I have an answer to another related question:
" Who is your favourite team? "
Answer: : Ohio State.... and any team playing Michigan."

Saving the best for last, I have been blessed with three daughters and one son. We now have two beautiful   granddaughters : Macie Michelle Rowe (Columbus Ohio) and Calla Christine Eliason (Guelph Ontario), both in 2015. Also, as of 3 days ago, April 16 2018, grandson Max David Rowe in Columbus.

Although I'm still in the rough environment of emergency medicine I'm definitely counting my
blessings, one of which is to see as many of my fellow classmates as possible at our reunion in May.