Spouse – John Arbini

        Children – 2 Daughters, 1 Son

        Grandchildren – 3 Boys, 1 Girl
Activities/Hobbies: Reading, Knitting, Travel, and Mariners Baseball

 

Wow, it’s hard to believe that it has been 50 years since graduation. Even though I only attended Wa-Hi my Senior Year, some of my fondest high school memories are from there. After relocating to Walla Walla from California, my parents and I lived in an apartment across the street from Bob Adams while our newly purchased home was being vacated. Thank you, Bob, for introducing me to so many future classmates that summer. It really helped to ease the transition.

 

After graduation I attended Whitman College and was reacquainted with John at a freshman mixer. Seems I needed a diversion from some unwanted attention and sought his help when I saw him sitting at a table with Brian Lucarelli. We were “pinned” by the end of the year and, as the saying goes, the rest is history!

 

John and I married in 1963, and after a move to Seattle our family began arriving in 1966. By 1969 we were five.  Fortunately, I was able to be a stay at home mom, and spending those precious early years with our children was a good fit for me. As they entered school my interests turned to volunteerism. Many hours were spent in classrooms at their schools, in leadership positions with Bluebirds and Campfire, in various positions with the PTA, and serving as a reading tutor in Junior High. Once the children were in high school and college I started the process all over again and returned to assisting with kindergarten classes. After a few years of that, I decided it was time to move on to the adult world with active participation in the Activities Council of the Tacoma Art Museum and several years of volunteer work with St. Joseph Hospital where I had the opportunity to chair their annual charity ball.

 

When John retired from the Bank of America in 1999 I decided it was time to hang up my volunteer hat. We now enjoy time with our adult children, frequent stays at our home in Sunriver, spoiling our grandchildren, and travels with some great friends. I feel blessed that we’ve been able to enjoy life as we have, and look forward to seeing all who are planning to attend the big 50th Reunion.

My husband’s name is Duane Berry. I’m retired but had some interesting jobs. I worked for Payless Northwest as greeting card supervisor and got to travel to Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. When K Mart bought Payless my job went away. Several years later I worked for a doctor in Pendleton and did lab work, EKG, office work, and just about everything but transcription. Still can’t spell or type very fast. I retired when the doctor retired.

 

We have two sons, three grandsons, and one granddaughter (Allison).

 

After we retired, we full timed in a motor home for eight years. But we both love the desert and built a home on our lot in Yuma two years ago. We love and call Yuma our home. We like to go climb rocks in the Polaris, since we are only a few blocks from the Barry Goldwater Bombing range and BLM land. I love computers so spend a lot of time messing around with PCs. Duane likes to ride his motorcycle – not me. Since most of our neighbors are retired, we keep busy socializing with them. Also, we have just enough friends come and stay in our Casita to keep life interesting. Almost forgot…we have two mini schnauzers, Heidi and Abby, who are just fun. The summer is spent on our lot on Skookum Creek or visiting our kids who live in Washington and Oregon.

I graduated from Whitman College in 1964 with a BA in Economics. I worked for Sea First from 1964 to 1981 and Bank of America from 1982 to 1993 in National and International Banking. I graduated from Pacific Coast Banking School in 1978 and completed a course in International studies from the Wharton School of Finance in 1980. I served in the U.S. Army from 1965 – 1971 and subsequently did some related private contract work. I have been a lifelong philatelist, a student of history and 16^th – 19^th century naval architecture. Upon occasion I work on restoration of antique sailing ship models.

 

My wife, Connie, and I have been together since our first date in 1958 (married in 1962). Connie is a highly skilled database developer and marketing resources manager and enjoys her work immensely. We still own our black MGB purchased new in 1969 and live happily in a Seattle apartment. We enjoy numerous hobbies and pursue a simple lifestyle.