LES RENCK, FUHS '56

Mike Johnson, FUHS '58, sent this online obituary.

Leslie Henry (Les) Renck passed away November 27, 2007 at home in Overland Park, Kansas. Les was born in Long Beach, California on August 27, 1938 to Charles Henry and Patricia Leslie (Schulze) Renck.

In 1960, Les received a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cal Poly, San Louis Obispo. He was then employed by Honeywell, Inc. in Gardena, California. In 1961, he was called up to serve in the United States Army and was stationed at the Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona.

Les married Paula Catherine Isaacs in 1962. After his discharge from the Army the following year, they moved back to Southern California, where Les resumed his work with Honeywell. In 1969, Les went into business for himself, owning and operating Thermatrol, Inc. for three years. His daughter, Lisa, and son, Greg, were born during this period.

Les began working for Johns Manville Corp. in Willows, California as the plant engineer in 1973. He was employed by Johns Manville until his retirement in 1996. During these years, he worked in the Penbyrn facility in New Jersey as production manager, in the McPherson, Kansas plant as plant manager, and at the company headquarters in Denver, Colorado as Director of Manufacturing of the Building Insulation Division.

Les and Paula retired to Prescott, Arizona in 1997. During the past ten years he has been active in SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) as a counselor and as director. He served on the board of Yavapai Exceptional Industries, which provides job training, employment, volunteer placements, and support services for developmentally disabled adults in Yavapai County, Arizona.

In September of this year, Les and Paula moved to Overland Park, Kansas to be near their children and grandchildren.

Les is survived by Paula, his wife of 45 years, son Greg Renck of Lawrence, Kansas, daughter Lisa Renck Baldwin and her husband Jason and their children Silas and Sage of Olathe, Kansas, his mother Patricia Renck of Fullerton, California, and sisters Sharon Pearson of Ulysses, Kansas and Marcia Renck of Livermore, California.

Memorials can be made to:

American Cancer Society, P O Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718 www.cancer.org

Yavapai Exceptional Industries, 436 N Washington Ave., Prescott, AZ 86301

www.yeiworks.com

PKD Foundation (Polycystic Kidney Disease,) 9221 Ward Parkway, Suite 400, Kansas City, MO, 64114 www.pkdcure.org . (Les’s infant granddaughter Sage Catherine Baldwin, was born October 24, 2007 with a rare type of this genetic disorder.)

SANDRA BECHTOLD BATES, FUHS '53

Sandy's husband Chuck died November 11, 2007. They came to the Pow Wow luncheons in 2005 and 2006 so we got to know Chuck, but both had health problems that kept them from the one this year. Click on the word "COMMENTS" below this post to read his obituary.

EDDY ESCHNER, FUHS ‘77

Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Geologist Eddy Eschner dies
Fullerton native leaves a legacy of oneness with nature.
By BARBARA GIASONE
The Orange County Register

Word has been received of the death of Fullerton native Eddy Eschner, who died Nov. 10 of an inoperable brain tumor at his home in Boulder City, Nev.
A graduate of Fullerton Union High School Class of 1977 and Fullerton College, Eschner, 48, was a talented jeweler, artist and budding musician, said his sister Eve Hogan. He was also a professor at Nevada Community College.
"His ceramic and jewelry designs were strongly rooted in Native American traditions and are in the collections of family and friends across the nation," Hogan said.
After graduating with a degree in Geology from Cal State San Diego, Eschner worked on a variety of earth-related jobs in places ranging from Valdez, Alaska to the oil fields of Bakersfield. He went on to receive his master's degree from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
His family and friends were central to his life. He taught his two daughters how to carefully observe animals, raise quails and desert tortoises – and the best methods for stalking lizards and tarantulas.
Survivors include his wife, Wendy, daughters Amy and Emily, father Al of Fullerton, sisters Eve Hogan and Lauralyn of Fullerton, and his extended family. He was preceded in death by his mother, Meg, and an older brother, Gordy.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to a favorite earth-friendly charity in Eschner's name.
A Web site with pictures and stories can be found at www.EschnerFamily.com.
http://www.eschnerfamily.com/

Kurt Sineri, FUHS '80 (web master for the FUHS web site) sent the above news article to me.

If you see news about FUHS graduates, please let me know as I do not get all of the Fullerton news.

EMILY NELSON, FUHS 2007

PRIVATE MEETING: President George W. Bush confers with the Nelson family of Fullerton for 25 minutes in the Oval Office as part of Emily Nelson's Make-A-Wish request.

Family goes to Washington to meet President Bush
Make-A-Wish Foundation fulfills Fullerton teen's request.
By BARBARA GIASONE
The Orange County Register

FULLERTON – Her first choice was a shopping spree.
But after the Make-A-Wish Foundation pegged cancer patient Emily Nelson as a recipient of its program, the family of another patient at Long Beach Memorial Hospital advised, "Think Big."
Nelson, 18, who is now in remission from Hodgkin's disease, thought BIG, all right.
She requested a private session with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office.
"I figured, why not see the most powerful man in the world?" said Nelson, a 2007 Fullerton Union High School graduate.
At precisely 10 a.m. on an October Friday, Nelson and her family were escorted into the presidential office to spend 25 minutes with the nation's leader.
Their conversation stretched from Bush's self-examination of his approval rating to divulging that his sister had died of leukemia at age 3.
"He was really down to earth," said Nelson's brother, Matt, 19.
Nelson's mother, Janice, 50, a special-education teacher, said she found Bush gracious, witty and serious.
"He talked about his wanting to borrow his wife's approval rating, yet said criticism doesn't faze him," Janice Nelson said. "But he did say if people are critical of his daughters, well, that's when he gets defensive."
Dad Andrew Nelson, 63, was interested in Bush's literary choices.
"He had just finished the biography of Lincoln and was working on Washington," said Andrew Nelson, a middle-school teacher. "Without reiterating his approval rating was low, Bush pointed out people are still re-evaluating Washington."
Bush suggested he would be "long dead before his presidency would be assessed."
The president mentioned his dad had given him unconditional love. And he told the Nelsons he and Laura Bush had a good marriage before all of the controversies, and then added, "We have a great marriage now."
While Matt Nelson and Bush talked baseball, the president pulled out a ball and autographed it.
Emily Nelson presented the leader with a poem she wrote, "A Nation's Prayer." She was told the message, which suggests every person has a special strength, will be placed in the Presidential Library.
"When I told the president I couldn't believe he took time out to meet with a family from Fullerton, he said, 'Only in America,'" Andrew Nelson said.
Emily Nelson shared a power-point presentation Sunday with employees at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Irvine. Make-A-Wish depends on corporate sponsors, and Hyatt workers raised $6,500 from fundraisers to send the Nelsons – in style – to Washington, D.C.
Although her pediatric oncologist has pronounced Emily cancer-free, she knows there's always a fear the disease will return.
"I'm just thankful I'm finally able to live again," she said. "Now, I'm thinking about going in to politics."
Her highest ambition, she added, would be serving her country as a congressional representative.

(The newspaper also had some other information, including that Emily was thankful for high school teacher Mark Henderson who coordinated studies so she could graduate in June.)

JOHN and CARYLL EGERER MOORE, FUHS '57

John and Caryll Moore

picture by Mark Martinez, The Orange County Register

Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Pow Wow pair relive old times
Caryll and 'Butch' Moore find there's life beyond popularity contests as they reunite with the Class of '57.
By BARBARA GIASONE
The Orange County Register

FULLERTON — The year: 1957. The national events: Dodger Jackie Robinson retires; Elvis makes his final appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show"; and "American Bandstand" starts airing on ABC-TV.

Back in Fullerton, Caryll Egerer and John "Butch" Moore – the perky songleader and the football star – are crowned Pow Wow king and queen to the cheers of hundreds of Fullerton Union High School "Indians." "It was a popularity contest where everyone in school voted," said Caryll, who married Butch in 1962. "Les Brown & The Band of Renown entertained at the Pow Wow Dance."

Memories of the event were resurrected last Friday when the FUHS Class of '57 gathered at Hillcrest Park Terrace for a barbecue, followed by a pre-game celebration in the stadium. Classic car owner Bill Sawyer loaned his '57 Ford Skylark convertible, with a retractable top, for the Moores to ride around the stadium field.

"We were in a strange time in '57," John interjected. "Students in our class didn't seem particularly political or interested in world affairs. There were more kids preparing for college, not carrying signs or banners. And drinking was only whispered about.

"Popular destinations were the Hillside Drive-In across from Lions Field, the Fox Fullerton and Wilshire theaters, the Hollywood Palladium, and pricey dinners at Lawry's in Los Angeles.

There are still fond memories of Mr. Redfearn, the calculus teacher, and Gertrude Amling, the tennis coach. "She turned me on to tennis, and years later we played on the same team," said Caryll, the mother of four and grandmother of nine.

John remembered it was a very structured closed campus where students were confined from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. He went on to UC Berkeley where he earned an engineering degree and to USC for a master's in finance. Caryll received a teaching credential from Cal State Fullerton and taught for two years in Brea before starting their family.

"We met the first day of our seventh-grade year at Wilshire Junior High," Caryll said. "We have a lot of memories in this town."

JOAN BLEVINS MCGAUGHY, FUHS '52

Joan passed away this morning. If I get any more news, I will post it.

BRIDGFORD, VANDERBURG, FUHS '53

Longtime Rotarians Dr. Les Christensen, Dr. Bill Lenahan, Allan Bridgford and Jim Vanderburg, from left, join Terri Grassi on the podium to reflect on the Rotary Club's long history in the community.

November 1, 2007
Fullerton Rotary celebrates 85th year
Members recount colorful history.
Story and photos By Barbara Giasone
The Orange County Register
FULLERTON — Verbal and visual memorabilia set the tone for the Rotary Club of Fullerton's 85th anniversary celebration Oct. 24 at Hope International University.
Speakers reflecting on highlights of the club's prominence in both local and world affairs included longtime members Allan Bridgford, Dr. Les Christensen, Dr. Bill Lenahan and Jim Vanderburg. Jim Young, who travels the nation with his one-man show, "Paul Harris: Founder of Rotary," recounted the history and mission of the international organization that now numbers 1.1 million members.
The first Rotary club in Fullerton was founded in fall 1922 by Harry Riley of Anaheim with an initial membership of two dozen men. Today, the club has more than 140 members and has sponsored five additional clubs: two in Fullerton, one each in Placentia, Brea and Yorba Linda.
Vanderburg, who has served as a past district governor and director for Rotary International, reminded guests how Fullerton launched the Polio Plus campaign that immunized every child under age 5 in Costa Rica.
Current president Tom Meyer wrote in the anniversary program, "With our motto 'Service Above Self,' the Rotary Club of Fullerton's future is very bright indeed."