Wheatland Union High School Class of 1966

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Wheatland Union High School Class of 1966 - IN MEMORY OF Sharon French

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Body:	<i>GOODBYE TO MY GOOD FRIEND SHARON I have so many great memories of Sharon, I don't know where to begin. We shared our friendship for most of our lives and while we were not always close, when we were, it was as if we never left Wheatland. I first heard of Sharon as the pretty girl who's dad owned the gas station at Four Corners (East Nicholas). She had already caught the eye of my Mesa Street buddies, Dave Farmer and John Mangrum. As members of the Reverend Dolby's First Christian Church, we were allowed to visit the private swimming pool of Ms. Alice Sweitzer, who lived not far from Sharon's own house at 4-Corners. It was one of those days at the pool when Sharon showed up and we began a friendship that spanned close to 50 years. From summers on Mesa Street in Wheatland (the longtime hangout of other notorious wild ones like Dave Farmer, Bob Kearney, John Mangrum, Sandy Pitts, Kathy Folkman, Doris Miller and Susan Farmer; Erlene Williams, Sharon Parisio, and Rick Blankenship lived around the corner; and there was Ruth Berkley, Tom and Linda Oakes, Bo Moreno behind us; Beaver Swanson, Rich Peardon, Janet Chausee and Billy Nicholau had already left; and later came Gary Seiler, Rick Pooler, the Milami's, Paul Haddock, Roger Davis, Danny Dearth and Neil Macdonald), at Rev. Dolby's Church, through high school, followup class reunions, visits in Washington D.C. and El Paso, Texas, and finally at our 40th HS Reunion, Sharon and I remained friends and confidants. I don't think we ever understood our own relationship, but we knew we had something special and we spoke about carrying that into our old age'. Sharon did not always have a happy' life but you would have never known it to see/hear her. She was always cheerful, loud, extroverted, wild, daring, notoriously blunt, honest, and opinionated (aren't we all?!). She took life headon and she made the very best of everything. She had a fabulous family to support her and 3 wonderful children that consumed her love, prayers and conversation. She was a proud and doting grandmother and longed for the future with them. I can't remember those early years exactly like they were but there are still so many memories of Sharon that I'd just like to share them with you and invite you to add more as you like: 1. Dave, John and I threw Sharon into the pool at Alice Swietzers' when we were about 10 years old. She was the prettiest girl I/we ever knew. 2. Sharon and I were baptized together by Rev. Dolby when we were 12 years old. 3. Sharon decided to come to Wheatland Union High School. 4. She began spending much time with her friend Cathy Middleton on Mesa Street which gave us many opportunities to spend time together. 5. I think Cathy taught Sharon to smoke and of course Sharon taught me; she laughed as I choked on my first Salem cigarette. 6. Sandy Pitts and Sharon were good friends and so the Mesa Street Gang grew. 7. We all spent a lot of time hanging out and would ride our bikes at night. One night we all rode to the Dry Creek bridge and had a wreck on the way home. 8. Sharon began dating Ronnie Cody; Erlene Williams was with Neil Weaks and they became friends. 9. Sharon became a hit in high school but always liked the older and bbadder' boys. 10. Sharon got me drunk the first time, on slow gin (w/o the fizz). 11. Sharon was one of the best dressed girls in school. 12. Sharon dated Wayne Stewart, from Sheridan and leader of one of best garage bands around. 13. Sharon met Robbie. Robbie was our James Dean. Robbie was from East Nicholas and he had a '62 white Chevy with a 409. Together they were the real American Grafitti love story or at least mine. 14. I left in 1967 and didn't see or hear much of Sharon until our 20th High School Reunion. She and Robbie had separated by then and because she was taking care of her family, she was unable to spend much time at the reunion. Still our friendship was rekindled, fueled by endless stories of days gone by. 15. I guess that sealed our 'pact' to each other and the future would bring us together again. 16. We spent much time on the phone and when I was assigned to Washington D.C. Sharon decided to visit. The way she reacted made me feel like Walt Disney and she was visiting my Kingdom. It was her first trip the to Capitol and she let everyone know it. 17. I had to work during some of her visit but would give her daily instructions on where to go and what to do. Sharon turned each day into an adventure, not only for herself but for all those she came in contact with. One night like worried parents, Rita and I waited for Sharon to return home very late. I was sick with worry on what might have happened to her and how I would explain it to her family. But of course in true Sharon style, she breezed in like nothing had happened. That story coupled with her exploits that day in DC have made the rounds of many a nostaligic conversation. 18. Sharon visited next in Ciudad Juarez and entertained my Mexican friends at a party for a grand opening. A dressy affair for many, Sharon wore a matching shorts outfit and while she complained that she should have worn something more formal, it was Sharon at her best - the one and only. Needlesstosay she captured many an audience and I heard nothing but positive comments about my 'wild' friend for months afterward. 19. At our house in El Paso, Sharon met with Diane Wagner, Sandy Pitts, and Linda Rocha -- enough said.. 20. Sharon became a favorite visitor and my houseman, John, not able to keep all the 'new' names straight, dubbed her 'Oh My God' because Sharon was able to say that phrase more times than most people include expletives into their conversation. Eventually, many of our friends (and hers too) began to refer to her as Oh My God. 21. I had many telephone conversations with Sharon after that and of course we were always planning our next meeting. She always wanted Rita and I to be assigned to somewhere exotic where she could visit. 22. We met when David Farmer passed away but she could not bring herself to attend his funeral. I was upset with her but I tried to understand and while I pouted for awhile, we soon began speaking as if nothing had ever happened. 23. Sharon was visiting her mother in hospital when she hear loud voices across the hall got her attention. Only too late did she find it was David Farmer. She always swore that had she known, David might be with us today. I can't help but believe he would. 24. We began to make arrangements for the WUHS Reunion and Sharon was excited to help find people and make plans. She was exceptionally keen on finding Sue Westfall and Debbie Zielinski. We did finally locate Sue but unfortunately, they were never to meet. Sharon also cherished her reunion with Sharon (Parisio) Sequeira and they became friends again. 25. Sharon had a great time at our Reunion functions and could not say enough about how happy she was to see so many people, especially that could still be friends. Of course many of 'our' friends couldn't be with us. 26. Sharon was disappointed when I told her that Rita and I were going to Saudi Arabia and she could not visit. She was planning an alternate randevous of course. 27. She was really excited about her new friendship with Sharon Parisio and got much pleasure from reliving the past as well as looking forward to the future. 28. She swore to Sandy Pitts that they would reunite in California and hopefully grow old together. 29. Sharon was planning to meet me in Las Vegas in December but I had to delay until January. It won't be the same . . . I'm sure I'll remember many more of the great times I shared with Sharon and I know many of you have your own memories. I hope you will share them with all of us in her memory. Please do put your memories on the Message Board at our WUHS66 website. CHERISH what you have today. Send an email to a classmate. Make plans to visit or phone when possible. Rekindle old friendships. Have a mini-Reunion. Help me plan for our next 'official' one in 2011.</i> *
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