The Following is a letter from Jim Santagata, spouse of Bonnie Faiver.

I wanted to share it with you.

A Must Read Letter 

 

Hi Ed,

 

Just wanted to drop you a line to follow up on our brief conversation last week at Jake's when you asked if Bonnie was going to submit a bio.   After a bit of thought, I realized that the class will most likely be celebrating it's 60th reunion before she sends one in.  I've gotta tell you, though, she - as well as I - thoroughly enjoyed the reunion.  It was easily among the most exciting and heartwarming experiences we've ever had.  

I mentioned to her afterward that your class has a rare chemistry and connection that lifted, what could have been a routine get-together, into a warm and exciting family reunion.  To see the smiles, the handshakes, the hugs and the camaraderie of your classmates touched me deeply.  Much of my enjoyment came from watching Bonnie interact with friends and classmates, many of whom she hasn't seen for those 50 short years.  To see the excitement in her eyes and the lift in her step as she greeted old friends and basked in renewed connections throughout the evening truly warmed my heart. 

That special night was everything she expected it to be and more. It was as if no-one wanted the evening to end.  She is still on cloud nine as we've reminisced about it over dinner each night this week. 

It was special for me, too, for even though I'm not a member of your class (the commute from McDonald would have probably been a bit much . . .), I got to know many of the kids back then and, in fact, am cousins with 2 of them - Carol Martin and Regie Lepor.  So, the reunion gave me a chance to see a lot of guys and girls that I haven't seen for those many years, too. 

And the funny thing is that after 50 years, no-one skipped a beat.  It's as if no time had passed.  Sure there have been marriages and divorces, and there are kids and grandkids to talk about, but the personal connections and the personal links have been untouched by time.  We were, for those magical three days, in high school again.  Much of the credit for the reunion's success goes to Marsha Powers, her reunion committee, to Judy and to you.  A lot of time was spent preparing for this event. 

Your website and Judy's emails piqued everyone's interest and built up expectations for the get-together - expectations which were easily met, even exceeded.  Bonnie and I thank every one of you for that.  Because of your and Judy's internet work, Bonnie has renewed many personal connections via email; and even I got into the act as I threw in my two cents while she was emailing classmates whom I also know.  All in all, it was a wonderful event, and Bonnie and I can't wait till the next one.  Until then, we intend - as I hope others do - to keep in touch and enjoy our renewed relationships with people that we - to our loss - had lost touch with over the years.

 

Thought you might be interested in seeing some of the shots I took at the reunion so I'll send them on a separate few emails because of total file size.  Please feel free to post any of them you want to share on the GHS website.  Jim's photos have a --JS in the photo text

 

Best regards,

Jim Santagata