Tell Us Your Story: Cathy Palmer

After high school, I did some college but left for a higher calling: Carhop at Bob's. Yes, my roommate, Nancy Bridgestock, and I were ready to make the big bucks. Ok that didn't happen but we did have fun. 

Wild and crazy sums up the following years until 1976 when I gave my heart to Jesus... best decision I ever made. And in spite of a broken marriage and being a single mom of two, the grace of God always kept me afloat physically and mentally. 

In high school, I took a drafting class mostly because it was filled with boys but guess what? I was good at it and I eventually had a wonderful career as a Technical Illustrator at Hewlett-Packard. 

Over the years, I'd gone on short term mission trips to several countries helping missionaries and sharing the Gospel. After my kids were grown, I went to Bible School and lived in Berlin Germany as a missionary, returning to the states in 2005. 

From there I lived in California and Florida, doing various types of office work until I retired a few years ago. Bought a ittle house in Panama City FL and now work part time at a local ESPN radio station, again doing misc work. 

My favorite pastimes are photography, genealogy, riding my bike, maintaining several websites and above all, enjoying my family. 

So just like you, I am very blessed!

Tell Us Your Story: Bruce McCormick

In honor of our 55th reunion, we are posting classmate stores from BHS 1967. We would like to get as many of our classmates as possible to submit their stories. And please pass the word to others who may not visit the website very often. Click the links on the right to see those that have been submitted. Thanks!

Please submit to cathyjpalmer@yahoo.com

 

Bruce McCormick

 

Marriage: Been there, done that. Been there, done that. Been there, done that. Done with that.

 

Kids: 2 boys, 41 and 37. One is the Director of Operations for a large architectural firm in S.F..The other is an M.D. working for Genentech.

 

Education: Freshman year at A.S.U., sophomore year at C.S.U.N., then 3 years at Cal Poly,S.L.O. where I got a B.S. in business with a minor in I.T. (and a commission into the U.S.Army). I eventually got an M.B.A. from the Claremont Graduate University. At one point Idropped out of the work force and just went back to school for a year and a half so I could take all of the “stuff” I had always wanted to take: theater arts, sign language, mountaineering, desert survival, native American studies, got my E.M.T. certification, a certification inhospitality management, etc, etc.

 

After Cal Poly, I spent 2 1/2 years in the Army stationed in Alaska doing computer work.

 

Career: 10 years in software development, 10 years in I.T. management, and about 10 years in I.T. consulting. 

 

Along the way, I was half owner of a large limo company in L.A. hauling around the likes of Tom Cruise, et. al. I also did some acting (on YouTube search for “2006 commercial for dirty jobs”) and wrote a book on Daoist philosophy (on Amazon, search for “daodejing bruce”). Am in the process of writing a novel and a play (Neither of which will ever be published, but I just enjoy writing).

 

After getting out of I.T., I spent about 5 years as special ed aide in Carpinteria (I had previously done volunteer work for Special Olympics).

 

Then I moved to a small town called Pierce in the Idaho mountains and got into sub teaching at the local H.S. and a local military academy. Then moved to Lewiston, Idaho, where I am now. I sub during the school year and work as a ranch hand when not teaching.

 

 

Joyce Cervenka Carlstrom, BHS '67 (1948-2015)

 Joyce Ann Cervenka Carlstrom

September 2, 1948 - May 6, 2015

While looking for classmates in preperation for our 55th class reunion Oct 14-16, 2022, I was sad to learn of the passing of classmate Joyce Cervenka.

Joyce had 3 brothers: Jerry Cervenka BHS '62 (1945-2013), Tom Cervenka BHS '71 and Ron Cervenka BHS '72.

A neighbor in Oregon posted the following in familysearch.org regarding Joyce and her husband Rick:

"I met Rick in the winter of 2014, he was dying of small cell lung cancer. I did not get a chance to know him well personally, though over the next few months I came to know he was a kind man, always funny even in pain. and he loved his wife Joyce. he had a daughter Emily Carlstrom born probably in the 70's. I met her and she is about my age, or a little older. He loved the grateful dead. and was an avid "deadhead" worked as a machinist last in life. had a long life of drug tobacco, and alcohol use. he and Joyce had a small herd of horses. that they rode together. there are pictures of him taming a deer. feeding and petting it. He loved trains. and spent much of his spare time on the computer. He died at home in cherry grove. I was their neighbor and friend. for the short while that I had the chance to know them. his wife died a little over a year later. struggling to get over her loss. she died of a pulmonary embolism."

Joyce married 3 times: Neal Moser in 1966, Robert Pickrell in 1972 and Richard Carlstrom in 1990. She had two sons: Neal Moser born in 1966 and Patrick Pickrell born in 1973.

Both Joyce's older brother, Jerry, and her son Neal L Moser Jr., passed away in 2013 and  then her husband, Rick Carlstrom, passed away in 2014.... heartbreaking.

RIP Joyce, Jerry, Rick and Neal.

LINK to Find A Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/237382037/joyce-ann-carlstrom