Tom Everette

After my near-miss graduation in 1965 I went to barbering school in Springfield (where I met Margaret). Graduation from barbering school was followed by four years in the Navy, first aboard an attack air craft carrier and then aboard a guided missle destroyer. Both ships deployed exclusively to the Western Pacific (North China Sea) and, as Margaret and I were married while I was in the Navy, she became an official West Pac Widow to someone who was at sea for most of those four years (however, as you can see above, the Navy did allow us enough time together to start building a family).

The Navy was followed by the typical knee-jerk move back to Illinois where I was hoping to develop a barbering career (and then on to Holly-wood as a stylist to the stars). Unfortunately, no one told me that, in the 70's, not even Wall Street bankers would be getting hair cuts!

With the barbering prospects a bust we moved to Central Illinois (Urbana) where we put up house and lived and worked and raised a family for the next 37 years. Three years ago Margaret and I built a new home in Mahomet, Illinois. It is uniquely situated in a country subdivision on 7 1/2
acres. The partially wooded lot backs up onto the Sangamon river--sometimes we have a deck behind our house, sometimes we have a dock, it all depends on the rain.

Our oldest, Angie and Missy, live nearby (Roberts and Urbana) with their families so we get to see them regularly. Our youngest daughter Charlotte has been a resident of Manhattan for the last eight years. If you want to see the City, she's your girl. Shawn is completing his masters degree in art (specialty in glass blowing) in Madison, WI.
Like you, over the years, Margaret and I logged a lot of miles up and down narrow stairwells, packing mini-fridges and t.v.'s, to apartments and dorm rooms at one university or another. Angie and Missy are Eastern Panthers, Charlotte is an Illini, and Shawn is an ISU Redbird and now a Wisconsin Badger.

We have been fortunate to have made fairly regular visits back to Olney over the years but a little less fortunate in crossing paths with classmates on those visits, I'm hoping our luck will change with future excursions.

This will not require 8000 characters. Most of my high school teachers would tell you that I was most likely comotose during most of my classes--they do have a record of my grades to back them up.