Mary Ann Noerenberg Cummings

Went to EIU for 3 years. Met and married Ray August 4, 1973. Started working as a secretary that fall; had my first child, Tracie in September 1976. (Missy listed above is Ray's daughter by a previous marriage.) Had my second child, Beckie, in October 1977. Went back to work in 1983 when both girls were in school. I have worked at various jobs at the University of Illinois and in private industry ever since. I have recently retired from working. My husband is a retired school teacher from Tolono Unity School District 7, Tolono, IL. He taught PE and English for 33 years. Between our 3 daughters, we have 11 grandchildren and two great granddaughters and three great grandsons - all healthy and beautiful. We are so blessed!

I am a two-time cancer survivor, once in 2010 and again in 2013.

I'm busy working with the class reunion committee for the Class of 1970. am active as a bass in my local Sweet Adelines chorus, Toast of Champaign. We are an award-winning chorus in the Midwest Harmony Region 3 Sweet Adelines.

I was into all the music I could get my hands on in high school. I was a good singer and clarinet player. My freshman year, I was 4th chair clarinet! My sophomore year, I was 3rd chair with 2 seniors ahead of me and then first chair my junior and senior years. Of course, Nancy Scannavino challenged me several times, but we always remained friends and helped each other with music. I was in girls chorus, mixed chorus and madrigals my sophomore, junior and senior years. I also participated in the 3 musicals we produced. I was first chair clarinet in the pit band for "Brigadoon" my freshman year; in the sextet and one of the gals in "Oklahoma!" my sophomore year, and Mrs. Paroo in "The Music Man" my senior year.

ERHS had a very good representation of talented music students that participated in the All State Band, Chorus and Orchestra yearly event sending 22 juniors and seniors both my junior and senior year. I played in the band my junior year and sang in the chorus my senior year. All State was always in January around my birthday; however, on my 18th birthday I contracted a bad form of the flue and had to stay in my room most of the time. Not cool. But, in March, the All State ensembles were invited to provide entertainment at the annual Music Educators National Conference to be held in Chicago! We also learned a very special orchestral/chorus work by a famous conductor/composer by the name of Vaslav Nelibel. We performed his piece, entitle "Sine Nomine", and this was only the second time it had been performed in the United States. It was a cool modern piece.

My senior year was very memorable when we performed "The Music Man". John Stull was an outstanding Harold Hill, the boys made a wonderful barbershop quartet, and what a performance by all the guys who were "on the train"! I can still hear the little guys from the junior high school that my Dad recruited for "The Band". Very cute.

I always enjoyed marching band and our director, Gus Sliva, who was one of the best! We got to travel to other schools to perform in competition and we even went to the U of I to a workshop when I was a freshman. I remember like it was yesterday that the weather was crummy and we had to march and play in the Armory (which you can't do now because of the renovation they did several years ago). Inside the Armory was a full football field marked off and that's where we played and then watched the Marching Illini do their thing as well.

Many other memories I'm sure we all share concerning homecoming celebrations and other school functions.

Ride the big wheel in London and visit the queen!
Take an Alaskan cruise
Find my ancestors in Germany and maybe some distant cousins

We were living in a trailor in Tolono, had an opportunity to sell it and within 3 weeks we had to find another place to live. We rented a lovely carpenter-built home in Pesotum, Illinois in 1981 we would love to have owned; however, the owner wasn't selling it at the time. After 3-1/2 years in this rental home, we were finally able to buy our own home, a one-story ranch in Pesotum with a big yard and fireplace. We purchased this house in 1984 and have been here ever since, not moving!