Barbara Wilkerson Donnelly, Joy Rubins Morris, Rainer Klauss, Bobby Cochran, Collins (CE) Wynn, Eddie Sykes, Don Wynn
Advisory Members: Paula Spencer Kephart, Cherri Polly Massey
Staff Photographers: Fred & Lynn Sanders
Contributers: The Members of Lee High School Classes of 64-65-66 and Others
Several of our classmates and their families are in our prayers this week.
This issue is being posted a little early since I'll be on the road at the normal publishing time.
Sue and I are off to the Cumberland Plateau for a few days of fall vacation. We'll be staying in Cookeville, TN and I hope to get in at least one round of golf while there.
Speaking of road trips, I'll be in Nashville November 3-7 for a conference and am wondering if any of you Nashville Classmates would like to get together for a mini-reunion on the night of Saturday, November 6th? I'll be busy the other days, but have Saturday night to myself. Think it over and let me know.
I'm still looking for some more info on bands and dancing.
T. Tommy
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From Our
Mailbox
Last Week's
Lee-Bay Item
This Week's
Lee-Bay Item
Barry E. Koehler
Class of '66
Killed in Plane Crash
April 9, 1947 - Aug. 3, 2004
bySteve Boyer
Class of '66
Seattle, WA
I wanted to let you know that Barry Koehler (class of '66) was killed in a plane crash a couple months ago. Barry was flying a Cessna 182 and crashed in late evening in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains near his home in Port Angeles, about 80 miles west of Seattle. The two women who were passengers walked away from the crash and were able to reach rescuers the next afternoon. I don't have any word on what caused the crash.
Barry had lived in the Port Angeles area for 25 years or more. He was retired after running a successful insurance agency for a number of years. He had previously worked as a police officer in Port Angeles. Barry was one of the Seattle kids who came to Huntsville as part of the buildup by Boeing and other aerospace companies. We didn't know each other well in high school. We met again when we both lived in Port Angeles in the late '80s and he was dating one of my wife-to-be's best friends. It took us awhile to realize we'd both gone to Lee, and it was quite a surprise when we finally figured it out.
At the '95 reunion, Barry won the prize for having come the farthest when he and John Hargrove and I all came down.
Sorry this is the reason for my writing you for the first time. Keep up the good work.
From the Peninsula Daily News
Barry E. Koehler of Sequim died in a plane crash in Olympic National Park. He was 57.
Mr. Koehler was born in Seattle to Marvic Leonard and Elsie Amelia (Berry) Koehler. Mr. Koehler was a graduate of Washington State University. From 1965 to 1969, he served in the Coast Guard as an aviation mechanic.
He married Mary Smith in Bellevue in 1978. The marriage ended in divorce in 1988. Mr. Koehler worked in law enforcement with the Washington State Patrol, and in Palouse and Port Angeles. Mr. Koehler ended his career in law enforcement to begin an insurance business.
Mr. Koehler had a commercial pilot's license, was a charter pilot and worked for Hurricane Ridge Ski Patrol. Among Mr. Koehler's interests were kayaking, skiing, hiking, biking and sailing.
Mr. Koehler belonged to National Ski Patrol, Olympic Peninsula Paddlers and Mountaineers Lodge, and was a lifetime Mason.
Survivors include daughter Elizabeth Agnes Koehler of Seattle, and brother Jeffrey Koehler of Georgia. Mr. Koehler's parents preceded him in death.
Crash Victims Share Their Story
By Jane McCarthy, KING 5 News
Monday, August 9, 2004
PORT ANGELES, Wash. – Two women who miraculously survived last week's plane crash near Port Angeles believe a series of gifts helped keep them alive.
The man who piloted the plane died in that crash.
As they flew above Olympic National Park, Sara Gagnon and Tammi Hinkle had no indication there was a problem until their plane clipped the top of a mountain.
"It would be like the four of us talking here and a meteor coming through the living room. That's how suddenly things happened," recalled Sara. The wings of their Cessna ripped off while the rest of the plane shot like a bullet through the trees.
"Something flew through the windshield and just hit me in the face. I knew it broke my nose because I could feel blood everywhere," she continued. "Mine was just blackness and tumbling and loud sounds. I didn't have my eyes open," said Tammi.
When they came to rest on the ground, there was hardly anything left of the plane. "I told Sara I'm afraid to look at that plane. I don't even want to see because you could kind of see the form of it and there was nothing," said Tammi.
Their friend and pilot, 57-year-old Barry Koehler, was killed in the crash. Sara and Tammi were faced to spend a cold, dark night alone, injured and determined, but they figured if they survived the crash they could survive the night.
The two had two gifts that night – scissors from a first-aid kit that allowed them to cut a seat out of the plane for warmth and Tammi's cell phone, which they found at first light and used to call for help. "We've been told by more than one person that we're very, very fortunate, which they don't need to tell us, I already feel that way," said Tammi.
Then again, maybe it wasn't luck. Maybe it was their pilot and friend making sure these two would make it home. "He was there with us and I think that in spirit he really did look out for us there and we could feel that. We could feel that," said Sara.
Sara is still suffering from a broken sternum and nose, and a fractured tail bone and Tammi has serious injuries to one of her legs.
The cause of the plane crash has not been determined, but the two women do know that their plane had flown way off course.
A Later Story On The Same Station
The pilot - Barry Koehler, 57, of Sequim - was killed. His body was recovered later Wednesday, park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said.
One of the women called 911 Wednesday morning to summon rescuers, park officials said.
FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said the Cessna 182 was registered to a Port Angeles man. FAA records listed the owner as Jeffrey L. Well. A call for comment to Well's home was not immediately returned.
The plane took off at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday from Port Angeles on a flight to Boeing Field in Seattle.
Maynes said campers at the Heart o' the Hills campground, about 5 miles south of Port Angeles, reported hearing a plane crash at about 10 p.m. Tuesday. A search was begun, but it was hampered by darkness and poor weather, she said.
The plane's wreckage was spotted shortly after the 911 call was received at 6:15 a.m., and about 20 rescuers hiked to the crash site, Maynes said.
According to a fisherman who happened upon the crash site just after rescuers reached it Wednesday morning, it is astonishing the women are alive.
"I couldn't believe there were survivors because there was just bits and pieces of the plane everywhere," said Chad Mekosky. Both survivors were taken to a Port Angeles hospital. They were in remarkably good condition, but still too shaken to talk with reporters. Sarah Bloom, who was waiting for the trio at Boeing Field in Seattle, was at the hospital Wednesday. Her friends told her how they stayed warm all night in the bone-chilling mountain air.
"They found a scissor and they cut carpet from the aircraft and huddled together in it to keep warm," she said. "But they're okay and they're exceptionally grateful to be alive." Bloom said her friends are tough and very experienced in the outdoors. She said that and good fortune is what kept them alive.
Park officials said the plane was flying in dense fog at the time of the crash. The cause of the crash was under investigation.
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Another Fami-LEE Loss
Alice Gullion Preston's, Class of '64, Father
Grady A. Gullion
Feb. 3, 1919 - Oct. 3, 2004
Grady Albert Gullion, 85, of Huntsville died Sunday at his residence. He was a World War II veteran and served with the 83rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion in the Normandy Campaign and the Battle of the Bulge. Mr. Gullion was a retired civil service employee. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Inez C. Gullion; one son, Wayne Gullion; two daughters, Alice Preston and Laura Kent; grandsons, Darryl and Greg Anderson and Jon Preston; granddaughters, Julie Franklin and Caroline Ashe; seven great-grandchildren; two brothers, Roy Gullion and Floyd Thomas Gullion; and one sister, Mary Riendeau. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Spry Funeral Home of Huntsville. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home with Dr. Sonny Kirk officiating. Interment will be at Maple Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hospice Family Care or East Huntsville Baptist Church.
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Since we had our best participation in many months when we did the Brother Dave Gardner album, we decided to try our luck again with a record. This one was recorded by someone called "Deacon ___ ____."
We blacked out the artist name and the second part of the title. We're betting that some of you can not only give that missing information, but also some quotes from the record. At one time the editor could almost go along with the entire routine. This should be a lot of fun.
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Subject: Brother Dave
Lynn Bozeman Van Pelt
Class of '66
I quite enjoyed the first hand encounters our classmates wrote about Dave Gardner. That might make a good theme one week for you Tommy, classmates realating their brushes with the famous and/or infamous.
(Anyone out there want to starte? - TT)
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Subject: Brother Dave
Chip Smoak
Class of '66
Now that he has been identified I would like to relate the bit that I remember most. "The other day I saw some dumb, ignorant Southerners selling water to those brilliant Yankees." I think of this every time I buy water in a bottle or a jug.
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Subject: bands
Lynn Bozeman Van Pelt
Class of '66
Eal McNeal and his brother Terry had a "garage band" Bob Crump sometimes sang with them and I think Curt Lewis played the sax. Darla may remembr more about this, I'll ask her. Terry went on to be in several different local bands. In the last year I have seen a story on him in the times that he is now involved in religious music.
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No guesses on last week's Lee-Bay item for a planned amusement park called Space City USA. I remember it was out toward the new airport. I went out there one afternoon with Bob Walker, I believe, or maybe some of you. At the time they had built a few of the buildings and were working on the small gauge train. It was starting to really come together and then I heard it went bankrupt. I was really looking forward to our own 6-Flags type park. The last thing I remember seeing about it was the sign on the side of the road announcing "Opening Soon" with the paint pealing off of it and weeds taking it over.
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Reunion 2005 Plans Starting
We received some information on plans for what the editor is calling the "Still Alive in 2005" reunion. We'll be collecting some info later but for now this is the report we got. We'll be looking for other inputs and some will be pushing for a golf tournament this year.
The reunion 2005 committee met last Monday and the following decisions were made:
DATES: Friday & Saturday, August 19 & 20, 2005
PLACE: Marriott Hotel
COST: $50 per person or $90 per couple for the entire weekend!
ENTERTAINMENT: Friday night pool party will
be CDs unless someone wants to volunteer to be in charge of the music. Time Machine will play on Saturday night.
We're meeting at JRs & Alice's office on Monday, Nov. 8 at 5:15pm in case anyone would like to join us from the classes of '64, '65 or '66.
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A Little Test
Submitted by Alice A. Brigman
Write down the answers to these four simple questions:
1. You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person.What position are you in?
2. If you overtake the last person, then you are...?
3. Very tricky math! Note: This must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the total?
4. Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4.Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?
Answers:
1. If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!
2. If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST person?! You're not very good at this are you?
3. Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. Don't believe it? Check with your calculator! Today is definitely not your day.
4. Nunu? NO! Of course not. Her name is Mary. Read the question again!
