Category: Memorial post

Venkata  Rao Vedurumudi ~ Class of 1990

Departed 2/5/1985

Rama Rao, Venkata Rao’s older brother wrote: Venkata Rao was in the 6th grade, when he passed from spinal cancer (Astrocytoma). He was  born 2/22/1972 and was twelve when he passed away on 02/05/85.  Mr.Sailer, his homeroom teacher, did a memoriam in his honor, and the school planted a tree in front of the gym at the old high school. This was the day the music died for my family.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail.com

Nancy Hope ~ Class of 1973

Departed ~ 1/6/2018

Obituary of Nancy E. Hope

Nancy E. Hope, 63, passed away November 6, 2018.  Funeral Services celebrating her life will be 2:00 P.M. Saturday December 1, 2018 at St. Matthews Episcopal Church of Kernersville, North Carolina officiated by Rev. Frances Cox.

Nancy was born February 18, 1955 to the late Leon M. Hope and Joan Riley Hope in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.   Nancy was the second of six children of a career U.S. Army Officer.  She grew up in Virginia, Georgia, Massachusetts, Okinawa, Japan, North Carolina and Bangkok, Thailand before her family settled in North Carolina.  Nancy graduated from East Forsyth High School in 1973.  She received a B.A. in Political Science in 1977 from Western Carolina University and a Master of Arts in Public Administration from UNC-G.   She joined the U.S. Navy and served in Diego Garcia, London, Germany, and California.  After leaving the Navy she taught Information and Computer Technology at Heald Technical College and Institute in San Francisco, California.  Nancy returned to North Carolina in 2006 to be closer to family and took a position as Information Technology (IT) Specialist at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU).

Nancy’s passions were family, animals, friends, reading, and music, especially The Beatles.  She was very close to her mother and father and provided critical care and companionship in the last years of their lives. Nancy had a special place in her heart for her numerous nephews and nieces. She loved going to the Outer Banks to spend time watching them grow into adulthood. She cherished her family and friends.  She taught her cousin to drive, schooled her brother in everything about The Beatles, played Angry Birds with her nephews, and exchanged in spirited discussions about books and politics with friends.  She was especially close to her friends and colleagues at WSSU. She loved working in the IT field at the school and sharing her knowledge. She dearly loved her dogs and treasured her time with her family and friends.

In addition to her parents Nancy was preceded in death by a beloved niece, Briana Hope Bugg.

Survivors include, a sister, Tracy Bugg and Glenn of South Hill, Virginia; brothers, Bruce Hope of Kernersville, North Carolina, Tim Hope and Cyndi of Fairfax, Virginia, Jeff Hope and Allison of Winterville, North Carolina, and Chris Hope and Susan of Stafford, Virginia; nieces, Katie Robins, Molly Hope, Colleen Hope, and Meghann Bugg; nephews, Sean Bugg, Riley Hope, Andrew Hope, Bryce Hope, and Scott Hope, and many extended family and friends.

The Family will visit with friends 5:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. Friday November 30 at Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Services Chapel.

In Lieu Of Flowers, please donate money to cancer research at the American Cancer Society at https://donate3.cancer.org/

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail.com

Marissa Gage ~ Class of 1991

Departed ~ 5/8/2019

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail.com

Heidi Gage ~ Class of 1984

Departed ~ 10/19/2017

Frank Simmons ~ Class of 1961

Departed ~ 10/11/2019

Franklin Bradley Simmons III, age 75, of San Antonio, Texas passed away on Friday October 11, 2019. Frank was born December 15, 1943 in Arlington, TX. His father, Colonel Franklin B. Simmons Jr., was overseas on this cold wintry night, and his mother, Willie Mae Simmons, delivered her wonderful first born son. Being a member of a military family, they traveled the world to many places, including Saudi Arabia, Panama Canal Zone, Monterrey, CA, Spokane, WA, and Bangkok, Thailand, where Frank graduated from High School. These vast experiences shaped who he became and his appreciation of different cultures, foods and nature.

Frank received his BS and his MS from Illinois State University. His thesis was on a study of the parasites known as flukes. He definitely had an interest in all things gross! He taught high school science at Jefferson High School in San Antonio for 27 years, where he worked with many brilliant colleagues and influenced many young lives. He retired from teaching in 1997, and then worked at Wal-Mart overnight for nearly 15 years. Frank loved his 2:00 am lunch hour where he would play cards with his friends.

He met his wife, Barbara, in June of 1972 on a blind date through a mutual friend. They shared many things in common and he knew on their first date that he would marry her. He even told his mother that. They married after only a few months on October 7, 1972. Frank and Barbara enjoyed playing bridge, dining out, traveling, going on cruises, spending time with family and friends, and so much else together. In addition, Frank and Barb loved to go to movies, rarely missing a good (or not so good) movie. Early in their marriage, they went downtown to the Majestic, Texas, and Empire Theaters to see karate flicks – not Barb’s favorite, but … Over the last many years, they have seen many many movies and even have/had the Regal Unlimited Passes.

Frank was very excited to become a father. He even lost a bet as to who would reveal their pregnancy first! In August 1984, Franklin Bradley Simmons IV was born, and in March 1987 Therese (Teri) Dale Simmons arrived. He loved his children with all he had and was a wise and intelligent man, eager to share his knowledge and experiences with his kids. He taught them about the periodic table in elementary school and dissected different creatures for their school classrooms.

In 2010, Frank’s first grandson, Braeden, was born. He was very eager to become a grandfather; so this was very special. Frank wanted to be referred to as “Grumpy” by his grandchildren, and indeed he was! He was also blessed to have four more beautiful grandchildren – Mason, Willow, Charlie and Benji. Grumpy always loved to give his grandkids a Matchbox car with each visit. They each have quite the collection! Frank loved his Labradoodle grand-dogs as well – Ivy, Neo, Spruce, Acacia, and Ash. These high energy, 40 – 50 pound dogs always ambushed him when he would arrive for a visit and then would enjoy a cuddle in his lap.

Frank was an avid reader who would often have multiple books open at once, habitually misplacing them because he had to take at least one everywhere he went. Most books would not fit in his fanny pack! Before he had children, he bred Guinea Pigs. Frank even gave Barbara three “sexy” guinea pigs for her first birthday they spent together. He was a judge at Guinea pig shows and traveled the country, even into Canada to judge shows. He enjoyed playing computer games and often felt he was born into the wrong era, too late to become an expert at the ins and outs of computers. He loved playing World of Warcraft online with a special group of friends and family every Tuesday. He spent many hours playing Civilization and other strategy games as well. This helped to keep his mind sharp. Frank also really liked playing cards, and winning! His opponents would relish in beating him if they were so able. Oh Hell!, bridge, hearts and spades were among his favorites. He also enjoyed fishing, learning and researching, listening to talk radio (and talking or yelling back), and rock hunting and polishing, among other things.

Frank was a good man. He was kind, generous, and honest and a “weird” character. He was an independent thinker. Frank was very sarcastic and had a great sense of humor, even if a dry one. He had a sense of justice and was very logical, and instilled these characteristics in his children. He was definitely unique!! Frank, Honey-Honey, Dad, Grumpy, Mr. Simmons will be seriously missed by all who love him. His 75 years on earth were full of life and love, as well as many interesting and exciting experiences. Frank is survived by his wife of 47 years, Barbara Hudson Simmons, son Franklin Bradley Simmons IV and wife Kristen, daughter Therese (Teri) Dale Pellerin and husband Kevin, grandson Braeden, grandson Mason, granddaughter Willow, granddaughter Charlie, grandson Benji; brother Jonathan H. Simmons and wife Janet, nephew Jonathan J. Simmons; Rudy Xavier, long-time brother-friend whom he met in Thailand; numerous cousins and friends. He was also predeceased by his brother James D. Simmons.

A visitation for Frank will be held Friday, October 18, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Colonial Funeral Home, 625 Kitty Hawk Road, Universal City, TX 78148. A Funeral Service will occur Friday, October 18, 2019 at 12:00 PM, 625 Kitty Hawk Road, Universal City, TX 78148. There will be a Life Celebration at Colonial Funeral Home immediately following the Funeral Service.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.colonialuniversal.com for the Simmons family.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests Tribute Donations in Frank’s memory be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. A link to their website is immediately below. You may also donate by calling 1-800-708-7644.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail.com

Tony Rickard ! Class of 1971

Departed ~ 2/24/2020

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail.com

Carol Turnbull ~ Class of 1971

Arrived ~ 6/26/1953

Departed ~ 9/15/1998

Carol with her dog Kelly, who was very supportive during her illness.

Carol beside her houseboat where she was living while attending grad school at University of MN.

Cover of a catalog for the Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley where she worked for a while.

Carol Turnbull

Carol Turnbull, former direc­tor of robotics and technical ser­vices at the Lawrence Hall of Sci­ence died in Berkeley on September 15 after a long struggle with cancer. She was 45 years old.

Ms. Turnbull was also an ac­complished athlete. She  won  a gold medal in swimming at  the Gay Games in New York in 1994.

Her varied life included work as a pastry chef at Cocolat in Berkeley. She also enjoyed coun­try -western dancing and had a love of music that ranged from opera to Hawaiian slack key gui­tar.

Ms. Turnbull was born June 26, 1953, in Egypt. She graduated from high school in Thailand and re­ceived her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley. She was a MacArthur Scholar at the University of Minne­sota forestry department, study­ing for her doctorate, when she was re-diagnosed with cancer.

Ms. Turnbull is survived by her parents, Robert and Dorothy Turn­bull; her sisters Ann Turnbull of Brainerd, Minn., Janet Sheldon of Monmouth, Ore., and Nancy  Loh of Sunnyvale; her brother, Lee Turnbull, of Iowa; nieces Haley Sheldon and Samantha and Lindsey Turnbull; and nephew Eli Shel­don.

Memorials in Ms. Turnbull’s name may be sent to the Women ‘s Cancer Research Center, 3023 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, Calif. 94705; Kaiser Hospital hospice pro­ gram, 280 W. MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, Calif. 94611; or te De­partment of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota,  115 Green Hall, 1530 Cleveland Ave. N., St. Paul, Minn. 55108.

Ann Turnbull wrote: Carol died of breast cancer September 15, 1998.

Please send pictures (old and new), anecdotes, articles, stories and tributes to isbeings at gmail.com