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Places I’ve lived:
Phillips TX, Mexico City, Bartlesville and Stillwater OK, St. Charles MO,
Los Angeles CA, Pittsfield MA, Dayton OH area
Education: Oklahoma State University BS Zoology/Wildlife
Management, MS Natural Sciences; University of Southern California MS
Library & Information Sciences
Jobs: Research lab technician; Pharmacy school lab instructor;
Public library reference assistant; Community college head librarian;
University reference librarian; USAF contractor for database design;
Consultant to Lexis-Nexis, University of Dayton Research Institute, and
Wright State University. As a volunteer I’ve also designed and/or been
webmaster for a number of websites including
http://phillipsblackhawks.com
Growing up in
Phillips: As children do, I took Phillips for granted. I took
for granted having the freedom to hike, read, bike, participate in band,
Girl Scouts, and church activities. I took for granted the opportunity for
a quality education. When my dad was transferred to Bartlesville for my
last 2 years of high school, I felt I’d been ripped from the womb, as I
was not ready to leave Phillips. Being
http://phillipsblackhawks.com webmaster has been a real
gift to me and has granted me peace and closure as I’ve talked with,
visited, and emailed many alumni and have researched photos and history of
Phillips and Hutchinson County. I realize now what a protected environment
Phillips was. It was also a nurturing environment at the same time we were
challenged to do our best. Growing up I never truly felt a part of the
group, but now I realize that most of us feel that way at some time and
it’s not fatal.
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Continuing
contacts: I’ve kept up with Martha Kirkpatrick Smith through
all the years and we’ve visited back and forth with and without children
in tow. Martha’s greatest gift to me has been her enduring love for me
even when I felt unlovable and couldn’t love myself. During the last
several years I’ve reconnected with a larger group of classmates which
also includes Martha--Carolyn Plumlee Kidd, Carolyn Moore Rhea, Carol
Cochran Groom, Deanna Flanders Hein, Johnnie Morgan, Sandra Roscoe Stiles,
Louise Hill Chester. From an only child’s perspective we have true
sisterhood as we’ve met in various locations and shared tears and triumphs
and laughter.
Family: Keith Maxwell and I married in 1967 and we had 2 sons,
Colin and Kevin; we divorced after 19 years. Both Colin and Kevin live in
the Dayton OH area. Kevin is married and has 2 children: Britney and
Branden. I married Robert ‘Van’ van Patten in 1987 and we had 24 wonderful
years together before he died in August 2011 at age 85.
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