School Life

James B. Sampson, 60, of Barryton, passed away Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007, at his home with his family and loved ones at his side.

He was born on May 10, 1946, in Gladwin, to Albert B. and Mary R. (Briggs) Sampson. Jim spent his childhood in Sanford , where he became an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Meridian High School in 1964. He attended one year at Alpena Com munity College , where he became a certified welder. He married Judy Young of Remus on June 14, 1969, at the Forrest Hill Church in Weidman. The Sampson family had made their home in Gladwin for many years before settling in Barryton in 1979.

He was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, a member of the North American Hunting club, the Millbrook Coon Hunter's Association and the American Anglers Association. He was an avid coon hunter, fisherman, woodsman and all around outdoorsman. He felt closest to God when he was enjoying nature.

Jim is survived by the first love of his life, his loving wife of 37 years, Judy of Barryton; his children, Karrilynn (William) Sigourney of Weidman, Shellie (Chip) Halfmann of Gillette, Wyo. and Jamie and her fiancé' Ray Schumacher of Barryton; four grandchildren that he cherished, Jacob and Ashley Sigourney, Katya Halfmann and Myka Schumacher; his mother, Mary Ruth Briggs-Sampson-Grinnell of Gladwin; his sisters, Lynn (Dave) Rivett of Sanford , Ruth Anne (Don) Kowalis of Yuma, Ariz. and Nancy (Bruce) Bowland of Gladwin and Florida; his brother, Tom Sampson of George West, Texas; and several nieces, nephews and extended family members that will hold the memories they have of Jim close to their hearts. He was predeceased by his father, Boyd; his brother, Buddy; his sister, Barbara; and an infant daughter.

Charles "Butch" Sasse, 62, of Sanford, passed away on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008, at home surrounded by his family after a courageous battle with cancer.

To all who knew him, he was kind. To all who needed him, he was a rock. To all who loved him, he was their strength.

Butch was born March 22, 1946, in Midland, to the late Walter "Red" and Catherine "Kay" (Golden) Sasse in Midland. He married the only girl he ever loved, Audrey Richardson, on July 10, 1965. He resided his whole life in Sanford. Butch worked as a carpenter, learning from his dad and many uncles. He had recently shared a working relationship with his friend, Deanna Hurtig of Hurtig Design Build.

Butch enjoyed hunting and fishing, and all who knew him have heard his "stories". He and his son, brothers and nephews were a deer slaying bunch with the pictures and antlers to prove it.

Butch coached Little League for his brothers and his children for many years in Sanford. If you ever heard a voice bellow across the ball park it was him. As the years went on he loved to watch his grandkids play sports.

Butch's dad, Red, died in 1975 with three teenagers at home. Butch and Audrey stepped in and helped to raise them. And for this they will be forever grateful.

He will forever be remembered by his wife and best friend, Audrey; his children, Angie Beebe and her husband, Darrin, and their daughters, Rhead, Ryann and Brynn, and Chris Sasse and his wife Sherry, and their children, Nikki and Tom; his sister, Cathey Brugger and her husband, Paul; his brothers, Lawrence Sasse and Pat Sasse and his wife, Carin; his sister-in-law, Barb Sasse; and his brother-in-law, Jim Brink and his wife Joanie. Butch's family was everything to him and he also leaves behind special nieces and nephews, Katie, Mike, Brad, Tim, Devin, Kyle and Samantha; very special aunts, Selena Sasse and Faye Roebuck; special cousins, Ron Sasse, Charlotte Wazny and Carla Fitzgerald; and his lifelong friends, Jim and Cheryl Draves.

Butch was preceded in death by his parents, Red and Kay, and his brother, Mike.

We would like to thank Shannon, Amy and Marie at East Central Oncology, Dr. Kotecha and Patty at Mid Michigan Radiation Oncology and Marilyn at Heartland Hospice for their care and concern.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008, from the Wilson MILLER Funeral Home with Mr. Jerry Beebe officiating. Interment will follow in Sanford Cemetery.

Memorials can be given in memory of Butch to the American Cancer Society and Heartland Hospice.

.... It seems that our experiences over the last 35 years have paralleled somewhat. I went into the Navy in 1964 and found myself in Viet Nam off and on between 1966 and 1968 and eventually finished my tour in Pocatello Idaho as an instructor at the nuclear reactor training facility. Went to college at ISU and got my BA and a year of graduate studies and went back into the USMC as an officer for a couple of years. We bounced around the country for a while and I ended back in Pocatello as an operations guy with a semi conductor fabrication facility for nearly 9 years. I had an offer to be an operations manager with Hughes in Carlsbad so we uprooted again. I left there in 1989. Josh was the only kid still at home and he went to HS here in Bozeman. I started my own boat fabrication business (fiberglass composites) and did that for about seven years. We shut that down and sold the molds and tooling last fall as the numbers were not good. We love Montana and all our friends and I took a job here with the State Job service. I see it as filler work and a way to make a buck till I decide what to do when I grow up. It’s strictly a paper pushing thing and really boring, but you know how limited the opportunities are in Montana.

I find it interesting to here you are in a technical and engineering field and started that trip at school in Utah. I have friends in Kalispell and as a matter of fact the fellow that bought my business is a pilot and stores his plane at the facility you worked.

Montana is changing fast, especially in Bozeman, Missoula, and Kalispell, due to growth and the influence of big money. Too bad.

Well, keep in touch and if you're looking for an operations manager keep me in mind.

My memory of Bob Sharick was when (at least I think it was Bob), on the way to school one morning, he ran off the road or hit something, put his head in or through the windshield of his '50 Chevy and did some serious injury to his ears. It's probably the bandages I remember when he returned to school.

After staying late at school for some reason, I ended up hitchhiking home on the night of the Junior/Senior Prom and was picked up by Tom and Bill Shauger. They were driving around looking for something to do and rather than go home, I decided to ride along with them for a while. After searching for some excitement for a few hours and finding none, we drove back to Meridian to see what would happen if we tried to crash the prom.

It was near the end of the prom when we got there and even though we were not dressed up or ac com panied by dates, at that late hour nobody seemed to care. I wandered off into the gym to talk to someone for a few minutes and when I returned to find Tom and Bill, I discovered that they had left. Not having anywhere to go (or any way to get there, for that matter) I hung around until after everyone had left and helped the teachers clean up things and fold up tables and chairs.

I finally had no choice but to leave so I started off hiking home again. I felt lucky when a couple in an old Plymouth sedan stopped to pick me up not too far down the road from the school. I slid into the passenger seat next to the girl and within seconds of closing the door, began to feel very un com fortable. The car was warm, very warm, and although I didn't have much experience with such things at the time, had an appearance that made me feel as though I had just walked into a bedroom with two naked people who were covered only with a sheet. On top of that, the girl looked very familiar.

Somebody else said Johnny Cash but I thought that Morgan Smith [65] was an Elvis Presley look-alike before Elvis was a star (or maybe Elvis was a Morgan Smith look-alike and didn't know it).

I don't remember much about Lynn Valentine [65] except the name and the face. I have a picture of him at the 35th class reunion that I got from Gail Getgood.

I was with Walter Van Wormer [67] in Boy Scouts but, other than his picture in the yearbook, I have no memory of him in high school.

My impression of Dawn Varner is that she was very pretty and she knew it. It was probably just a poor perception on my part but I always thought of her as a little "stuck up".

I think I met Mary Varner when she was still in Junior High. We had a couple of dates and went steady for a little while until I started to get some harassment from a few of my friends for "robbing the cradle". I still liked her a lot and don't know what excuse I used to break up but I know I hurt her feelings. I wasn't to learn until later how really bad it sometimes felt when someone didn't want to be with you anymore.

I'll admit it, I was a chewing gum addict. Not as bad as smoking perhaps but when you've got a habit you'll feed it whenever, wherever and however you can. I had it bad and could smell a pack of Doublemint in a pocket or purse as soon as someone walked into a room with it. I was probably a merciless chewing gum borrower and Pat Varner didn't have a chance because she was trapped in that class with me and there was nothing she could do to keep me from begging and pleading for her last stick. Doublemint, Spearmint or Juicyfruit, I didn't care. I would chew anything. Even as a last resort... Dentine.

Although Pat was so often a target of my relentless desire to 'double my pleasure' I wasn't totally without feelings for her. There were many times I offered to pay her back but, for some reason, she was reluctant to take it back after I'd chewed it for awhile. I even offered to wash it off first but she chose to suffer in silence until I handed her my yearbook and she wrote:

The way I remember Cheryl Walter is as one of Connie Williams' best friends. It seems like they were almost always together in school.

Doris Walter was tall and pretty and I think that she and Prudy Howard were together a lot as friends.

I remember Joe Zilincek mostly from gym class I guess, because he always seemed bouncy and hyper. I thought it odd that he had a habit of walking sort of on the balls of his feet as if he had eggs under his heels. I don't know why I remember that.

Terry was really cute but I don't remember talking to her much at school. One summer night Francis Grove I asked her to dance a slow dance and got a big surprise. Not too long after we started dancing tried to hold her a little closer and, to my surprise and delight, she sort of melted into me. We were so close that I could even feel her heart pounding a little and was impressed with myself for having such an impression on her. Of course, it could have been my ego and it was just my own heart pounding but, at this point in my life, I'd rather think otherwise.

Anyway, I was riding home with someone else so I couldn't take advantage of the situation at the time so, being the opportunist that I was, I asked to take her to the movies on a following night and she said OK.

At the drive in, although being the stereotypical male and only thinking of one thing, I managed to control myself until the middle of the movie when I nonchalantly turned to face her and gave her a big juicy kiss. Obviously not nearly as impressed with my kiss as with our previous heart pounding, heavy breathing slow dance, she got stiff as a board and I might as well have been kissing the back of the car seat.

It was a pretty awkward situation and I had no idea what to do or say. I don't remember what she said about my kiss but after that she slid over to her side of the car and we watched the rest of the movie pretty much in silence. When I dropped her off, she thanked me for the movie and I got a polite goodbye. I don't remember if I saw her again after that.

Writing about the guys that I knew in high school was easy but when I tried to write about the girls, I kept running into the same obstacle over and over again. Connie Williams. After Connie, most of what I did or didn't do with this girl or that girl seemed to be affected by my feelings for her.

Connie wasn't the first girl I dated at Meridian but she was the first girl in my life who, whenever I saw or thought about her, took my breath away, made my heart race, made my palms sweat and made me lose my appetite and all of those other wonderful and terrible things that happen to you when you are "in love". For that and other reasons, I've moved Connie to the last part of my story about the kids I know.