WPHS Alums Class of 1961 Then and Now

Introducing...John Alan Darling
Alan is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Johnston, 1701 Pine Avenue. He will graduate with the 1961 class from Winter Park High School. High School activities include footbll, track, tumbling and membership in various clubs. Alan will enter Air Force Training School and follow a course in electronics.

Darling, Alan . . . Alan, born in Washington State, is a fella we all know. He likes to collect postcards and model horses as his hobbies. The special person he wants on that tropical island is not particularly a feline or feminine character at all; but the publisher of some of our text books. Before Alan goes to his island he plans to go to college on the West Coast. His favorite sports include football, track and baseball. Alan's most memorable event at WPHS is when Coach Orr burst out laughing.

<- Claudia Bernice Davis
Claudia Davis Dodd ->
Deceased

Introducing...Claudia Bernice Davis
Claudia is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey Davis, 200 Carolina Ave., and a member of the 1961 graduating class from Winte Park High. She was a member of the Future Homemakers of America for two years and her hobbies are dancing, skating and swimming. Claudia would like to be a doctor's receptionist.

Davis, Claudia Bernice . . . a native of Florida came to WPHS from Kleran High School in the Bronx, NY. Claudia favors dancing, swimming, sewing, and collecting pennies. She says Jimmy Clanton would do more than please her on her tropical isle -- all he has to do is sing. This pretty senior miss believes the better things in life are worth working for. Future includes work as a medical secretary.
Source: WPHS Senior Salutes, 1961.

Michael Roy Dean
Deceased

Dean, Mike . . . Mike Dean, that contact lens boy from Virginia, has a special beverage he drinks in his spare moments. It's called a melted sundae. Mike has decided that the Epicurian way of life was the best and plans to carry out this philosophy at "Ole Miss" next year. When asked about plans after college Mike says, "Who knows." Well, Mike, whatever you do, keep saying "That's cool" and you'll have a breezy life. Favorite sports include basketball, football, swimming and track. School attended other than WPHS was Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Source: WPHS Senior Salutes, 1961.

Shirley Faye Deaton
Shirley Deaton Lansing-Jones
Deceased

Introducing...Shirley Faye Deaton
Shirley will graduate with the class of 1961 from Winter Park High School. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. R. Rodda of Pembrook Drive. Shirley will go to Florida State University to major in Hom eEconomics and then enter one of the major airlines schools for stewardess training. She is a member of GAA, Future Homemakers and Campus Crusaders. Cooking and swimming are her hobbies.

Deaton, Shirley . . . "Shirl" hatched out in the state of Indiana on November 10th. She lists her favorite sport as water skiing while her most interesting hobby is buying lipsticks. She has some thirty on hand at present. Shirley's pet peeve is anyone who says "shush!" Her ideal situation is "to be in a permanent one with Rick Blackwell (?)". Her philosophy of life is to live your own life, 'cause you die your own death. Future plans include possibly college at Florida State. Shirl's secret ambition is to be very rich -- wouldn't it be nice!!
Source: WPHS Senior Salutes, 1961.

<- Sari Mary de Holczer
Sari de Holczer Cornelius ->
Deceased

Date Posted : June 18th, 2002 (6:23 AM)
Comments : Hey y'all from College Park. Grew up in College Park, lived in Hawaii for a year, then moved to Winter Park. Back in C.P. now.

Sari traveled 4 miles to attend the 50th class reunion. Her favorite WPHS teacher was Mary Curlin who taught Latin. Sari wrote that Ms. Carlin made the class fun and she also lists June McGill for physical education. Her hobbies are reading and playing Hearts on the computer. Her favorite sports are snow skiing and golf. Currently Sari has two cats. She lists her favorite vacation spots as Snowmass, CO and the Caribbean. Left on her bucket list is seeing the Aurora Borealis. Sari wrote that her most memorable 'event' in high school was an exploding ink pen in class where Ronnie Buckmaster and she were sent to the principal's office. An award received by Sari was the Zero Defects Award from Martin-Marietta. Her favorite WPHS memory was the junior prom with Sam Harris and the graduation party in 1961.
Source: WPHS Class of 1961 - 50th Reunion Questionnaire

Lynne Mathaney Delvich
Deceased

Delvich, Lynne . . . stands 5'2" but has eyes of brown, so the rhyme doesn't work. One of our many imports from Baltimore, Md... her pet peeves are boys, but she uses the fellas to fulfill her philosophy, which is, "get the most fun out of life." Lynne plans to attend Stetson or Boston University after graduation. Her favorite sports include tennis, horseback riding and swimming. Her most enjoyed hobby is drawing... favorite food includes pizza and coke... ideal situation--to go to college where there are ten boys to every girl--WOW!!
Source: WPHS Senior Salutes, 1961.

<- Mary Helen Deter
Mary Deter West ->
Click HERE to send
Mary an e-mail!

Photograph
Wanted

Introducing...Mary Helen Deter
Mary is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Deter, 1310 Dove Drive. She will graduate with the class of 1961 from Winter Park High School. Mary was a member of GAA and the Glee Club and her hobbies are sports and drawing. She looks forward to a career in the world of business.

Deter, Mary Helen . . . Mary, who is easily seen due to her red hair, has very pretty blue eyes and she stands 5'4" tall. She has never attended high shcools other than Winter Park High and one of the things she is concerned about is the loss of spirit and smiles at WPHS. Even though Mary comes from Ohio, she says Southern fried chicken is her favorite dish. Her future plans are to be a secretary and work her way through art school.
Source: WPHS Senior Salutes, 1961.

Douglas Fredrick Dillon
Click HERE to send
Doug an e-mail!
Website

Introducing...Douglas Frederick Dillon
The son of Lt. Col. and Mrs. W. W. Dillon, Maitland, Doug will graduate with the class of 1961 from Winter Park High School. His hobbies include coin collecting, carving and sketching. High school activities include stage technicians crew, National Science Club, National Thespians Society, Campus Crusaders and senior class play. Doug plans to follow a course of Political Theory and Foreign Relations at University of Florida.

Dillon, Douglas Fredrick . . . "Marshall" Dillon could really pass for a cowboy since he hails from Tucson, AZ. The only trouble is that he has no sidekick answering the name of "Chester". Doug's favorite memory is the production of "the Curious Savage" last year. His favorite sport is hunting. His pet peeve is females who block the halls. According to Doug, the ideal situation is to be in the arms of a lovely girl. Many boys will agree with you there! In the future Doug plans college and then state department work. His secret ambition is to set foot on Mars. Could be he's planning to open a state on Mars. Whose the cute red-head? Source: WPHS Senior Salutes, 1961.

Bio: Author, freelance writer and retired educator. I don't think Ed Creech ever got over me becoming not only a teacher, but a school administrator/supervisor. Actually, I haven't either. Anyway, what a hoot it was back in the early 1970's when I also ran into Rip Wilson, our esteemed WPHS Principal from those long lost years. Poor Rip. He had retired from education by then and volunteered occasionally to serve on some of the visiting committees that go to high schools on evaluation gigs. Well, when he got to Ocoee Jr./Sr. High School, who was the curriculum administrator in charge of the visiting team? You guessed it! We had a good laugh, Rip did a great job and I marveled at the way life can put us on intersecting paths that could never be plotted even in the best of novels. Currently, as of 2012, I’m writing full time and completing a young adult fiction series titled, The St. Augustine Trilogy. Me, writing for teens. Amazing. This series is a combination of the paranormal and historical. Come visit my website and see what I’m doing. Got a very active blog where I get to spout off all kinds of things unusual. I’ve been married to Barbara for almost 40 years. Wow, how did she stick with me for that long? Three adult children: Nicole, Greg and Fred. Nicole lives in Orlando and works for Second Harvest Food Bank. Greg lives in Lake Mary, FL and is a professional photographer, weddings mostly. Fred is a construction contractor living in Weekie Wachee, FL. My dad, Col. Walt Dillon, Winter Park's High School's physics teacher back in the day, died in 1975 and is buried at West Point with my mom who passed on in 2007. (updated 7/29/2012)

<-Loretta Kay Dirst
Kay Dirst Shelton ->
Click HERE to send
Kay an e-mail!

Introducing...Loretta Kay Dirst
Kay is a member of the 1961 graduating class at Winter Park High School and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. O. Dirst, 1620 Lake Howell Road. Her activities during school include Campus Crusaders, Morning Chapel and pianist for the Glee Club. Kay's chief interest is music and musical instruments and she will enter Nyack Missionary College for study of Sacred Music and Organ. She hopes one day to teach music.

Dirst, Loretta Kay . . . "Katy" was born in Hiawatha, Kansas. Her choice for the man to be with on a tropical isle is Bob Schroder, a 6'5" 'doll' from Texas. Katy's favorite expression is, "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle." Her future plans include college at Hyack, New York, where she will study for her Bachelor of Arts.
Source: WPHS Senior Salutes, 1961.

From: Kay Dirst Shelton
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2002 8:59 PM
Subject: After over 40 years...
It is with mixed emotions that I reply to a fellow classmate. From pianist for Campus Crusaders, I continued as a musician, (churches, weddings, funerals, etc., including college) giving private lessons . . I am a wife, mother, grandmother, artist, fashion designer, etc. I am actively employed here in Oklahoma as a CSR for the gas company. I, too, have been blessed with health, happiness and some semblence of sanity through all these years. I have been enjoying the "Super" WPHS wesite -- Life does give us some wonderful lemonade!!

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