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John Snavely
City and State: Tucson
I have played clarinet with the Tucson Symphony since 1969. I attended the U of Arizona and NAU and received a doctorate in music. I was married and have 4 wonderful children. I teach music at Howell Elementary School and Pima College. I play with the Tucson Pops Orchestra and started my own "band", the Sonora Winds.
Pete and wife Katy
Pete Kozachik
Currently living in London, England
I still think of the summer of '69 as ground zero in my coming of age, living at a friend's house while his mom was away for the summer, with no more responsibility than my part time job at a grocery store required. Seems pretty idyllic now, cruising Speedway with ex-school buddies, lavishing attention on my precious '59 Ford, learning the romantic arts from an older woman (she was 19), and finding my limits for cheap wine and sleep deprivation.
But all good things must end, and the fall semester at UA marked the close of that chapter. Four years of study and one year in practice later, I abandoned a career teaching junior high science to break into the film business, which had always been my passion. By then I had been married for a few years, having tied the knot at the tender age of 20.
Locally I did a stint at KZAZ TV, then was a cinematographer for UA's film and TV facilities, and eventually made commercials and industrial films independently for a while.
In '79 I took my commercials to LA in hopes of finding work there. That eventually yielded several jobs which were in my favorite segment of the biz, animation and visual effects. Had the good fortune to learn about technique and protocol from luminaries in the craft, and burned the candle at both ends to the detriment of my marriage, ending it in '83.
By early '86 I was a cameraman in Northern California at Lucasfilm, doing the kind of work I had dreamed of as a sci-fi geek in high school. If I wasn't shooting model spaceships and submarines it was rubber monsters, giant robots, or the occasional exploding head.
An opportune liaison with a new director led to my first job as director of photography on a feature, "Nightmare Before Christmas", which remains my favorite project to date.
Similar projects followed, lasting an average of two years a piece. This seemed to coincide with the duration of my serially monogamous relationships with several wonderful ladies. Eventually I got over the burn from my first marriage and set sights on finding a new life partner, who turned up unexpectedly at a xmas party I almost didn't attend. That would've been a tragedy.
Katy hit all the marks on my increasingly picky checklist, and I instantly dropped a developing personal project to romance and eventually marry her six months later. That's us in the photo, taken last xmas. Two years hence we are enjoying each other's company more than I could have hoped for. She is quite a find!
At present we are in England while I shoot a picture that will come out Halloween 2005. It may become my new favorite job, titled "Corpse Bride". In any case, living in the UK for a couple years is a fun adventure, and the all-English crew is a great bunch of blokes. Working with these guys is more of a full immersion into another culture than I think one could get on a regular tour. After 9 months here I can even understand the Scottish guy, mostly.
Regrets? None really, as all the highs and lows of the last 35 years have been at least instructive, and often very pleasant and satisfying. I've had the good fortune to befriend and work with many people I like and admire, and ultimately feel that to be the most important thing.
Same with old school friends; those among our class who I knew back in those formative years still have a special place in my memory.
I would really like to make it to the reunion, but suspect that won't be in the cards this time around. So here's wishing you all a great time at the event, and looking forward to seeing you at the next one!
Looking for Anyone: The Whole Gang.
I have worked in a variety of odd places with a really odd group of employers. I have made my living primarily doing Department of Defense work in a variety of forms, all centered in construction.
I have helped build some amazing things.
Things I have never done: gotten married, been convicted of a crime, or fathered any children.
I have never worked for the CIA and if you know which of my knotheaded brothers started that rumor please advise, thanks.
Things I have done: had a great time, never married my mistakes, and tried to draw a life lesson from whatever event may come my way, good or bad.
I do have a Doctorate in Law and an undergraduate degree. Go figger.
Favorite pastimes: I still snow ski (season passholder at Mammoth Mountain), I help drunks sober up, I read whatever wisdom is tossed my way, and occasionally I fall deeply in love. Hey, these things happen. Then you get over it.
Worst pastimes: Terrible pastimes include dieting (geeeez), dealing with the California bureacracy, and dealing with single women that should stay that way. Also, I am never going beneath a house for re-pipe purposes again. Me an Mr. Rat and Mr.Snake have different world views and values, though some of you may doubt my veracity in that statement.
At present I am living in a town by the name of Wrightwood, CA.
I look forward to seeing all of you at the reunion. It does appear we are going to have nice turnout. Thanks to the reunion committee in advance.
Michael R.
Okay that was Mike's REAL bio ~ Below is the one that Pam wrote for him before he sent his in :) A little motivation for him to send the real one in! :) Enjoy ~ Pam's is quite entertaining! :)
Trying to cover 35 years is a real challenge. So I'll make this an abreviated version. Directly out of high school I decided I missed the school cafeteria atmosphere and decided to be a 'lunch lady'. I donned a hairnet and was very successful at making sure everyone cleaned up their crumbs and left the lunchroom in an orderly fashion. Some of the bits and pieces left under the tables were quite disturbing to me and I left that line of work after just 2 years, under Dr.'s orders. I then tried the newspaper business, having the awesome responsibility of making sure 5-10 machines were filled in a timely manner. Having failed to realize that the money in the machines was not all mine was the beginning of the end of a promising career. The biggies at the office took offense at my financial success, and I was soon asked to give up my lucrative position.
At that time, America was beginning to catch 'Cash for Cans' fever and I wanted to jump on board that train to early retirement. However, after being attacked by a swarm of bees that had made the inside of a Coke can home, I thought that line of work to be too hazardous. Enter my opportunity for sure success. I responded to an ad searching for a bra fitter at Dillard's and have been on the road to success ever since. Not to make light of a golden opportunity, my 'cup runneth over'! I never knew going to work everyday could be filled with so much enjoyment.I have become quite accomplished in this most difficult art.
I hope to see all of you in Oct. I know we'll have so much to talk about.
Lyn Holsclaw, Puttin' on the Ritz with his collection of women.
Lyn Holsclaw
City and State: Montara, CA
WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING FOR THE LAST 35 YEARS??? What is this, the English Essay from Hell? Wasn't "My Summer Vacation" bad enough? Well, all right, Mrs. Liveratos…
After graduation, I went to the U of A to study Electrical Engineering, since I had always loved things that sparked and the delightful aroma of melting solder. With my luck running true to form at the peak of the Vietnam War, I drew number 30 in the draft lottery. So staying in college seemed like the better choice, and I graduated with a BSEE in 1973.
But back in the summer of 1971, exactly a week after my 20th birthday, I had made the silliest decision of my young life and married a 19-year old clarinet player whom I had met in the U of A Marching Band. I was supposed to be smart, so what the hell was I thinking? Thus it happens that this year Kathy and I celebrate our 33rd anniversary of "the marriage that'll never last". Simply put, she has been my reason for living; I think I'll keep her.
After one aborted attempt at a Masters degree, I finally got serious about my future and went back to the UA to finish it. Then it was off to the San Francisco Bay Area to work the next 25 years in a stodgy old Big Aerospace company, thereby ensuring that I would MISS OUT COMPLETELY on the $millions to be made in the dot-com boom. However, I do consider it a privilege to count myself among the tens of thousands of defense contractors who, through their immeasurably small individual contributions, each played a tiny part in the collapse of Soviet Communism, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the prevention of World War III. Okay, it's a small thing, but immensely satisfying.
In the mid-80's, we bought a piece of property on the SF peninsula coastline and built our dream home, using every dime of Other People's Money that we could talk the banks out of. A great project if you ever get the chance, but try to avoid the lawsuits along the way. I wired the whole place myself, and we haven't had a single electrical fire. Yet.
Daughter Cindy arrived on Christmas Day of 1981. She will graduate from San Francisco State next spring, and will likely pursue a Doctoral program in Cellular Biology. Perhaps one day she will help find the cure for cancer or AIDS. (She is already far smarter than I ever hoped to be, and it gets kind of embarrassing when people keep asking me who the real father is!) Peggy was born in 1985 and inherited the artistic genes -- obviously from her mother since I never had any. An aspiring and accomplished actress from the age of five, she is attending UC Santa Cruz now and plans to major in Foreign Languages. Or not … time will tell.
I left Lockheed Martin a couple years ago when they made me an offer I couldn't refuse. (No, I really COULDN'T, but it WAS a pretty sweet deal.) So a couple of my ex-Lockheed buddies and I started an engineering partnership specializing in information security applications. I'll let you all know when the IPO comes out, but don't hold your breath. In the meantime, I've also hired on with a consulting firm that provides flyaway engineering and management services to the major U.S. aerospace companies. So I'm back in the game, commuting to a division of Boeing in Huntington Beach every week to help them develop the Army's hi-tech “Future Combat Systems”. Sleep well tonight.
Those are the high points, except for the occasional trip to Hawaii and the companionship of myriad precious friends. I've been fortunate that the low points have been few, and quite far between. But one of the lowest deserves brief mention here: losing a good friend and respected co-worker at Lockheed who was aboard American Flight 11 when it went into the north tower. Live each day as if it's your last, because it just might be.
I wish all of you the very best that life has to offer, and hope to see you at the reunion! Sorry for droning on so long. Someone remind me, and I'll write The Sequel in another 35 years.
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