It’s been a wild ride…to the ends of the earth, and back again. We’ve, [Sylvia (Beck) EHS class ’63 and I], now visited every continent–including Antarctica, and amazingly we continue to live in the same house, on 1200 East, where I was born and raised.  

Our five children also grew up in this house, (four of which also graduated from EHS—the last one had to IB it at West) and our fifteen grandchildren (all under age 15) live close by, and visit frequently.  [If you live in SLC area you may have seen our oldest son, Jason Mathis, Executive Director of the Downtown Alliance, on TV a time or two.]  

Along the way I’ve enjoyed two very different careers.  I taught LDS Released-Time Seminary for 30 years after graduating from the U of U in general science education, and at the same time spent 33 years in the Army Reserve and National Guard, with 22 of the years as both a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot.  I still dabble in aviation as an adjunct instructor in the Professional Pilot Program at Salt Lake Community College.

Memories of EHS include:  A Cappella Choir, seminary and the great friends that helped me have a social life.

Along the way, on this wild ride, I’ve learned that we have a Heavenly Father and a Savior, Jesus Christ, and one of the many ways They manifest Their presence is in the Creations of this world.

 I love the outdoors and find it a great place to spend time recognizing these creations, especially the Uinta Mountains, where my youngest son, 16, and I, at the age of 56, backpacked (that means no pack animals except for the two of us) the entire highline trail, roughly 100 miles, from West to East. Something I’d wanted to do since I was 17. All of my children and grandchildren, over the 12 year old mark, do an annual Unita backpack trip.

Life is wonderful recognizing we’re in the “second act of our three act play” (President Boyd K. Packer) and looking forward to whatever comes next.

Wow, 50 years! I guess that explains why I sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies on cold mornings. I am happy to say that I still have all of my original body parts with only a few minor repairs. It has been an interesting 50 years. Within a week after graduating from East, I was in boot camp in San Diego. I spent a little over 4 years in the Navy serving in the Submarine Service on 2 different diesel powered submarines. While home ported in Hawaii I learned to surf and repaired surfboards part time.

After my discharge, I returned to SLC and worked for Hydro Swift boats and Associated Design Group as a fiber glass laminator. After a year or so, I married Laraine Bowman (no not that one). But my wife Laraine was also a school teacher. We moved to Arvada Colo. for a while, then back to her home town in Pahrump, NV. (just outside of Las Vegas). I went to work for the local power Co. and Laraine taught school. After 40 years and three tries I finally rertired. During my career, I held just about every outside job from groundman and lineman on a line crew, to the Manager of Operations. When I finally left the Co. for good, I was the Vice President of the Board of Directors. I was also on the Board of Trustees for the Northwest Public Power Assoc.

We now spend our time between Pahrump in the winter and our house on the Long Beach Peninsula in WA. state in the summer. In WA. we spend much of our time fishing for salmon and crab among other things. I have played golf in India, panned for gold in Nome, Alaska and stood in awe in the dimly lit Sistine Chapel. After making it almost all the way around the world, I would have to say it has truly been an interesting 50 years. I also subscribe to the notion, "Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost."

Thank you Mr. Hull
       Carpe Diem

After graduation and time spent in the military I moved to California and worked at Stanford University in the OR.  Dr. Norman Shumway’s team took me under their wing and gave me the opportunity to become a Technician that ran the Heart Lung machine for open-heart surgery cases and worked in the research lab where Heart Transplants were being done and tested in preparation for clinical use. 
         Married my first wife and moved back to SLC. Worked at the University of Utah in the research
labs on programs of Kidney Transplantation, diabetes treatments, lung transplants and other programs. I moved to NYC to take charge of a research lab and animal facility for a doctor that was moving from SLC to NY to head up a kidney transplant program for a consortium of NY hospitals. I spent about 15 years there,.
          We adopted my first daughter, who is now 38, while living in NJ. I also completed my degree at St. Peters College with a BS in Business.
          We moved to Chicago where I was the Assistant Director of the Office of Animal Care for the University of Chicago, then moved on a number of other Universities before finally moving into the world of Pharmaceutical companies (Bristol-Myers Squibb) where I worked for about 16 years as Operations/Technical Manager in their Veterinary Sciences Department. The last 10 years I managed a large Non-Human Primate program for the company.
        I married my second wife while at BMS. I have a second adopted daughter, who is now 23.
        I retired from BMS in 2007, moved to Las Cruces, NM where I am active in many local activities including volunteering at a local food bank, docent for the local RR museum. I am a member of the board of the Foundation for Las Cruces Museums. Worked as a natural bearded Santa for the 2011 Christmas season and will do so again this season at Fr. Bliss in El Paso, Tx.  I continue to work as a freelance Santa during the Christmas seasons.

    Our younger daughter was married 3 years ago.  She and her husband live in the Minniapolis area.

We now have two grandchildren, both girls.  The older one, who is 8,  lives in Rochester NY with her mom and our yourner one, 8 mo, lives with her parents in MN.

We have moved to a Del Webb community on Bernalillo, NM. We moved her about 2 years ago and absolutly love it.  Have wonderful neighbors and friends here and actually have seasons.  

Recently my wife, Gail was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.  She just had a Stem Cell Transplant at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and is doing well.  We are hopefull that this will put her into remission as the Seicntific community works on the cure. 

55 Years went by so fast.  Guess I must be having fun.  Moved to SunRiver, St. George, Utah which is a 55+ community in 2000.  Enjoying golf, Pickleball, Jeeping, and the beautiful outdoors.  This area is a big playground with beautiful scenery.  So much to do, but getting a little older makes it take longer to do, than 40 years ago.  

Born Carolyn Fairbanks, I was known throughout my public school years as Carolyn Williams. I was reared in a home which championed the Arts. My grandfather was John B.Fairbanks and my uncle was Avard Fairbanks, so, although my mother and step-father were  professional musicians, they encouraged my natural propensity for the visual arts.

While at East High, I was fortunate to take art classes from Ray Edvalson, who taught me everything I would need later in life for my career in commercial art and needlework design and manufacturing from silk screening to advertising layout. I was lucky to become the very first Sterling Scholar in Art from East High School, then I went on to attend BYU on an art scholarship. Next I married my wonderful husband, Omar, and went to work as an emblematic illustrator for the O.C. Tanner Company. I illustrated an Arabic Language textbook and worked as a fashion illustrator with the Paris Company before we moved to North Africa. While in Libya, I learned the local dialect, wrote and illustrated a fashion column for Benghazi's English-language newspaper, taught art classes for the International Women's Club, and had the opportunity to meet the Queen of Libya. It was in Libya where our oldest daughter, Maha, and our son, Kadri, were born.  Thereafter we came to the States for a visit and I was sent by the State Department to train Peace Corp volunteers preparing to go into Libya before I returned to Benghazi.

Omar's poor health prompted us to move back to the United States where our youngest daughter, Rheim was born. We opened a needlework store named "The Tapis-tree" in downtown Salt Lake City, from which we launched over a dozen needlework features in national magazines such as WOMAN'S DAY and FAMILY CIRCLE, wherein we sold my needlework designs in kit form. I was then fortunate enough to go on to design for the major manufacturers in the needlework industry until we decided to break off to design and manufacture our own kits.

In 1996, I was asked to take on the daunting task of spearheading the US effort in a gigantic needlework project on behalf of George Washington's ancestral home, the Sulgrave Manor, in Sulgrave England, in which over 1000 petite point pieces were needed to be worked by volunteers to embellish the bed hangings of the 16th Century bed in the Manor's Grand Tudor Bedchamber. The "New Elizabethan Embroidery" project was completed and dedicated in 2003 and Omar and I were on hand to represent the United States at the dedication. In 2006 I embroidered a panel replicating the US Postal Service's Breast Cancer Stamp for The National Needlework Association which toured the United States for two years, coming to rest permanently at the Smithsonian's Postal Museum in Washington D.C.

In the 1990's I was blessed to study with a great art teacher by the name of Frank Covino who taught me to paint in the manner of the Old Masters wherein one painting takes over 150 hours to complete as compared to the one-day paintings I used to do. One of the photos attached is a self-portrait in the Old Masters technique and I am currently working on portraits of George Washington's ancestors for the Sulgrave Manor. It is my ambition to document my Libyan and American families in oils one day, but, currently, the Barrani Design Studios keeps both, Omar and me, extremely busy producing projects for people internationally to stitch and find an escape from the cares of the world. I enjoy painting portraits in particular and I dream of the days when I will have time to devote exclusively to painting great paintings and weaving grand tapestries, but I'm afraid it's only a dream.  I probably won't be able to attend the reunion because we are scheduled for a trade show those days in Baltimore.

Finally, I really want to honor and thank Mr. Edvalson, for his great contribution to all of the students of East High and particularly to me with his knowledge of art and his great patience in trying to share it with everyone.

May God bless you all.

UPDATE:  I mentioned little to nothing of our experiences with the Libyan government, particularly since Muammar Ghadafy took over in 1969, but it has continually been a significant concern in our lives in that Omar's brother, Ahmed Rafik, was assassinated by Ghadafy's hit men in 1984. Our sympathies have always lain with the opposition movement, especially during the entire Libya Revolution of 2011 when each day our hearts were in our mouths as our family members were in danger.  Although Omar knew many of the people serving in the Ghadafy regime, it now turns out that one of his school mates and long-time friend, Mohammed Mogarriaf, was elected the first President of Libya. May God bless all of the people of Libya to forge an outstanding democratic, free country in spite of the extremely dangerous challanges they face.