Gordon Verplank

I regret that I am not able to attend the reunion.  May 4 is the date my cousin's daughter selected for her wedding long before the first notice of the reunion arrived.   Officiating at a family wedding here in the lower mainland of British Columbia is going to be great fun, especially since most of my cousins and their offspring are going to be here from Southern California.  So while you enjoy a reunion with fellow Sagehens, I shall be enjoying a family reunion. 
 
When we had our tenth class reunion, I was Chaplain of The Claremont Colleges and we had a class barbeque in the backyard of the Chaplain's residence on College Avenue.  The next reunion I attended was our 25th.  Shortly after that I moved to Canada where I have been very happy as a parish minister with The United Church of Canada (a denomination formed in 1925 of all the Methodists and Congregationalists and 70% of the Presbyterians in Canada).  By the time we celebrate our 50th I hope to be retired and free of weekend commitments such as weddings and church services.

This picture was taken quite some time ago but is one I still have stored in the computer here at home. James celebrated his first birthday on April 16, 2002. Megan, Taylor and James live in the Ballard section of Seattle, about an hour and a half drive from where I live in White Rock, B.C. (provided there isn't a huge line at the border).

We also have two granddaughters in Atlanta, Georgia. Mollie and I just got back from there recently. Being a grandparent is great fun, however I wish we lived closer to the children. I'm so envious of the members of my congregation who live close by their families.

Hope you're enjoying the summer. My daughter, Meredith, in Atlanta has an airconditioned home and car and is close to a swimming pool so we did not do badly coping with the heat (90 degrees most days and not much cooler at night). The weather today here in BC is so much more to my liking: 77 degrees, sunny with a gentle breeze.

 Again thank you for your excellent work and for trying again and again to get a response from some of us slower types.  Have a wonderful reunion!
 
Blessings and peace.