On August 6, 2013 Charles (Charlie) Koop died at his home in Williamsburg, Michigan. I had not seen Charlie since we graduated together from Fenton High School in 1968. He went on to do great things. The Traverse City Eagle wrote a very good obituary about the life he lived and the people he helped.
I have not kept up with the class of 1968 over the last 45 years. Only through technology, and an old school mate who found me, do I now know that we are scattered all over the world, We are each following our life path on this earth in a different way.
Charlie is not the first to go. A few lost their lives in Vietnam. Others, like my friend, Dave Clark who I drove to work with five days a week our senior year, met with accidents. Excellent athlete, Dick Goodrich, perished at his home in Oregon in 2011.
Thanks to Facebook I see that many of the class of 1968 are still alive and kicking. We have made our impact on this world and are still doing so. Whether we accomplished what we wanted to or not when we left the school is another story. Most of us are grandparents. We are also of retirement age. But again there is a choice.
Somewhere in my wonderings through life and countries my yearbook disappeared. However, I do not know how it happened, but two photos from high school days survived. I had previously posted them on my Facebook page and other classmates were kind enough to help identify the people. One is of the JV football team and the other is the track team. Those photos are posted with this blog.
Charlie Koop is in both photos. While his obituary focuses on what he did since those times, I remember him for the team player he was and those traits which helped make him the helpful person he turned into for life.
For more writings by Michael and Graciela, both in English and Spanish, visit their website of MichaelandGraciela.com