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Beverly Wilcox (Collins)
| Last Updated: |
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December 2, 2011 |
| Residing In: |
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Colorado Springs, CO
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| Spouse/Partner: |
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Dennis Collins |
| Occupation: |
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Retired from R&D |
| Children: |
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Tim, Springfield VA, born 1965
Brad, Milan MI, born 1968
Beth, Colorado Springs CO, born 1970 |
| Comments: |
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My latest news is my husband and I moved to Colorado Springs where my daughter lives - I am her back yard neighbor, so it has location, location, location. The house came on the market as a pre-foreclosure and had been occupied by drug users/dealers. Everything had to be painted with oil base Kilz to get rid of the odor (45 gallons). Still a lot of work to do as the inside was mostly destroyed. It's great living next to my daughter and 4 grandchildren, and a great view of the mountains out the window. We live on Cheyenne Mountain, 6 blocks from NORAD.
I volunteered to make the class website and it's been fun reconnecting with everyone. Thanks to JoAnn Butcher for also being an admin with me: "Our class has entered the technical age!!"
I have loved reading about your families, work, hobbies, and play the past 5 decades and receiving your emails about reconnecting with high school friends! What an amazing bunch we are - the things we've done and accomplished,the experiences we've had, our triumphs as well as tragedies we've come through, the beautiful children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren we have. As I uploaded the individual senior pictures, I kept thinking, "Everyone is so good looking!"
So what have I been up to the last 50 years? Greatest accomplishment - 3 great kids and 8 grandchildren I love dearly, and 3 great spouses of my kids. I worked in the crazy pizza business for Tom Monaghan/Domino's Pizza and recently wrote a how-to eBook for making pizzeria style (NY) pizza at home: "Secrets From Inside the Pizzeria" with an accompanying how-to video that also stars my niece Deb. Several classmate friends have become proficient pizzamakers - JoAnn Butcher, Marcia Ziel, Bev Post, Peggy Buchwald to name a few.
The pizza book has led to meeting wonderful and interesting people like "Famous Dave," founder of the BBQ restaurant chain, who I worked with to put together his BBQ ribs DVD and eBook for the ribs that won him title of "Best Ribs in America" at the Kansas City Royal; David Kay, an Executive Producer for the "The Late Show," who said, "If you're ever in NY, I invite you to be my special guests" (we took him up on the offer and were in the special guest audience one night); Lee Butler-Saussy who read the pizza book and opened up a very successful pizza restaurant in Thomasville GA; Sal Cenicola who owns Sal's Neighborhood Pizzeria (the best Italian food ever) on Saint Simon's Island - he was a former boxer and well known in boxing history.
My daughter writes a Disney World guide on how do do Disney on a budget. I'm her editor, so we make one or two trips to Disney World every year for research and pixie dust.
If I had the money and time, I'd love to travel the world, and had some opportunity to do that while I worked in the International Division for Domino's Pizza.
Also I worked a few years in R&D for a small meat company in Iowa creating delicious entrees for restaurants ... I always did love to cook. And I was a Boston Market manager too, where I got the bug to have a restaurant out of my system.
I was caretaker many years for my 99-year-old mother, who left the planet in October, 2008. I was active in our local Lions club, D.A.R., and the Iowa Barbeque Society...but now that I've moved to Colorado, my life is about painting, repair, decorating, and family. |
| School Story: |
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It was GY night and after the meeting we played a game -- name that song. Two girls would be picked to name the popular song put on the record player. Each girl was placed at opposite ends of the room and as soon as you thought you knew the song, you ran up front and gave your answer. I hoped I wouldn’t get picked. All the other pairs of girls raced to the front after 2 or 3 bars of the song were played. But then, Ann McGregor and I were picked. As they played song after song, we sat there without a clue, until one song…we both rushed up and didn’t have the name of the song right. We were much cause for laughter – that we knew not a one. Ann and I became good friends the rest of high school.
A 50th reunion story: I was seeing Jan Harvey (Thake) for the first time in 50 years and recognized her instantly. "You look WUNderful!" I told her. She touched at her face and mumbled, "I didn't know if the Botox had taken effect yet." Thankfully, she didn't have a camera to record the stunned look on my face before I recovered and started laughing. It was a Kodak (or Botox) moment. |
| What hobbies have you found to occupy your time? |
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Cooking - family favorites are pizza, smoked meats, cinnamon rolls, rolled up pancakes, apple pie, chocolate chip cookies.
Home remodeling - still working on remodeling our "druggie" house, and working on grandson's 1940s house near Will Rogers Shrine.
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| What's been happening in your life since our 50th class reunion? |
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We moved from the Iowa farm where I grew up to Colorado Springs. My next door neighbor is my daughter, and we are enjoying hanging out - which usually means working on her son's house or one of our houses, or going out to lunch. This past summer we did a 10,000 mile vacation starting with Yellowstone, then Mt. Rushmore, Mall of America, my sister's house in Northwood IA, Famous Dave's resort in WI, Texas in-laws, Lee's Moonpies in GA, Sal's Neighborhood Pizzeria on St. Simon's Island, Disney World, Disney cruise on Disney Dream, and back home from Florida.
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| If you have grandchildren, what are their names and ages? |
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Patrick 22
Tom 16
Christopher 11
Andrew 9
Haley 6
Brad 4
Colton 3
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| If you have great grandchildren, what are their names and ages? |
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None yet, but my husband has his first great grandchild - Aydan 2.
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"Princess Haley" at Disney World. Photo taken by PhotoPass photographer and graphics added by my daughter. A party of 34 family, friends, and cub scouts did a 9-day Disney World at the start of the Christmas season.
Haley and me, Disney World 2009
Grandson Patrick works Room Service at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.
My niece Deb (sister Barb's daughter) was chosen to be one of three singers in the American Idol Experience show at Disney World.
Butterhead: Baby Brad tries to run away after getting caught playing in the butter.
Grandson Christopher was an "acorn" in a school play. I made his acorn shirt and Grandpa made his acorn hat from a gourd. Cute, huh?
Andrew would like a wife.
Bev and "Famous Dave" do a pizza throwdown in Hayward Wisconsin.
My grandson Andrew gets an autograph from Homer Hickam. The movie "October Sky," is the story of Hickam's life growing up as a coal miner kid who became a NASA scientist. It's one of my favorites. He was guest speaker at a Colorado rocket hobbyist group.
Colton bunny, 1 year old.
Grandson Christopher's Cub Scout white water rafting adventure.
Son Tim and wife Donna show his and her matching plates (her grandmother's and his grandmother's plates were the same pattern).
Grandson Tom after soccer game.
Son Tim with wife Donna, children Tom & Ryan.
Grandson Ryan playing Little League ball.
Grandson Ryan.
Niece Deb, Sister Barb, Son Tim
Husband Denny barbequing ribs Dave Anderson style.
Niece Deb and me with owner Sal at Sal's Neighborhood Pizzeria on St. Simon's Island GA. Sal Cenicola was a boxer contemporary of Sylvestor Stallone. This place has the best Italian food ever.
Bev's Pepperoni Pizza.
Grandson Colton, now 2, and granddaughter Haley in background.
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