I got to know "Skooch" in junior high. He was a good guy with a great smile and a genuine laugh. What you saw was what you got. I can't ever remember him doing or saying a mean thing to anybody. I believe he had a somewhat unstable home life, but he didn't talk about it much. I remember Tom Bonner driving a group of us to Skooch's funeral, becasue Tom was the only one that had his driver's license at the time. That's how young we were. Tragic.
I got to know "Skooch" when he moved from St. Joe. His older sister Linda and her husband raised him and his brother and sister. He lived a few blocks from me, henceforth, we hung around together a lot before we got our driver's licences. He seemed to be always cheerful, and was a lot of fun to have around. We always stayed in touch, until the tragedy occured. I'm sure that everyone misses him!
Skooch was my first boyfriend, my first true love. When we were at Ring Lardner I was very very shy. Skooch sat in front of me in, I believe English class. He would always turn around in his seat to tease me (in a nice way). I really didn't know how to react since this was the first time a boy ever paid attention to me, so I really didn't respond much. I usually had my books and purse sitting on top of my desk, so he thought of another way to get a reaction out of me. He would knock my purse on the floor. This interaction went on until one day he asked if I wanted to come to one of his parties. I remember feeling so thrilled and told my best friend at the time, Karen Grant. I was so excited and nervous. My mom, dad, and sisters took Karen and me to Skooch's house and my dad said he would pick me up at 9:00 p.m. I whined about that because it probably already was 7:30. My dad gave in and said we could stay until 10:00. (us girls got our own way with dad once in a great while).
We got to the house - it was his mom's house, I don't think he was living with Linda at that time. I had a cullot (I don't think this is even a word anymore so I don't think I can look up the spelling) skirt on and some sort of blouse. I remember I liked Karen's shoes better than mine and I talked her into letting me wear them. She had to wear some dorky shoes of mine - such a good friend. I remember Skooch and I sitting next to each other on the couch. I remember somebody bringing in beer, I don't remember if it was his brother or someone from downstairs. I felt very scared of the beer being there and thinking of how my dad would react if he found out. At one point I remember sitting on an end table and it broke and I fell on the floor. I was very mortified, but everyone thought it was funny. Before I knew it my little sisters were knocking on the door and we had to go home. This was the beginning of my time with Skooch. We were together off and on until he died and I was dead too for many many years after. I Love You Skooch for noticing me in the 7th grade when no one else did and everything was so new and and scary.
Dick Crocker
I got to know "Skooch" in junior high. He was a good guy with a great smile and a genuine laugh. What you saw was what you got. I can't ever remember him doing or saying a mean thing to anybody. I believe he had a somewhat unstable home life, but he didn't talk about it much. I remember Tom Bonner driving a group of us to Skooch's funeral, becasue Tom was the only one that had his driver's license at the time. That's how young we were. Tragic.Steve Merica
I got to know "Skooch" when he moved from St. Joe. His older sister Linda and her husband raised him and his brother and sister. He lived a few blocks from me, henceforth, we hung around together a lot before we got our driver's licences. He seemed to be always cheerful, and was a lot of fun to have around. We always stayed in touch, until the tragedy occured. I'm sure that everyone misses him!Debbie Grubbs
Skooch was my first boyfriend, my first true love. When we were at Ring Lardner I was very very shy. Skooch sat in front of me in, I believe English class. He would always turn around in his seat to tease me (in a nice way). I really didn't know how to react since this was the first time a boy ever paid attention to me, so I really didn't respond much. I usually had my books and purse sitting on top of my desk, so he thought of another way to get a reaction out of me. He would knock my purse on the floor. This interaction went on until one day he asked if I wanted to come to one of his parties. I remember feeling so thrilled and told my best friend at the time, Karen Grant. I was so excited and nervous. My mom, dad, and sisters took Karen and me to Skooch's house and my dad said he would pick me up at 9:00 p.m. I whined about that because it probably already was 7:30. My dad gave in and said we could stay until 10:00. (us girls got our own way with dad once in a great while).We got to the house - it was his mom's house, I don't think he was living with Linda at that time. I had a cullot (I don't think this is even a word anymore so I don't think I can look up the spelling) skirt on and some sort of blouse. I remember I liked Karen's shoes better than mine and I talked her into letting me wear them. She had to wear some dorky shoes of mine - such a good friend. I remember Skooch and I sitting next to each other on the couch. I remember somebody bringing in beer, I don't remember if it was his brother or someone from downstairs. I felt very scared of the beer being there and thinking of how my dad would react if he found out. At one point I remember sitting on an end table and it broke and I fell on the floor. I was very mortified, but everyone thought it was funny. Before I knew it my little sisters were knocking on the door and we had to go home. This was the beginning of my time with Skooch. We were together off and on until he died and I was dead too for many many years after. I Love You Skooch for noticing me in the 7th grade when no one else did and everything was so new and and scary.
Love for Eternity, Debbie