Seventy years after graduating from Saint Monica's High School in 1956, a close-knit group of eight alumni still gathers for lunch two or three times a year, keeping alive the friendships that first took root in their teenage days.
Their lunch gatherings are filled with laughter, easy conversation and the kind of camaraderie that only decades of shared history can build. The group often reflects with gratitude on the education they received at Saint Monica's from the Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary for the girls and the Brothers of Saint Patrick for the boys, crediting the educators with shaping their character and work ethic.
Inevitably, someone brings along a copy of The Compass, their high school yearbook, and the group leans in together, flipping through its pages to revisit old photos, inside jokes and memories of school dances, classroom antics and favorite teachers.
What began as youthful bonds has matured into a lasting tradition — a testament to the enduring power of friendship and the simple joy of remembering where it all began.
The Mariners alumni are: Jean Villaryo Brown, Toni Rubini Colvin, Yolanda Ponce Landis, Maryvon Laumann Kraetsch, Ted Elliott, Bob O'Neill, George Junger and Jim Ziegler.
Edited by SMDP Staff