Joclyn Gaye Kirrie
1968
Name in High School: Joclyn Gaye Kirrie
Favorite High School Memories: Senior skip day: that was an official thing, right?
Vivid memories of Collette gracefully falling off her horse as we galloped down the beach at Manzanita. Journalism class, and the Statesman with great people who worked so well together
Favorite Teachers:
Dave Williams was our physics teacher and he had a pet alligator. He had graduated from Wilson and we were his first class.
Mr. Murray, who elevated us to a higher level of awareness and understanding of literature. I still enjoy reading Thoreau makes me appreciate the timelessness of a classic.
The boys counselor (don’t remember his name) who advised me in programming my classes. He encouraged me to take more difficult science classes that better prepared me for college.
Now…
2018
Name: Joclyn Gaye Thornburg
Children: Jim & Aaron
Grandchildren: Jim’s boys: Preston (12), Connor (10) Brody (8) Alas, no girls!
Occupation: Dental Hygienist, Dental Hygiene instructor at Portland Community College
Favorite Pastimes: Gardening, Hiking, Traveling, Quilting, MahJongg
Highlights of My Life Since High School: Every decade opens a new chapter, but somethings are a constant: I graduated from the Dental Hygiene program at U of O Dental School in “71 , and continue to work as a hygienist. I volunteer in a variety of settings including medical missions, dental clinics, and currently Coffee Creek Correctional Facility where I teach quilting to women inmates.
This is one of my favorite poems that I got from the weavery counselor when I worked at Camp Namanu as a counselor:
THE WEAVER
My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me.
I cannot choose the colors,
Nor all the patterns see.
Sometimes he sendeth sorrow,
And I in foolish pride,
Can only see the upper,
And not the underside.
Not until the loom is silent
And the shuttle ceases to fly,
Will God unroll the canvas
And explain the reasons why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver’s skillful hands
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.
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Hi Gaye — or do you go as Joclyn! I love the poem you posted and reading about your life. I missed #40 (we were about to head out of the country & I just couldn’t manage a trip to Portland right before) — and #30 was so long ago, I barely remember being there. So, hope to see you next month!
Best, Jamia
Dear Jocyln,
Loved your post and I so look forward to seeing you at the reunion! I still can’t believe it’s been 50 years! Mr. Murray was a great and inspiring teacher as I also still love to read Thoreau and Emerson. You have had an exciting and fulfilling life…and the poem beautiful and really applies to ones life well-lived…
See you soon,
Nancy
Lovely poem. I am stealing it for myself! 😏
See you at the reunion!