Category Archives: Alumni

Bill Witt

Willaim Witt — Class of 1945

Leave a reply

The Witt family came to Trona, CA from Chloride, AZ around 1942 and left about for Henderson, NV around 1948 so they weren’t in Trona for very long but he did graduate from Trona High School and he stayed in touch with lit Brush. The 1950 census lists his father as a foreman so I suspect he was recruited, like other were, to move to AP&CC’s plant in Henderson.

Bill was born April 4, 1947 and died in January 21, 2025. Perhaps someone could let use know if he had a family> He was one of the last living members of his class.

https://obituaries.neptune-society.com/obituaries/sacramento-ca/william-witt-12212063

Terri Durland

Teresa Ann “Terri” (Durland) Allen — Class of 1945

Leave a reply

Our beloved mom Terri Allen passed away peacefully on February 8, 2025 at the age of 97. Terri was born in Los Angeles, California in 1927 and was raised in Trona, a company-owned mining town in the Mojave Desert.

After graduating from high school in Trona, she moved to Berkeley and attended the University of California, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 1949. She was in the Sigma Kappa sorority at Cal. She met her future husband, Don Allen, at Cal, and they were married in 1950 and lived in the Bay Area. The marriage ended in divorce. Terri worked as an administrative assistant in Menlo Park for many years and raised their three children, Leslie, Curt and Paul, as a single mom. After she retired, she moved to Grass Valley in 1999.

Terri was an active and dedicated member of the Baha’i Faith, and she served on the Baha’i Local Assembly as Secretary and as Treasurer for over 30 years. She was an avid reader and loved books about different cultures, societies and stories from around the world. She was a person of profound integrity and a strong sense of justice, and she stood up for and supported human rights and the oneness of humanity.

Terri is survived by her daughter Leslie Platner and son-in-law Paul Platner of Grass Valley, and her son Paul Allen and daughter-in-law Laura Allen of Emerald Hills. Terri’s son Curt passed away in 2018. Terri was a native Californian, “memah” and “purple nana” to six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and lived a long happy life, from the great Mojave Desert to the gold-rich Sierra foothills.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 1 p.m. at Unity in the Gold Country Spiritual Center, 180 Cambridge Ct, Grass Valley.

For those wishing to make charitable donations in Terri’s memory, please consider Hospice of the Foothills.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/terri-allen-obituary?id=57546311

Terri’s father was a chemical engineer. They lived in Trona from at least 1930 to 1950. She had a younger brother, William, who passed away in 2006.

According to the 1950 census the Durland’s lived at 306 Lupine St

The 1945 yearbook says Terri’s nickname was “Te De”. Terri probably went to elementary school in the old elementary school on Main St. and then I suspect she may went away to school and came back to finish school when Trona High School was completed in 1942.

 

Andy Ford — Class of 1962

1 Reply

Andy Ford (Class of 1962, valedictorian) died 29 December 2024 from dementia at the age of 80. More than a scholastic star, Andy was a half-back on the Trona Tornado football team and ran track on the Ruth Mine tailings-covered track (really a fast surface!). He received a BS in electrical engineering from UC Davis, then went on for an MS in mathematics at Harvard, finishing with a Ph.D. in Systems Dynamics Engineering at Dartmouth. Worked at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico for 10 years, then became a Professor, first at USC and then Washington State Univ. Andy loved teaching, mentoring several graduate students and writing a well received (and in current use) textbook “Modeling the Environment”.

He married his high school sweetheart, Amy Stone, and was a loving, dedicated family man for over 50 years. They have 2 daughters with 5 grandchildren, who live in Grand Junction, Colorado, close to Andy and Amy. Andy loved fly fishing and spent many hours hiking along brisk flowing rivers in California, Washington, and Colorado.

https://www.lmtribune.com/obituaries/frederick-andrew-andy-ford-18481703

Janet “Jan” (Long) Reichert — Class of 1970

2 Replies

Janet’s husband, Rick, left a message on Facebook telling us Janet has passed away. Jant is the daughter  of Onace Long who played so many rolls in the Trona Unified School District.

https://memorials.leintzfh.com/janet-reichert/5501048/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3kw4HoCK39M7LWToWpkDmiNeH4sLa5DIxMjWunsWH6q_7HiFowieZhUVs_aem_025plC2qYBoRclyBK9xI9A

Nancy (Smith) Morris — Class of 1955

Leave a reply

Nancy (Smith) Morris (1936-2024) was born in Pennsylvania but came to Trona as a child and attended school in Trona from kindergartens until graduation in 1955. See married Eugene Morris in 1958. They were married 61 years until his death in 2019. They had two children, Paula (Morris) Lee and  Pete Morris both of them attended Trona High School.

Bruce-Knowles-1961

Bruce “Butch” Knowles — Class of 1964

2 Replies

I recently learned that Bruce Knowles passed away. I don’t remember him well but I do remember his family. His parents were Howard and Ruth Knowles. He had a cousin named Larry in the class of 1953 and a half sister named Gwen (Knowles) Russell who was also in the class of 1953.  Gwen marred Ira Russell who was in the class of 1951. Bruce also had a younger brother, Kenny.

Our condolences to his family.

Margaret Irene (Wells) June — Class of 1965

Leave a reply

Margaret Irene June passed away in Glendale on Jan. 6, 2023 at the age of 75. She struggled with complications of COPD, heart disease and eventually COVID.

Margaret was born in Trona, California, where she grew up and graduated from Trona High School, having kept many of her schoolmates as friends throughout her life.

She moved to Glendale and worked for several years as a server at the Toasted Bun on Glendale Avenue. This is also where she met the love of her life, Larry June, whom she married on Dec. 20, 1977.

Margaret eventually started working at the Glendale Unified School District. She was well loved and appreciated for the devotion to her work and for her kind and generous heart. She retired after 28 years having gained many lifelong friends.

She also became a woman warrior in caring and fighting for her beloved husband as they battled his Parkinson’s disease. Sadly, Larry died in 2016 after 38 years of a wonderful marriage.

Margaret is survived by her brother Michael (class of 1961); many cousins, nieces and nephews; and her cat Pumpkin. She was preceded in death by her husband Larry, older sister Maureen (class of 1960) and her mother Adeta Wells.

Margaret and Larry are buried together at a gravesite next to her mother in Trona, the city where she started her life’s journey.

We all miss Margaret profoundly. Her kindness and generosity touched everyone who was privileged to be a part of her life. She will forever live in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.

Margaret Irene June added by CV Weekly on August 10, 2023