Happy Birthday Rob! I hope you're doing well. Have an enjoyable celebration today, and keep it going for many years to come. I keep in touch with classmates Dave Kergaard, Gary Carlyle, Roger Bacon and Kevin Coombs. I met Jack Norrie, my old roommate for 3 years, at Muskingum for Homecoming last October. It was great to see him again and to visit the campus. The Stag Club is gone, I'm sure you know. Would live to connect. Keep in touch. Jeff

Happy Birthday, Don! Hampton Road buddies. Best wishers for many more.

Happy Birthday, Rich! And best wishes for many more. For classmates who don't know, we met on a flight to the San Francisco in the early 70's. You were attending UC Berkeley. We had some fun travels to Death Valley and the Grand Canyon. Since then you've become world traveler every year to some fascinating places. What a great lifetime of experiences and memories! Keep it going for many years to come. Your good friend. Jeff

Posted on: Aug 11, 2023 at 4:33 AM

Posted on: Aug 11, 2022 at 4:33 AM

Todd Koster died of pancreatic cancer May 15.  He is survived by his wife Cindy and their children Thomas and Amelia.  Although he did not graduate with the Class of 65 many of us remember Todd as a fellow classmate from Wooster elementary school through our sophomore year when his family moved to New Jersey. 

Todd received a BA in architecture from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in architecture from University of California San Francisco.  Todd also won two Reynolds Aluminum architectural prizes in 1975 and 1976 for his designs. Cindy graduated from Skidmore College and was a director at Levi Strauss when she retired. They were married 52 years.  I was Todd’s best man at their wedding. 

They enjoyed a life of “lively adventures”.  We stayed in touch over the years as they crisscrossed the country.  They eventually moved to San Francisco in the mid 70’s where we were able to see them more often.  Todd invested in residential real estate over the years and had a flare for home improvements.  He became very talented in designing and building custom cabinetry and fine furniture in a style that was all his own, which Cindy felt was his true calling.

One of the many things that made Todd unique was his sense of humor.  He had a way of telling stories about himself and others that would draw you in and always seemed to have a sarcastic or ironic twist or humorous ending. 

Some of the stories had to do with our early years growing up in Rocky River.  There were countless ones, but the favorite was our 120-mile bicycle ride to Cedar Point and back in one day when we were 13 years old.  There were three of us - Warren Whitney, Todd and me.  I mentioned this funny story in my comments in memory of Warren recently. 

Warren lived next door to me. Todd lived on the next street.  We all had morning paper routes.  We came up with this great idea to ride our bicycles to Cedar Point after our paper routes.  Warren had a little league game that evening, so we had to get an early start.  We didn’t realize how far away Cedar Point was nor how long it would take to bicycle there and back.  But what the heck, it sounded like a great idea, and we were 13, right?  Warren had a new Schwinn 10-Speed, I had a Schwinn 3-speed, and Todd had a one-speed, the kind with fat tires.  Todd would always get a good laugh about that.

We got off to an early start right after we delivered the papers.  We took Lake Road all the way out.  After peddling for several hours, we finally got to the toll plaza where we left our bikes and hitchhiked across the causeway to Cedar Point amusement park.  It was late morning by then.  We were so tired we sat in the shade and drank the biggest Coke we could buy.  Then, we realized we had to head back.  Warren had a little league game that evening.  So, we headed back knowing the ride was going to long and tough because the wind had picked up.  We peddled for what seemed forever and finally got back late in afternoon.  Todd and I headed home, probably went to bed, but Warren had to get changed for his little league game.  He was the starting pitcher. 

Our parents probably thought we were just out for the day.  Of course, we didn’t tell them beforehand because we knew what they would have said.  In later years it was an adventure that all three of us had fun recalling.

There were so many more adventures we shared, and we never got tired of talking about them.  Todd’s retelling always added more color and nuance that made the stories so much more entertaining.

I recall a movie in 1986 called “Stand By Me”.  It was a coming-of-age movie about three young teenage boys.  It was narrated by Richard Dreyfus and a recollection of his youth.  The movie ended with Dreyfus saying, “You never have friends like the friends you had when you were 12 years old”.  That was certainly true with Todd and me.  I’m going to miss him.

I’m sure many of you feel the same way with friendships you’ve kept all these years.  It’s seems like so much time has gone by, but on the other hand it hasn‘t.  There’s always a special connection and something to be cherished… and remember.

Great Warren Story, Jeff; thanks.

I am so sorry to hear of Warren's passing.  My deepest condolences to Phyllis and her family and to everyone who knew and loved Warren. 

Warren and I lived next to each other on Hampton Road.  We had some fun experiences and good memories growing up.  We each had paper routes in junior high and high school.  I delivered the Cleveland Plain Dealer and he the Cleveland Press when it switched to morning delivery, so we were up early every morning.  In the dark, quite mornings, no cars on the road, we couldn’t see each other, but we’d connect by whistling in a certain way.  The other would answer back if he was close enough to hear.  We’d eventually connect in the dark.  It was of special greeting between us just to say, “Hi Bud”.

One funny story Warren and I always had a good laugh at recalling was our bicycle trip to Cedar Point and back …in one day.  I think it’s 60 miles one way.  Todd Koster delivered the Cleveland PD on Gasser, one street over, so after our paper routes were completed, at the crack of dawn, the three of us started out. Keep in mind we were young teenage boys.  So, we peddled and peddled, and peddled some more.  Finally, we reached Cedar Point late morning.  We left our bikes at the toll gate at beginning of the causeway and hitched a ride to the amusement park.  We were exhausted.  We sat down in the shade and drank the biggest Coke we could buy.  Then, it was time to leave.  We had to get back because Warren had a little league game at 5:30, and he was the starting pitcher!  How stupid were we.  Teenage boys!  So, we peddled and peddled, and when we couldn’t peddle any more, we kept on peddling because we had to.  I think peddled into the afternoon breeze as well.  Anyhow we got home around 5:00.  I know I went straight to bed, Todd too, but Warren had to change into his uniform and play baseball. I don’t think he had his best stuff that evening.