MEMORIALS

I hate this page. These are not only my classmates, but my friends. There is nothing to write that will be appropriate or enough...I just hope that when you look at their faces, you realize how temporary life is, and how important loved ones are. Be good to each other. What we take for granted today, may not be here tomorrow.

Each of these people touched my life in some way. I thank God I was fortunate enough to know them, and they will never be forgotten.

Tracy Rowan
Class of 1984
passed away 2023

I loved this girl!

Brienne Hansel
passed away May 2023
One of the kindest, sweetst, funniest people I ever had the good fortune to know

Mike Pycior
class of 1984

Tony Weaver

Tony Weaver
Class of 1984

Dan Despot
class of 1984

Richard Gardner
Class of 1984

Brian Belcher
Class of 1984

Husband, father, friend, hero.
He will live in my heart forever. If you knew him, I know he's in yours too.

Carl Hogan
Class of 1984

You never know what someone may be going through. It is so important to always be kind to others.

Carl was amazing. He was thoughtful and loving, and selfless. He was the guy who always reached out to make sure his friends were ok, always built you up, made you feel valued. He made you feel like you mattered. I hope he knew how loved he was.

LINDA BROWN LOFTIN

2013

Linda was my first real friend in life, and my very best friend. She lived next door to me for years. We used to walk to and from Cox School together, and play handball on each other's garage doors. I remember talking about building a tunnel from my room to hers through our backyards so we could hang out at night, dancing to Purple People Eater, and riding our bikes around all the cute boys' houses in our neighborhood. I have so many pictures and memories in my head, and in my scrap books.

I hadn't heard from her in years, and was so excited to get an email response from her updating her information for me, telling me she was excited to see all her old friends at the next reunion (2014).
Two days later she was gone.

Life is too short, friends are too valuable. Be kind to each other and make time for each other while you can.

Jesse Burgoss
Class of 1984

Funny as hell, this guy always made you laugh and smile. He found humor in almost evertything, and brightened even the hardest of days. He loved his wife, and his friends, and was all about Disney fun. The world is a little duller, and a little darker without him.

Jeff Presta
Class of 1984

Grant Lawther
class of 1984
Passed away 2008

Our friend and classmate Nick Scandone (Cox 1980, FVHS 1984) made it to the Paralympics in Beijing, China September 2008 in order to fulfill his life long dream.   Despite his disease (Nick had ALS) , he was not only able to make it there, but brought back a Gold Medal for the United States of America. We could not be any more proud of Nick for this amazing accomplishment.

He graciously allowed us all to be a part of this dream, shared with us his incredible journey, and taught us all how to appreciate life a little more. It's not that he won the Gold Medal, it's that he, more than any other, earned it.

Nick, although in life was said to be so humble, dies no less than a true hero and inspiration.   Nick was truly a one in a million human being, friend, athlete, champion. Although he is gone from this earth, he will live on in our hearts forever.

         I am a better person for knowing him.
                            He will be missed.

A loss to the sailing world

Posted by czusman January 04, 2009 5:48PM

Categories: Sailing

Several years ago I had the honor and pleasure of meeting and interviewing Nick Scandone It was the occasion of his being honored as the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year.

Nick was suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease, a debilitating and progressive ailment. Despite that, Nick kept sailing, and with a smile. This past year he won a Gold Medal in the Paralympics in China.

Sadly, Nick passed away. Here is the report from US Sailing:

Paralympic Gold Medalist Nick Scandone Loses Battle with ALS

Portsmouth, R.I. (January 2, 2009) -- Paralympic Gold Medalist Nick Scandone (Fountain Valley, Calif.), 42, passed away Friday, after a long battle with ALS, also

commonly called Lou Gehrig's Disease, a debilitating neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

Scandone won a coveted gold medal with teammate Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) in the SKUD-18 class at the 2008 Paralympic Sailing Regatta in Qingdao, China, this past summer.

"The sport of sailing has lost a great competitor and the most inspirational person most of us will ever know," said Dean Brenner, Chairman of US Sailing's Olympic Sailing Program. "Words can't describe the pride so many people felt watching Nick take the last few steps towards his dream in China last summer. He was a gold medalist on and off the water, and we'll miss him dearly."

Scandone beat the odds of his disease by not only being strong enough to compete at the 2008 Paralympic Games, but by winning the gold medal a day early, with two races left to go. "It's been such a long road to get [to the 2008 Games]," said Scandone after he won. "It's emotionally overwhelming for me to finally realize my goal."

There were countless days filled with doubt, exhaustion and adversity, but he and McKinnon-Tucker met each challenge with incredible strength and determination. Scandone was a US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member, named US Sailing's 2008 Sportsman of the Year, nominated for US Sailing's 2008 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtsman of the Year award and winner of US Sailing's 2005 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Award.

Erin's FVHS photo

Erin Marie Moore
7/1/1966 - 8/9/2010

She was a kind, friendly, beautiful person... inside and out.
Thank you Erin - Your amazing faith has always been such a beautiful inspiration, a radiant light and a living example of God's never ending love

Renee McMahon
Classmate and Friend lost her battle with cancer on January 2, 2013. Renee was an amazing person with nothing but love and kindness for others, a great appreciation for life, and probably the most selfless person I have ever had the pleasure to know. Even in her time of illness and struggle, she was always worried about, and taking care of others.

On December 24, 2012, Renee posted the below message on her facebook wall. Renee will be greatly missed.

" I wish EVERYONE a very Merry Christmas!! Be blessed and love your family and friends like there's no tomorrow. Much love to you all. Xoxo"

Jeff Long (Bert)
There is a famous quote which states that a man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth. If this is true, then this man was priceless. He was one of the kindest people I knew, and always had a good word for others. One of the good guys. He was so loved by so many and will be so missed. Please say a prayer for him tonight , and for the friends and family he leaves behind. ❤️ Jeff Long

Rhonda White Reed
Passed away in June 2018. She was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known. Everything about her was genuine. She was a friend who knew my secrets and kept them, and never judged. She offered friendship and love without hesitation or expectation. She infected everyone with her incredible positive attitude. She was fun, and smart, and good. I can’t remember ever seeing her without a smile. I feel blessed she was my friend. My heart aches. I’m going to miss her so much.

Clint Shumaker

Cheryl Bower

Cheryl was a beautiful, kind, loving friend and a fixture in my neighborhood throughout my childhood. She always smiled and was so positive and generous to others . She lifted people up with encouragement. She looked out for others and tried to be fair and balanced with opinions and she never judged. I will really miss her, as I ...know her family and friends will too.

ED BLANCO

Ed- thinking about Ed always puts a big smile on my face and in my heart. I don't remember how we became friends but it feels like we always were . Ed used to walk through Green Valley Park and chat with me while I was out there playing in the sand with my son or walking my dog . He was also a very positive , kind person who always had something nice to say. I looked forward to our chats and enjoyed his company . I know he was a great friend to many .

Michael Shawn Greene
Los Amigos High School Class of 1982

My heart is broken.
God bless my friend.
I looked for you because you mattered to me.

My search ended here.

MIKE GATES
August 1, 1964- January 9, 2011

Mike was diagnosed with cancer early 2010. On January 1, 2011, he developed some complications which sent him into a coma. Mike leaves behind a wife and two beautiful children.

My memories will be of Mike laughing in Pizza Burger after FVJAA football games and his sweet boyish smile.

The most revent post from his caring bridge page:

Mike's battle is over ... he passed away this evening. Tiffany and Kenny were present, with Madison on the phone as his breaths gradually became less frequent and increasingly shallow. Praise the Lord, as he is no longer in pain but dancing at the feet of Jesus.

Please keep the Gates family in your prayers

Richard Thomas (Rick) LaMarche , born Nov 21, 1964 - died May 2, 2009 of a heart attack while coaching at his son's baseball game. Rick loved baseball.

Ricky was my brother's good friend growing up. He used to hang around with Larry, Derek Stephens, and Greg Trigo. I remember him from Cox Elementary School and our neighborhood.

It is a huge loss and he will be missed. Among others who love him, he leaves behind 4 children and his wife of 10 years.

Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

8th grade

Kim Conroy
December 5, 2009

Kim was my very best friend in grade school. We used to roller skate around Cox School every night until the street lights came on. Our brothers, Larry and Tory were also good friends, and we all used to play together in the neighborhood. We spent many nights at each others houses, and she was the first person ever to stick my underwear in the freezer because I fell asleep at her slumber party. She taught me that spiders are good cause they eat flies, she taught me how to make a face like Kermit the frog (which now accounts for the biggest wrinkle I have in the middle of my forehead, and she introduced me to Top Ramen. This is an incredible, tragic loss to me..and her family whom I love like my own.

Don Beck

Don Beck, class of 1981

Dan Moran 1984 Senior Photo

                                    Dan Moran
Our friend and classmate, Dan Moran, passed away on August 13, 2008. Dan was a good guy, and a good friend to many, and will be greatly missed.

Dan ran track and cross country with us in high school, and went on to become a coach who was loved and respected by his students and his peers.  Dan as being sweet and kind and fun.

Dan was married to Sharon Hatfield ( Class of 1982), a great athlete and good friend as well.

Beth Myska
Class of 1983

Kim Welbourne

Our Friend and Classmate, Shannon Emerick passed away on April 30, 2009. Shannon was a classmate from Cox and FVHS. I have fond memories of her. Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. She will be missed.

Sue Hassett
Class of 1983

**Trigger Warning**

This story contains elements that may be difficult for anyone in crisis and/or those who have experienced suicide loss. If you or someone you love needs support, please call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting "START" to 741-741

That Is How I Got Here

When I fell into what my therapist called a Major Depressive Episode, I had no real understanding of what was happening to me. Anxiety descended on me with major physical symptoms. I lost 25 pounds in five weeks; weight I didn’t have to spare. I didn’t feel sad. I felt nothing. Zero. When I dared to look at my own reflection, I saw a vacant, hollow image staring back. By February, my friends and family were sick with worry but I had an unreal, numb ambivalence about it. “Sue” would not worry her family like this, but I wouldn’t answer my phone or text messages, even when they begged me to. I couldn’t. How did I get here?

I vividly remember my very first suicidal thought. Lying on my bed one afternoon, my eyes snapped open in disbelief as I realized what had just happened. Why the hell was I thinking that? I was 47 years old and raised Catholic. I had four wonderful siblings, two amazing kids, lovely friends, a really nice life…….What was wrong with me? My answers were loud: You are weak. You are selfish. You are a horrible mother, sister, friend. A horrible person, in fact. You should be ashamed of yourself. Heaped upon my own stigmatizing tirade was the added commentary from some of the people closest to me: “Women get divorced every day.” “Do this for your children.” “You’re not that fun to be around.” “You must like to feel this way.” As I spiraled further into the black hole of depression, echoes of the “shoulds” rang loudly around me - “I should tell my young teenagers everything, follow a schedule, practice gratitude,” I learned that I was only worthy of help if I “tried harder," yet the “help” always proved me a bad mother. How did I get here?

My first hospitalization came in February when I finally admitted I was suicidal. I stayed for only three days because I felt horribly ashamed for leaving my kids. So I lied to the doctors, told them I was no longer suicidal and went home. When my kids arrived home from school, barely an hour later, I tried hard to put on my best reassuring “mom” face. We limped through another night together, pretending I was okay. My son left to sleep over at his hockey teammate’s house. My daughter slept in bed with me that night. As I lie awake in the early dawn hours, I knew nothing had changed. I was still numb, devastated, and sleep deprived. That morning, I tried to take my life. How did I get here?

The ride to the hospital was surreal. What had I done? The first responders had figured out the cause of the accident, but the hospital staff pushed me for details. I asked them to call my brother, only. Leaning over me in ER, I could see in my big brother’s eyes he was praying to God this was an accident, but being a seasoned cop of 25 years, he already knew the truth. That first day was one of the hardest days of my life. Watching my family from my hospital bed while awaiting trauma surgery was hard enough, but looking at my children’s wet cheeks and bewildered expressions was more than I could take. Even though I tried to reassure them I was okay, I was certain my guilty, shame-ridden face betrayed my secret. How did I get here?

This suicide attempt, the stigmatizing language and behaviors that continued to haunt me in the hospital, plus my physical injuries, guaranteed me the most difficult journey of my life - recovery.

After a two week hospital stay and months spent living with my brother and his wife because my injuries and my mental health necessitated round the clock care, I eventually moved into my own condo to be with my kids more. Although, I spent much of the year trying different medications, I was still having suicidal ideation most of the time. I was trying desperately to “forgive myself,” but I had not yet told my children the truth. This secret weighed on me like an anchor but I wasn’t prepared emotionally to share my painful story with them. I feared everyone knew what I had done and I was afraid my kids would overhear the truth someday from someone else which added to my already meteoric anxiety. How did I get here?

It was clear to me and my inner circle, which had grown smaller as my illness lingered on, that I needed more help. There were very few depression treatment options available to me, but my sister found the closest thing; an in-residence treatment center for addiction rehabilitation with a dual diagnosis of depression. Although, I was floored that I would have to “pretend” to have an addiction issue to get 24/7 mental health support, I agreed I would admit myself the next day. That first night sitting across from a young heroin addict while she conveyed some shocking and surreal details of her recent past, I panicked. My mouth was shut but silently my overtaxed, overwhelmed and very sick brain screamed a brand new set of self-shaming mantras….What are you doing here? What have you done? Please let me call my brother to come get me. God, Sue, you are crazy. How did I get here?

It was there that I finally had someone tell me just how sick I was; that my brain was sick. I got a new psychiatrist, a new medication, hormones (as depression had wreaked havoc on them), daily therapy, and group therapy. My addict roommates did not always understand what I was going through, but they never judged me or shamed me. I was treated with compassion and empathy. My initial 30 days turned into 60 as I continued to feel my brain chemistry adjust.

In that strange place, I started to believe that I had been very sick; that I had not chosen depression; that I wasn’t selfish; that I wasn’t a horrible mother, sister and friend. I WASN’T a horrible person, after all. I was just a horribly sick person.

And, it was there, I stopped thinking that I had to forgive myself, because I FINALLY understood and believed there was absolutely nothing to forgive myself for and nothing to be ashamed of. I had gotten sick. Period.

I am well. I am honest. I am changed. I am empathetic. I tell my story now. I want the world to understand what mental illness is and what it is not, and why stigmatizing language is so harmful.

Words hurt. The ones we speak to ourselves and the ones we speak to others.

That is how I got here.

Sue Hassett Curran

June 18, 1965 - October 6, 2018

————

Sue wrote this essay as a submission for the annual American Association of Suicidology Conference.

She generously shared her work with her best friend for feedback and editing. It is now shared on Facebook in her honor, with the permission and loving encouragement of her children, Cassidy and Bennett.

Daniel Twyman
Class of 1983

Mr. Hoist

Mr. Boverg

Joel Pedersen
Class of 1983

JOEL PEDERSEN OBITUARY

November 15, 1965 - June 29, 2022 Joel Alexander Pedersen, age 56, passed away on June 29th in Baltimore, Maryland after an 8-month battle with brain cancer. Joel was born in Santa Ana on November 15th, 1965 to Boye and Norma Pedersen. He lived in Fountain Valley where he graduated from Fountain Valley High School in 1983. Joel graduated Magna Cum Laude from UC Irvine in 1988. During his time there he met his future wife Carleen Harrison. Joel and Carleen went on to have three sons. In 1991 Joel earned his masters degree in Environmental Engineering Science from the California Institute of Technology. Following a stint at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where he received the EPA Bronze Medal for Commendable Service. Joel earned his Doctorate from UCLA in Environmental Science and Engineering. Joel went on to accept an Associate Professor position at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. It was there that he received the ASA/CSSA/SSA Early Career Professional Award, the NSF Career Award, and the Environmental Science & Technology Excellence in Review Award. In 2012, Joel received tenure and went on to be awarded two named professorships for his distinguished achievement. During this time he also served as a visiting professor at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, and at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. In 2021, Joel accepted a position at Johns Hopkins University in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. Before, and during the early stages of his diagnosis, Joel continued to contribute to the best of his ability, collaborating with colleagues and preparing to teach. Throughout his career, he was passionate about including underserved and underrepresented people in STEM and would volunteer his time and resources to ensure that everyone he came in contact with knew they had a seat at the table. His family remembers him as a man not only of extraordinary wit and accomplishment but also one characterized by a deeply caring nature and quiet, yet prevailing wisdom. When he was not fully engrossed in his research, he often gave himself to spending time in the outdoors with his wife, sons, or alone. His hobbies centered around the awe and continual enjoyment of God's creation. He was a deeply thoughtful person, often given to self-evaluation motivated in large by his steadfast devotion to, and relationship with, God. Joel is survived by his loving wife, Carleen Pedersen from Glendale, his sons, Kyle Pedersen from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Trent Pedersen (Kati) from Livingston, Zambia, and Corey Pedersen (Bri) from Boston, Massachusetts, his brother, Paul Pedersen (Nina) from Calistoga, California, mother-in-law, Marci Harrison of Mesquite, Nevada, and brother-in-law Brad Harrisson from Los Angeles, California.