Our class has a fund of about $20,000 for Hope Scholarships at Lamar which has funded scholarships ($2,000 a year) for at risks who are generally B students. Several scholarships were given this year and we are giving $500 from the 1958 fund to two students who just graduated:
      Ashton Wells. She transferred to Lamar from a small town and was a foster child. She was a cheer captain and student council secretary and had apart-time job. She graduated early and with all of her challenges she stated in her application: "I knew that there was something greater out there than this. I just had to work for it."
     J'Marcus Williams. He lives with foster parents. He will be the first in his family to attend college. He had a good sense of humor in his interview which will serve him well. He raised a goat in the Lamar FFA. He worked part-time at KFC and Taco Bell.

We want to increase our 1958 fund to help at risk students and would appreciate your considering a contribution by sending a check to Lamar High School Alumni Association, 3325 Wertheimer, Houston, Texas 77098. Put "1958 Hope Scholarships" on the check. This is a 5o1(c)(3).

Ron Woliver

Ellen Dillingham Heemer

​David Redford

I'm sorry to have to report that our classmate, Barbara Snell Burum, passed away Wednesday, June 7.  (Obituary and guest book at  http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=barbara-burum&pid=185747715.)  As the obituary announces, "Friends and family will honor Barbara's memory Saturday, June 10th, at 10 am, in the Chapel at Holly Hall Retirement Community, 2000 Holly Hall St, Houston, TX."  (Barbara's husband, John Gates Burum, also Lamar '58, died in 2011.)
     At Lamar, Barbara was on the staff of the Lancer as well as being on the bowling team and participating in Rodeo Club and CSU.  In addition to working for the Texas Department of Agriculture while Johnny was studying engineering at UT and then focusing on raising their four children, Barbara later worked at a bookstore and at the Harris County Psychiatric Center. She was also, the author of the obituary attests, a dominant hearts player.  
   Please send any memories of Barbara (pre- post- or at Lamar) that you would like to share with our Lamar '58 classmates to me (rjhabq@gmail.com) or Louise (louise@lorober.com) for inclusion in the In Memoriam section of the website and in the June or July update.

"After a prolonged illness, Tracy Triece Word, III [Lamar '56] passed peacefully at home surrounded by family on May 29, 2017. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 17, at 11:00 am at Grace Community Church in Bartlesville, followed by inurnment at White Rose Mausoleum, also in Bartlesville" (http://www.legacy.com/funeral-homes/oklahoma/bartlesville/arnold-moore--neekamp-funeral-home/fh-8813).  At Lamar Tracy was a member of Arrowhead, Ramal, Hi-Y, and National Honor Society; served as Sophomore Class Treasurer; lettered in swimming, and was named Most Valuable Swimmer in '54.  He subsequently attended UT on a full swimming scholarship, earning a BS in Chemical Engineering, and then earned an MS in Chemical Engineering at UC-Berkeley.  He spent 25 years in the petroleum industry and another 24 as a financial advisor.