Julie Bowman Fiss

Julie Bowman Fiss    

It is hard for me to fathom that it has been fifty years since we graduated.  Seeing so many classmates last weekend at the Reunion was really a wonderful experience.  I wish everyone had been able to come, as it was a great time seeing OLD friends and getting reconnected.  Some of us got to see friends we had known from kindergarten sixty-three years ago, which was very special.

I was very fortunate to be married in La Jolla  and stay here to raise my two daughters with my husband, Bill.  Melanie and Courtney were LJHS Vikings, too, and married LJHS Vikings.  Both my girls met their husbands after graduating from college and didn’t know them beforehand.  Melanie graduated from LJHS in 1991 and Kyle Kraus in 1989.  Melanie is a Step-Mom to Katie eleven and Johnny nine.  Melanie now resides in Phoenix with Kyle and family.  Melanie has been a pharmaceutical rep for thirteen years.  Courtney graduated from LJHS in 1994 and Andy Irwin in 1996.  The greatest part of this story is Andy is the son of Dan Irwin, Class of 1964!! So, as luck would have it, Dan and I share two grandchildren.   Our boy Carter is six and attends Bird Rock Elementary (my Alma Mater K-6).  Our girl Sydney is three and attends La Jolla Presbyterian Pre-School where my girls attended, and Andy, too!  Well, there is more!!!  My daughter Courtney taught Spanish at La Jolla High School up until two years ago.  She is now a stay-at-home mom.   Amazing there are five LJHS Vikings in my family!!!!

Having two grandchildren in town is fantastic.  I enjoy babysitting.  It is especially fun when Dan, Sally, and I baby-sit  together.  It’s just the best.  Our family dinners are a highlight, as Dan loves to cook for all of us.

The past few years have been a big adjustment for me.  Bill, my husband of thirty-eight years, was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.  He passed away in 2008.  After his passing, the girls and I wanted to honor him in some way.  In 2009 we formed the William G. Fiss Memorial Foundation, a 501C3 nonprofit organization.  Bill was very passionate about his alma mater, San Diego High School.  Through his involvement at the school, he realized how many students were dropping out.   He became a mentor to many  at-risk students.  We started the William G. Fiss Memorial Foundation so we could raise money for scholarships for seniors going to college.  We have had two golf tournaments at the Coronado Golf Club.  The winner of our two tournaments was our own classmate, Art Harris!!  Since 2009 we have personally interviewed and awarded college scholarship money and a laptop computer to twenty-five students.

I keep very busy with family and wonderful friends.  I treasure my time at the beach with the children, a beautiful sunset with friends, travel with family and friends, volunteering in various capacities, and a little bridge.  I also have stayed in very close touch with our LJHS English teacher and counselor, Sue Harjo Meader.  I visit her at least once a week, as she is residing at Sunrise here in La Jolla.  She just celebrated her eighty-third birthday in July. 

I just want to say one more HUGE thank you to all who worked on the Reunion and made the 50^th indeed a night to remember. 

Go Vikings!!!!  Julie Bowman Fiss