During my Senior year in High school, I worked at Chi Chi's and Kelly and her mom used to come in all the time. They called Kelly's mom "The chip lady" because she would only get chips, but would sit at a booth for two hours. Kelly was always very nice. She had a bubbly disposition, and was definitely taken from us too early.
I remember Kelly and her family. One funny memory I have of Kelly was for a spirit day (I think) and she had her hair VERY STIFF and standing straight out. It was hilarious. I remember how popular and pretty Kelly was and how involved she and her family were in cheerleading. Again, many memories but never forgotten.
Kelly and I went from kindergarten to senior year together. I had known her a long time and was shocked to hear of her and her mom's death. I have many good memories of Kelly from Lakeview Elementary through to Batchelor then on into South. She was a great gal and had a super bright future. She will be missed.
I have recently written a couple of entries about Scott Hollenbeck and Jeremy Houston; I am grateful the day after Thanksgiving to be able to leave a few thoughts about people who touched my life. Way back in the 20th century.
Kelly and I were in the same 8th grade science and sophomore HS biology class. My first impressions of her were that she was fake: was her hair bleached blonde? Super uber tanned. And yeah, she was a cheerleader.
As a new Batchelor student grafted in like a few hundred of us from Binford, Kelly was a trip. I hadn't seen her kind before. And I think her "fashionable" 80s wardrobe was tripping me, to boot. Not like I had much more fashion sense or appropriate clothing back in the mid 1980s. But she was really trying to be stylish. And did she have fake finger nails? Or eye lashes? She seemed fake to me.
I am glad I sat behind her most of my sophomore year at South, and those original eigth grade impressions evolved. Maybe I was more capable of handling a more than superficial view of a classmate by then. Maybe it was hormones.
But Kelly grew on me, big time. And no, it wasn't only in the way a guy might like a girl. No, we were friends first and foremost. We were friends and classmates that whole year, and Beth Bladen beside us was fun to share with. I think we may have been three unlikely buddies, put together under random circumstances of public education. (And now that I think about it, Scott Hollenback was in the back of that class, and he had a very dramatic moment with a girl behind me and Owen Hammer, and I am thinking that young lady must have had a pretty big crush on Scott and she let her emotions get overloaded, which exploded in a tense moment and outburst of emotion, I recall vented as anger. And I think after an awkward moment of complete silence, the whole class looking on, I said, " We need Judge Wopner!" and the class laughed in relief and the moment passed. Wow. Interesting memories about 25 years later. I don't remember the young lady's name, but if anyone reads this and recalls it would be fun to compare versions of the account.) But back to Kelly...
I was happy to be her friend that year. And to see she was not really that fake girl I had crafted in my head. Maybe I was the more judgmental superficial one two years before, but I really felt that Kelly was a sweet, fun, real person. And as a new 16 year-old, she was not unattractive. But don't get me wrong, we were friends on a social level. My romance was very limited in high school, and I think I had more girl/guy type relationships in church than at South back in those days. But even those church friends were pretty much zero to none in the way of romance. Just dances and sled rides and stuff. But enough about me, this is about Kelly and I am simpley emphasizing our nice platonic friendship. It was warm. Very nice memories.
My church and high school friend Gina Todd (BHSS '89), since married with new last name (Sanchez?), sent a letter to me while I was studying Spanish in Provo, UT, with the sobering news that Kelly had been killed with her mom by a drunk driver. Was it on HWY 37? At a light?
The nights of that snowy December for me grew a bit chillier and darker. Kelly was a bright light. And she was gone. Not like we were close or anything. I had left town for two years and was just beginning the trip, but her passing was a wake up call that we cannot take life for granted.
I am grateful that I got to know her. By far, one of my favorite Batchelor people I knew.
Looking back, maybe Kelly helped me be a better person, because her genuiness and vibrant personality (yes, a cheerleader) helped me understand more about myself and others, and that you really do have to get to know a person before you can judge them. And even after that, the kindness and the love of that person makes any other flaws or weakness negligible.
Kelly was a great person to know. I am glad I did. And yes, she is missed by those who knew her much better than me.
We will see her brilliant shining person someday, before we know it. God is good: we have trials to overcome. Friends that we miss, taken away too fast. Kelly Chambers was a beacon to many, and I think that she is doing just fine. May we all try to be as she was: warm and real. And I have hope that she is still there on the other side; a real person who loves and is loved.
Jennifer Hammond (Jenkins)
Kelly was killed in a car accident along side her mother while a freshman at IU. She is missed.Allen Stewart
During my Senior year in High school, I worked at Chi Chi's and Kelly and her mom used to come in all the time. They called Kelly's mom "The chip lady" because she would only get chips, but would sit at a booth for two hours. Kelly was always very nice. She had a bubbly disposition, and was definitely taken from us too early.Dara Watkins (Query)
I remember Kelly and her family. One funny memory I have of Kelly was for a spirit day (I think) and she had her hair VERY STIFF and standing straight out. It was hilarious. I remember how popular and pretty Kelly was and how involved she and her family were in cheerleading. Again, many memories but never forgotten.Tina Shumaker (Williams)
I remember Kelly as one of the nice cheerleaders. she was in some of my classes and I talked to her some. she will be missed.Danielle Robertson (Paschall)
Kelly and I went from kindergarten to senior year together. I had known her a long time and was shocked to hear of her and her mom's death. I have many good memories of Kelly from Lakeview Elementary through to Batchelor then on into South. She was a great gal and had a super bright future. She will be missed.
Edward Clinch
I have recently written a couple of entries about Scott Hollenbeck and Jeremy Houston; I am grateful the day after Thanksgiving to be able to leave a few thoughts about people who touched my life. Way back in the 20th century.
Kelly and I were in the same 8th grade science and sophomore HS biology class. My first impressions of her were that she was fake: was her hair bleached blonde? Super uber tanned. And yeah, she was a cheerleader.
As a new Batchelor student grafted in like a few hundred of us from Binford, Kelly was a trip. I hadn't seen her kind before. And I think her "fashionable" 80s wardrobe was tripping me, to boot. Not like I had much more fashion sense or appropriate clothing back in the mid 1980s. But she was really trying to be stylish. And did she have fake finger nails? Or eye lashes? She seemed fake to me.
I am glad I sat behind her most of my sophomore year at South, and those original eigth grade impressions evolved. Maybe I was more capable of handling a more than superficial view of a classmate by then. Maybe it was hormones.
But Kelly grew on me, big time. And no, it wasn't only in the way a guy might like a girl. No, we were friends first and foremost. We were friends and classmates that whole year, and Beth Bladen beside us was fun to share with. I think we may have been three unlikely buddies, put together under random circumstances of public education. (And now that I think about it, Scott Hollenback was in the back of that class, and he had a very dramatic moment with a girl behind me and Owen Hammer, and I am thinking that young lady must have had a pretty big crush on Scott and she let her emotions get overloaded, which exploded in a tense moment and outburst of emotion, I recall vented as anger. And I think after an awkward moment of complete silence, the whole class looking on, I said, " We need Judge Wopner!" and the class laughed in relief and the moment passed. Wow. Interesting memories about 25 years later. I don't remember the young lady's name, but if anyone reads this and recalls it would be fun to compare versions of the account.) But back to Kelly...
I was happy to be her friend that year. And to see she was not really that fake girl I had crafted in my head. Maybe I was the more judgmental superficial one two years before, but I really felt that Kelly was a sweet, fun, real person. And as a new 16 year-old, she was not unattractive. But don't get me wrong, we were friends on a social level. My romance was very limited in high school, and I think I had more girl/guy type relationships in church than at South back in those days. But even those church friends were pretty much zero to none in the way of romance. Just dances and sled rides and stuff. But enough about me, this is about Kelly and I am simpley emphasizing our nice platonic friendship. It was warm. Very nice memories.
My church and high school friend Gina Todd (BHSS '89), since married with new last name (Sanchez?), sent a letter to me while I was studying Spanish in Provo, UT, with the sobering news that Kelly had been killed with her mom by a drunk driver. Was it on HWY 37? At a light?
The nights of that snowy December for me grew a bit chillier and darker. Kelly was a bright light. And she was gone. Not like we were close or anything. I had left town for two years and was just beginning the trip, but her passing was a wake up call that we cannot take life for granted.
I am grateful that I got to know her. By far, one of my favorite Batchelor people I knew.
Looking back, maybe Kelly helped me be a better person, because her genuiness and vibrant personality (yes, a cheerleader) helped me understand more about myself and others, and that you really do have to get to know a person before you can judge them. And even after that, the kindness and the love of that person makes any other flaws or weakness negligible.
Kelly was a great person to know. I am glad I did. And yes, she is missed by those who knew her much better than me.
We will see her brilliant shining person someday, before we know it. God is good: we have trials to overcome. Friends that we miss, taken away too fast. Kelly Chambers was a beacon to many, and I think that she is doing just fine. May we all try to be as she was: warm and real. And I have hope that she is still there on the other side; a real person who loves and is loved.