Christopher Kuechmann

Just started the Heritage Program this week at our Val Verde Regional Medical Center in Del Rio. This program has been around for 18 years and is geared for seniors 60 and over. Topics selected and presented/discussed are focused on people of our age 60 and above. I say again that I am sorry that I was not able to make the 50th reunion last year. I know that I would have enjoyed it very much. I sometimes find it hard to believe but I will turn 70 on December 1 this year. I am blessed in the fact that I had a colonoscopy recently and it was completely negative. Good health is so important for us at our age. I am having good health and hope that all of you are too.

Posted on: Sep 08, 2018 at 4:13 PM

I hope that this website with everything about our 50th stays up once the 50th Reunion is over.

I did not know of the losses you have experienced, those of your son and your sister. I empathize with you very much in this area. As I noted in my profile, I lost my wife the day after Easter in 2016. She passed from Sepsis and Pneumonia. I had Sepsis and Gall Bladder issues in November, 2015. I was happy that I had a Doctor who saved my life. I have a hard enough time still grieving the loss of my wife. I don't have the words to express what it must be like to have had two family losses. You and you wife have my deep respect due to this. Saw that you have moved back to Onalaska for now. I love the fact that you spent time in Del Rio. Did you graduate from the Air Force Academy. It was completed when we were living in Denver. We moved to La Crosse in 1961. I hope that you will be able to make the move to Kerrville should that be your desire. Please keep me posted. If there is anything that I can do to be of help, please let me know. I am not sure of anything that I can do but I am offering none-the-less. Hope that you and your wife are enjoying the 50th. I would have loved very much to be there.

Hola/Hello from Del Rio, Texas on the Texas/Mexico border 150 miles west of San Antonio. It is fun to go back in time and see everyone from our class including the "Now" pictures. I started my professional library career as a Children's and Public Relations Librarian at the Edinburg Public Library in Edinburg, Texas. Edinburg is in South Texas close to the Texas/Mexico border. Following time in Edinburg and Rio Grande City where I met my wife Gloria in 1990 and we subsequently married in 1992. After a long period of time, we had an adventure taking us to Matteson, Illinois; Newburg,Indiana; Yellville,Arkansas; Clewiston, Florida; Tangipahoa Parish Library System where we arrived two months after Hurricane Katrina had struck in 2005; and my last position Val Verde County Library in Del Rio, Texas. We have had some very interesting times. Sadly, my wife Gloria passed away the day after Easter in 2016. I still miss her but three cats keep me company. I ran for the County Hospital Board in 2018 but was not elected. It still was a success as I met many new people. I am currently serving on the Policy Council, one of three community members, for Head Start which is based at the Cardwell Elementary School, a part of the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District. I have also served on one School Board committee during this time as well.
I would very much like to be at the 50th Reunion this coming weekend. However, several things factor in why I will not be able to be with you all. I will still be with you "in spirit" though. With a Parkinson's Disease diagnosis in August, 2015, I no longer drive out of Del Rio. I just travel around the city. There is an airport in Del Rio but we do not have air service at this time. Therefore, one must go to San Antonio for air service. The logistics for all of this and the transportation costs round-trip from San Antonio to La Crosse and back are not in my available resources. The other thing factoring in is my health. I was hospitalized in San Antonio with a diagnosis of an infected Gall Bladder and Sepsis for five weeks in November/December, 2015. My doctor had to go in twice to take out all of my Gall Bladder. It was not possible to do it the easier way. I have an eight-inch long scar from this. My Doctor literally saved my life. Sadly, my wife was not so fortunate with Sepsis and Pneumonia and she passed away the day after Easter in 2016. I now think of Gloria as being in a better place as she had a long battle with Dementia, losing her voice completely in the last year of her life. I feel blessed to still be living and moving forward. My energy is very different from when I was younger. However, I still have accomplished a lot of things for which I am very proud to have done. Helping people here has also helped me very much. "Paying it Forward" is very important for me. Helping others will always be a priority. I am also very grateful for the people who have helped me when this is needed. I know that number "50" will be very great. It still seems unbelievable at times that so much time has passed. I have changed and I feel that I have changed for the better since high school. I will miss all of you very much and I will miss very much the opportunities to talk with many of you. Blessings for all of you. I hope that there may be a way to keep in touch with everyone following the "50." I also look forward to making a contribution to both of the projects. I don't have much that I can contribute but I will contribute all that I can.

Posted on: Jan 27, 2016 at 8:45 AM