Kelly Alber Codding

To Brian... November 24, 2002 - 2010

Well, Beth Rindfusz (now Crawford) is still my best friend. She has 2 kids: Austin - 15 and Brooke - 12.

Pat McClure, who graduated in 1991, was one of our best friends for years. We all lived together out in the San Francisco Bay Area, California from 1997 - 2003, when Brian & I moved back. Pat stayed out there, but died in a motorcycle accident in 2007. He's buried in that cool, old cemetary on W. 150th. He was one of the best people in the world.

Amber Sweeney (now Drake), who graduated in 1991, is also one of my best friends. She currently lives in Chico, CA, but is moving to Charleston, hence the vacation this summer (or part of the reason; Beth's sister Katie is getting married and we also want to be beach bums for a week).

I am friends with Jeff Header, who graduated in 1989, and Melanie Header who is Keith's Krakowski's sister. They are going to have twins this summer - a boy and a girl, in addition to the 2 boys they have already. They're doing well.

I am also close with Rebecca Pillar, who also graduated in 1989. I work at Highland with her sister Katherine, and had her neice Katie as a student for several years, until Katie walked Becca into the teacher's lounge one day saying, "Mrs.Codding, do you know my aunt?" I just about screamed, and now Beth, Becca and I run around together just like in high school.

I eat lunch with Mr. Sally every day; he was also my favorite teacher. He is hysterical.

I was just chatting with Jim (Mr. Sally) and Jane Ellis about the fire under the bleacher incident (sorry Mike) and they put together that I was a member of "that" class, which they described as the worst class ever. We still hold that dubious distinction.

I credit Mrs. Bender with teaching me how to write literary papers and inspiring me with British literature.

One of my favorite memories was when Beth, Becca and I spent the night in Fairview Cemetary
(by the now middle school) and we were freezing when we went to sleep in our sleeping bags but woke up warm because we had a foot of snow blanketing us.

My best embarassing moment was on the playground at Hinckley Elementary. Heidi and I were on top of the monkey bars, when some unknown boy started climbing up (I don't remember who it was; I'd love to know and I'm sorry). We started shouting, "Geek alert, geek alert" and we went to slid down, but I fell and had the wind knocked out of me. Well, everyone gathered around me chanting, "She's having a baby, she's having a baby." It was awful, but what a great story.

Parents still here, sister Jenni's in Strongsville, brother Adam's in Lakewood

I went to the University of Akron. My 1st job was teaching English and Latin at Shaker Heights Middle School. Then Brian & I moved to Hayward, CA where he became an electrician, and I worked in Danville, CA teaching English and medieval history to 7th graders for 6 years. Once we were married, we decided to move back, and I taught Latin at Copley High School for 3 years, and then I received a call from Highland's Latin teacher saying, "Do you want my job?" Needless to say, I came back to our Alma Mater teaching English and Latin, but now in my 3rd year here, I am just teaching Latin because I have 180 students in Latin I - IV! I have so much grading to do over this spring break, you wouldn't believe it. I love working at the high school - it's beautiful, I love my Smartboard, the kids are awesome, and it's not like I am teaching at our old high school. Okay, I run into Sally, Ellis, Koneig, and Phillips, but they're nice.



Luckily, I didn't get laid off with Highland's current financial woes (yeah, dead languages)! I am also working on a masters in English at Kent. Tie all that in with raising a 4 year old and I am a very, very busy woman.

Okay, birth of my son... I guess I miss California a lot. Brian and I became scuba divers and we did about 100 dives in Monterey Bay (as well as Cabo, Catalina Island and others). I loved the ocean and the mountains. There was nothing like chaperoning field trips to Lake Tahoe skiing or Disneyland, where I got paid to go for free.

We're glad to be back in the country though; it's hard growing up a dairy farmer's daughter and living in a place with no yard (we did have an awesome view of the San Francisco Bay, though).

My high points these days are mommy moments.

What spare time? Besides caring for Alden and my dogs, I'm still a reader, a skiier, a roller coaster enthusiast, though ironically, Alden is not the daredevil we expected. I've jumped out of an airplane, and my son is afraid to go down slides.
Now all my spare time involves fun child activities.

Yes!

Probably many would be surprised that I teach at Highland. I did write, in our yearbook, under prefers... "Not being in school." Well, only one year went by where I wasn't in college or teaching. I do still love my summers off though.

Kel

Ask my students.

Senior year was wonderful, but probably the most important moment for me, besides Brian, would be when I went to Europe with Madame Bloom. I love ancient and medieval history, and I get to spend my life sharing my enthusiasm.

I don't regret a thing. I had lots of fun.

Paul Simon

Thai

Whitewater rafting the Gauley River.
Skiing in every mountain range in North America.
Parachuting, though I'd never do it again.
Travelling to every state in the lower 48 as well as Canada, Mexico, England several times, France, Italy and Monaco.
Scuba diving boat wrecks and with eels, octopi, whales, and harbor seals.
Raising a son.

I feel like I've been typing forever...