I had not heard from Jim Erkel for some time and had grown more and more concerned why he hadn’t called in a couple years.  He usually called in-between his travels to “parts unknown.”  I hadn’t been able to reach him when I called a couple numbers that I had for him and the email address I had didn’t work.  Years back he had given me the numbers for his two children and to his sister in Minnesota with whom he stayed with when he was back from Alaska.  His children’s numbers no longer worked; so yesterday I decided to call his sister Pat, and she told me the sad news that Jim had passed away in July of 2018 at his cabin way out in the back country of Alaska.  He was supposed to meet a friend for coffee on a specific day, but didn’t show up.  His friend was concerned and drove out to his cabin and found him dead just outside the cabin.  They estimated that he had been there a few days; so they were not able to do an autopsy and couldn’t determine the cause of death.  He was always such an adventuresome spirit with a zest for life and wanted to explore the unknown.  He certainly lived life to it’s fullest!!  When he stopped by our house one time years back when he was flying through San Jose when my mother was still alive, he came over for dinner and we invited a friend of ours who loved camping and exploring the out of doors.  They had a lot in common, and he dated her for a little while.  When I asked him if he was still seeing her, he said “No, she was too independent and stubborn and set in her ways.”  Sound familiar? He was German; wasn’t he!  I am married to a German so I know about Germans.  Chuckle! One of the last times that we talked on the phone, he was planning on going back to Australia to experience more of the life with the Aboriginals whom he had met on his last trip.  He was intrigued by their way of life and philosophy of life.  He had met a pilot in Australia and also wanted to explore by plane an ocean site where they thought that a WWII plane had gone down.  It would have involved flying to a remote area of Australia and also an ocean dive to explore the area in question.  I never heard whether he ever realized that adventure!  

His sister is a very alert 91 year old former nurse.  She and Oscar and I had a long chat about Jim and his 9 brothers and sisters.  Only 3 are still alive.  She is planning on going to Alaska in the summer with a niece.  Years ago she was a nurse in Alaska and loves that state.  I have gathered together some pictures of Jim and some information about our days at Riggs High for her and his children. I will attach them and hope you enjoy the picture remembrance of our days in Pierre.  I sent these to Barb (Ruzick) Nail; and since I had some pictures of her mother, I wanted her to have copies of some articles and pictures of our days with the Debate Team.  She was a real inspiration to me and helped me in so many ways become the teacher that I was for 38 years, primarily at West Valley College in Saratoga, California — seven miles from where we live in Los Gatos.  I began teaching English in Elgin, Illinois for 1 year before taking a 6 months trip to travel to Europe with my college roommate in a bright red VW bug that we bought and picked up the factory in Wolfsburg, Germany.  After getting back from Europe in the middle of the school year, I took the first job I could find teaching which was the 7th grade.   The teacher had left mid-year because she used to go into the hall to have a swig of her favorite booze.  After teaching there a week, I understood why!!!  I realized my calling wasn’t 7th grade and found a job teaching in a Lutheran 2 year college in Des Moines, Iowa for one year.  I decided I wanted to explore outside the mid-west and found a job at West Valley College, a growing community college which had been opened for a couple years.  I have 2 attachments at the bottom of the pictures and clippings I have gathered together.  If they are too big of a file for this old, out of date computer, I will send one by another email.

Fondly, Fiona and Oscar