John, class of 1962, died February 6, 2023, at home. He had Leukemia. He lived in Brentwood California with his wife Jean DeYoung. He was 78 years old.
If more information becomes available, I will post it.
David only went to Trona High School for a brief time during his junior year. He grew up in Randsburg and after leaving Trona High School finished his high school education at Burroughs High School in Ridgecrest.
David Barrett passed away on December 23, 2022. He was the oldest son of Fred and Rose Barrett. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother Raymond Barrett (1952-2017), class of 1970 and his sister, Nancy (Barrett) Harris class of 1977. He is survived by his sister, Donna Barrett class of 1973 and his stepmother, Lois (McGill) Barrett class of 1955.
Graveside services will be held Saturday January 21 at 11 A.M. at the Searles Valley Cemetery. Followed by a private burial, then a “Celebration of Life” at the Trona Elks Lodge.
In lieu of flowers the family request donations to be made to either the Trona Senior Center or the Trona Community Chest. These donations can be mailed to the Trona Community Chest P.O. Box 413 Trona, CA 93592 or funds can be accepted at Desert Valley Credit Union.
Donna passed away on December 22, 2022. I will post more information when it becomes available. She is the younger sister of Doris Rich class of 1953, and Buddy Rich class of 1955. Her cousin was Roy Wheeler class of 1960. Her brother-in-law was Bill Fuller class of 1951. Bill Fuller’s cousin was Harvey Crandall class of 1957.
Obituary
Donna Jane Phillips the daughter of John and Inez Rich was born January 5, 1946, in Trona, California, and departed this life on December 22, 2022, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma at the age of 76 years, 11 months and 17 days.
Donna loved her family. She enjoyed the outdoors whether she was working in her garden, taking care of her horses, or just enjoying some time fishing. She loved to cook, especially for her family. Her grandkids made her the most happy. Donna touched many lives over the years and will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother John Buddy Rich; her sister Doris Fuller and her grandson Chase Cape.
She is survived by a loving family which includes her children Paul Phillips of Bakersfield, CA, Angie Sweeten and husband Craig of Durant, Chris Cape of Tahlequah, Janez Worster and husband Rich of Arizona and Jody Lynn Dallis of Tahlequah; 9 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Several nieces, nephews, friends and other relatives also survive her.
I still remember the day that Bobbie Halstead walked into our 3rd grade class as a new student. It was around 1952 or 1953. The Halstead family had just moved to Trona from Porterville. I had never heard of Porterville before and had no idea where it was. She was assigned the desk next to mine. We were friends ever since. I didn’t keep up with Bobbie’s life so I can’t tell you much about it. I chatted with her on the computer quite a bit she started complaining about memory problems and just sort of disappeared from Facebook. The last time I saw her was at the last class reunion that I attended. It was a very sad moment yesterday when I heard that she had passed away. She died on July 10, 2022.
Bobbie was born in Porterville January 24, 1943 to James and Irene Halstead. Bobbie came to Trona with her three brothers, Frank, Jack and Richard and a younger sister Linda. Frank was in the class of 1954 and Jack and Richard were in the class of 1956. Jack passed away in 2003. Linda was in the class of 1962
We would like to express our sincerest condolences to Bob and to all of Bobbie’s family.
Bruce was born as John Bruce Bernhardi to John and Margaret Bernhardi om August 5, 1937. If he had lived until his birthday he would have been 85 years old.
In high school he was in the band for 4 years, a varsity club member for 3 years, a member of the Telescope staff in his junior year, played football for 3 years, played basketball for 3 years, baseball for 3 years and was on the track team for 4 years. He wore jersey number 22 for basketball and football. I wonder when he found time to study.
After high school he attended Northern Arizona University where he played football from 1955 to 1958. In 2008 Bruce was inducted into Northern Arizona University’s Hall of Fame.
Stating in 1965 Bruce worked as a football coach at Sherman E. Burroughs High School in Ridgecrest, C.A
Bruce’s brother, Lee, was in the class of 1958 and his sister, Marcia, was in the class of 1960. Their father, John, worked in AP&CC’s village maintenance.
The following is from the Searles Valley Slate April-June 2022:
Dick and his wife, Cindy, became members of the SVHS after moving to Trona upon their retirement. Both Dick and Cindy were substitute docents at the Old Guest House Museum. They were also part of the group that organized the Trona Centennial in 2014.
Dick was the editor of the Searles Valley Slate for several years, always filling it with interesting and entertaining articles. He designed the logo of the newsletter that we still use today.
We of the Searles Valley Historical Society send our deepest sympathy to Dick’s Family. He will be missed very much.
RUSSELL STILL, used to live in Pioneer Point on Dogwood. He had Rick, Tamra, and Tim as his Children. He was married to Mona Ramey. He passed away April 17, 2022 on Easter Sunday.
Russell had several sisters and cousins that also attended Trona High School. When Russell was a freshman he had an accident in wood shop and cut several of his fingers off.
Susan Swearingen Kamachi, class of ’64, wanted everyone to know that Dick Ankers passed away on February 16, 2022. He was a teacher at THS from 1961 to 1964.
She said that he wanted his obituary to read: “DICK DIED.” He was born August 10, 1934 . He was married to Jolene Swearingen Ankers for 56 years. She preceded him in death in 2014. Jolene was a member of the class of 1956.
If anyone would like to go, his Celebration of Life will be held at the Coney Island Bar on March 20, 2022 from 11:30 am-2:00 pm In Reno, Nevada.
