Zay Winscott - 1962
Bio & Picture from 40th Reunion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thank you for continuing to include me as one of the non-graduates in the Class of 1963!  At the end of our junior year at Hickman I left Columbia and began college at Hannibal-LaGrange College.  At the time, I was missing only .25 credit in physical education needed to graduate.  [Remember, we had to take PE every year and earned only .25 credit per year?  How about exercising to Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford, remember that?]  Mr. Chevalier was supportive of my leaving a year early, and he assured me I would receive a diploma from Hickman after a successful first year of college.  Unfortunately, Mr. Chevalier died and our agreement was only verbal, never put in writing, so I did not receive a diploma from Hickman.

After two years in Hannibal I returned to Columbia in 1964 and completed my degree in education at Mizzou.  That summer ~ 1966 ~ Joann Denney and I spent ten weeks traveling in thirteen European countries with our trusted copy of Europe on $5 a day.  We went by ship to Ireland, traveled by rail through Scotland, England, and Scandinavia, until we got to Germany, where we picked up a Volkswagen we had pre-ordered for delivery at the VW factory.  Today, when I watch documentaries about the Cold War, I think how naive we were when we crossed into East Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie.  I had no concept of the magnitude of what we were doing and the potential danger we could have encountered that day.

Back in the States, teaching jobs were plentiful in Michigan at that time and they paid more than in Columbia.  I began my teaching career in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1966 at a hefty salary of $5,200 a year ~ six hundred more than the starting salary in Columbia.  That began a rewarding career in education in Michigan.  I first taught English, then became a counselor after completing my master’s degree at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo in 1972.

Since 1991 I have been Director of Guidance at East Grand Rapids High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  This is a wonderful school filled with highly motivated and, for the most part, privileged young people who have incredible opportunities in life.  My role has been to develop and implement the program that guides them through the college search and selection process and be confident they are well prepared for admission to the college of their choice.  The expectations in the community are that I travel to visit colleges throughout the country in order to advise students in the college decision-making process.  Nothing could have suited me more.  I have had an outstanding professional career in education and will retire in June 2003, after thirty-seven years in public education.

On a personal note, I have been married for the past thirty-four years to Walt Reynolds.  We met in 1968 when Walt was hired as a crisis counselor to lead my school through court-ordered desegregation in Kalamazoo, MI.  At the time we married, Walt had a six-year-old son who is now 40 years old, married, and a very successful personal trainer and fitness leader here in Michigan!



A note from Charley,

My dear friend, Zay lost her husband, Walt Reynolds on November 7, 2005. I respectfully dedicate the remander of this page to his memory with the hard copy from the Memorial Service that Zay had for Walt on December 10, 2005.
 






 

 

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