My Brother Rick graduated the year I started at CHS. His Friends, Tony Lake, and Mark Overholt and others helped me with some tips on how to wrestle and so I made the team in my Freshman Year and was able to be a Co-Captain of the Team my Senior Year the same as Rick was in his Senior Year. Rick attended Chaffey College after high school until he was about to be drafted into the US Army and so did a several week trip around the USA in his Volkswagon Beetle before having to report and was sent to Vietnam after basic training at Ft. Ord near Monterrey, CA. He served during the Tet Offensive on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1968, he was one of two members of his company of 150 that did not get killed or injured. We prayed for him every night and were afraid someone might come to our door one night with bad news. We shared care packages and audio tapes and letters. We could here missiles going over on some of the tapes. One of Rick's best friend's Sister, Sarah 'Sally' Lake sent Rick lots of letters.
After Vietnam Rick and Sally were married in 1970, they lived in El Monte and then San Clemente and then San Juan Capistrano after graduating from Cal Poly, Pomona, majoring in Business Administration. Rick learned how to make jewelry with Sally and then worked for GEMCO for several years and became the Head Jewelry Buyer. Rick and Sally enjoyed sailing and had a 32' sailboat at Dana Point for several years. After some 10 years they divorced. Rick decided to move to Australia, near Bondi Beach, having spent a vacation from Vietnam there while in the Army. Rick developed an import-export business with our Sister Barbara who ran retail stores selling Australian items in Newport Beach and Ports-of-Call Village in Long Beach for about 8 years. Rick returned to the US and eventually married again to Joanie ? for about 10 years, Joanie had two boys from a previous marriage that Rick helped raise, they lived in Mission Viejo and then Escondido. Rick worked for Owens-Corning and Composites One for years selling fiberglass materials he had learned about while building surf skis (like kayaks) in Australia. Later Rick also was a part time Teacher at Cerritos College teaching about fiberglass construction and materials.
In 2008 Rick was named Volunteer of the Year in Cypress where he lived, he had been teaching Yoga and Meditation Classes at a Community Center. Rick had learned about these arts in an effort to kick the smoking habit he had aquired in the Army. Rick had also been drinking beer more than he should have in an attempt to deal with PTSD and depression from his time in Vietnam.
Sadly, he felt some of his organs were beginning to shut down in the summer of 2008 with the economy going into the Great Recession and he was unemployed and so he waited to get past the holidays and then ended his own life just after Valentines Day in 2009. Rick was a Good Son, Brother, Husband, Uncle and Friend who's love, laughter and sense of humor will allways be with Us. Bob Nelson, Class of 1970.
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Michael Albert Reed (1966)
RIP 2/17/09
Robert J. 'Bob' Nelson (1970)
My Brother Rick graduated the year I started at CHS. His Friends, Tony Lake, and Mark Overholt and others helped me with some tips on how to wrestle and so I made the team in my Freshman Year and was able to be a Co-Captain of the Team my Senior Year the same as Rick was in his Senior Year. Rick attended Chaffey College after high school until he was about to be drafted into the US Army and so did a several week trip around the USA in his Volkswagon Beetle before having to report and was sent to Vietnam after basic training at Ft. Ord near Monterrey, CA. He served during the Tet Offensive on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1968, he was one of two members of his company of 150 that did not get killed or injured. We prayed for him every night and were afraid someone might come to our door one night with bad news. We shared care packages and audio tapes and letters. We could here missiles going over on some of the tapes. One of Rick's best friend's Sister, Sarah 'Sally' Lake sent Rick lots of letters.
After Vietnam Rick and Sally were married in 1970, they lived in El Monte and then San Clemente and then San Juan Capistrano after graduating from Cal Poly, Pomona, majoring in Business Administration. Rick learned how to make jewelry with Sally and then worked for GEMCO for several years and became the Head Jewelry Buyer. Rick and Sally enjoyed sailing and had a 32' sailboat at Dana Point for several years. After some 10 years they divorced. Rick decided to move to Australia, near Bondi Beach, having spent a vacation from Vietnam there while in the Army. Rick developed an import-export business with our Sister Barbara who ran retail stores selling Australian items in Newport Beach and Ports-of-Call Village in Long Beach for about 8 years. Rick returned to the US and eventually married again to Joanie ? for about 10 years, Joanie had two boys from a previous marriage that Rick helped raise, they lived in Mission Viejo and then Escondido. Rick worked for Owens-Corning and Composites One for years selling fiberglass materials he had learned about while building surf skis (like kayaks) in Australia. Later Rick also was a part time Teacher at Cerritos College teaching about fiberglass construction and materials.
In 2008 Rick was named Volunteer of the Year in Cypress where he lived, he had been teaching Yoga and Meditation Classes at a Community Center. Rick had learned about these arts in an effort to kick the smoking habit he had aquired in the Army. Rick had also been drinking beer more than he should have in an attempt to deal with PTSD and depression from his time in Vietnam.
Sadly, he felt some of his organs were beginning to shut down in the summer of 2008 with the economy going into the Great Recession and he was unemployed and so he waited to get past the holidays and then ended his own life just after Valentines Day in 2009. Rick was a Good Son, Brother, Husband, Uncle and Friend who's love, laughter and sense of humor will allways be with Us. Bob Nelson, Class of 1970.