Outstanding St. Augustine students; bride-elect JoAnn Martinez honored

Why do we have so much sadness lately? Just life, we guess. Our good friend Lorraine Hopson left us, and we are sure she is playing guitar for a heavenly choir, much as she did for so many years at St. Patrick's Church. Many of her friends sang the wonderful spiritual songs at her funeral mass. She fought so valiantly and never lost her beautiful smile. It was hard to believe she was so sick, for she never betrayed it. A sincere and funny girl who never enjoyed her brush with fame as a dancer, and modestly downplayed it. She was so adept at telling jokes that her pals made her repeat them every time they got together. You will be much missed, old friend. Her legacy included the beautiful children and grandchildren she and her beloved Fred raised.

Looking over old notes, found one from Elizabeth Sorrell in which she mused about Laredo , her home for so many years, and how it had grown. She stated that she saw so many new faces in the pages of Greater Laredo and she wrote that when she did pass on, few would remember her and she would probably have just a graveside service. Indeed! We replied that if the size of her funeral place was to be determined by the number of people who remembered her, New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral would be in order. Elizabeth Sorrell touched so many lives during her years here, as girl, young woman, teacher, friend, society chronicler! She still keeps in touch from San Antonio and loves to hear from old friends and students. Her address is The Meadows Retirement Center, 730 Babcock Rd. Apt. 4205 , San Antonio , TX 78201 . Another beloved Laredo teacher, Annie Bruce Babb, also lives at The Meadows. What wonderful parts in so many lives these ladies played.

We were unable to attend the press conference at St. Augustine High School announcing the names of students who have brought honor, not only to St. Augustine High, but to Laredo . We still wish to give them the attention that they deserve.

The National Merit Scholarship 2005 semifinalist is José L. Cavazos. He is the son of Joe and Marilyn Cavazos. José is the first National Merit semifinalist from St. Augustine High School since 1994 and the only one from the Laredo area this year. José is also a National Hispanic Scholar. Tara Barton, daughter of Ernest and Tammy Barton, Edmundo Garza IV, son of Edmundo and Edna Garza, and Adrian Mounetou, son of José and Martha Mounetou, also are designated as National Hispanic Scholars.

To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an academic record of very high performance, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier qualifying test performance on the PSAT.

National Merit Scholarship winners for 2005 will be announced beginning in April 2005 and concluding in July 2005. José is among 16,000 scholastically talented high school students who have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards, worth $33.9 million, that will be offered next spring.

The 2005 Wendy's High School Heisman Award nominees from St Augustine are Morgan LaMantia, daughter of Steve and Linda LaMantia, and Geoffrey E. Daves, son of George and Ester Daves. This is awarded in conjunction with the collegiate Heisman recognition and honors the nation's top high school seniors who best exemplify a supreme “citizen-scholar-athlete.”

Congratulations to all these outstanding students!

Bride-elect JoAnn Martinez was honored with a linen shower and brunch, by hostesses Doris Epstein, Nancy de Anda and Minnie Silva. They were joined by Fay Mainhart, Brenda García, Laura Gomez, Ardith Epstein, Sally Bargo, Maribel Cardenas, Lucy Cardenas, Marilyn de Llano, Shira de Llano, Norita Montemayor, Ana Quesada, Elia York, Angie Romero, Jalinna Jones and her daughter, as well as Jane Hill, Celina Villarreal, and Margie Villarreal.

The Martinez family also celebrated the baptism of grandson José Javier Flores. JoAnn's sister Jessica Justine Martinez is the baby's mother.

Jeanette McKeown was honored by her family on her 70th with a lovely evening of dinner, dancing, and reminiscing. Hosts were husband John, daughter Carolyn and her husband Eddie Castillon, granddaughter Lauren Walker, Jeff and William Walker, grandchildren Ann Michelle and Wayo Hinojosa. Carolyn Lauren Walker celebrated her birthday, which was the following day, with a cake of her own. It was a lovely evening, filled with friends and family. Happy birthday, Jeanette!

The Women's City Club celebrated their annual Charity Ball at the Laredo Country Club. This year, the theme was A Night With Elvis. Molly Martinez is the club's hard-working president. Nancy de Anda was chairperson for the exciting evening. Brenda García was co-chair. Gaby Castro, Dee Ann Novoa, Jalinna Jones and Ty Starnes, Ana Quesada, Liz Harris and Minnie Silva, Doris Epstein and Joyce Norton were also involved, as were Susie Nolte, Kayce Frye, Fay Mainhart, Marjorie Richter, Cindy Reyes, Ann Marie Retzloff, Claudia García, and Pricilla Salinas.

Music was by Mike Jackson and his Austin-based group, Hotcakes. Mike grew up in Laredo. The dance floor was crowded as the music of Elvis' day lured them out. A very successful evening, sponsored by the hard-working group, which does so much for the community. Thanks again, WCC!

Laredo never loses her maternal feeling for kids whose parents grew up here. Kathleen Early, whose mom, Joyce Johnson, was born and raised in Laredo, continues on her professional acting, singing, and dancing career. She has a role in Janine Turner's directorial debut, a short film entitled Trip in a Summer Dress. The world premiere was held at the Angelika Theater in Dallas. Look for continuing greater things from these talented ladies.

A special evening was enjoyed by members of the Luncheon Club and their guests at their annual Christmas party. Peggy Newman was ill, and could not attend. She was in charge of the party, and was missed, but her chores were ably filled and the delightful evening was enjoyed by all. Cathy Proffitt and Norma Gonzalez sang for the program and Ann Neel accompanied on the piano. All jubilantly joined in the “partridge in a pear tree” rounds for a finale. Good friends, good cheer, and a wish for a happy and prosperous new year with a fervent wish for peace.

As we try to meet deadline with cats pestering and finally curling up in baskets on our desk, we thank God for a beautiful weekend in the country, just enjoying the crisp cold weather with family who love it as we do. Green jays, cottontails, javelina, and deer emerged in stages to explore, together with the occasional big ranch rats, who scurried by, as we sat huddled in chairs and benches in the pickup truck beds to relish the beauty spread before us. What did we do? We just enjoyed!