Karen (Metzen) Glorioso

Karen (Metzen) Glorioso

Received 5/22/10

Yes, it is unbelievable that it’s been 50 years since graduation!  It was wonderful seeing some of our classmates at the “Last Dance” all-school reunion in 1998…among them, Judy, Carolyn, Fritz, Pete, Al, Franz, the Froker gang, and Cathy & Mark.  I’m sure we all the same, right?

It’s been a busy decade – involving moves between Honolulu, Northern California, Southern California, and the Texas hill country.  We sold the condo in Hawaii, and we’re in the process of selling the house outside San Antonio.  From now on, we’ll just zip between Northern and Southern California.  We’re still working part-time at Sonoma County Mental Health when we’re in Santa Rosa.  However, our county is nearly broke, so everything will change after the end of the fiscal year.  When we’re not working, we love to go on day trips, usually involving lunch and often involving a motorcycle ride through the wine country or along the coast.  Ralph just inherited his 79th bike.  He presently has seven of them!  (This after his mother once told him that it’s jus a teenage stage he’s going through.)  It’s true what they say about “boys and their toys”!

Re:  my family:  I think you all know that the coach passed away in 2006.  He’s probably playing golf somewhere “up there”.  On the other hand, my mom is still very active, socially and physically, at age 91.  (Her mother lived to be 103, so we have a longevity “gene” in the family, I guess.)  She lives in a lovely retirement complex near my sister in Waukesha.  She has four grandkids and five grandbabies (great grandbabies?) in the area.  I try to get up there for special occasions in spring and fall.

I’m not much of a computer person, although my husband does encourage me to log on to his computer more often than I do.  If you do put out a little booklet with updates of all our classmates, I would be more than willing to pay whatever for it.

There are times that I wish I lived a little closer to the base, but this “Midwestern girl” and her “New Yorker” husband have been spoiled by California for so long that we are willing to put up with its many idiosyncrasies to live here for the rest of our lives.

Thank you, Ann and Franz, and everyone else that puts all the time and effort into the process of keeping everyone in touch.

I remember Mary Jo was “wild and crazy” and lots of fun.

Weirdest memory: walking in on Mr Dowling and Mrs Patton after hours in the English office.

Overall memory: Senior Skip Day (I got in big trouble!)

Dance memory: those horrid formal dresses we had to wear.

Music memory: goofing off with Wendy (band class) and Marty (choir).

Sports memory: Eddie Coombs’ last second, game winning basket from mid-court.

Class memory: that darling Mr Chandler in math class.

Naughtiest memory: peeking through the broken window of the men’s locker room at the old Field House.

What I’d like to know about our classmates? Everything about everyone (well, almost everything!)

Wisconsin High School
55th Reunion – July 24 – 25, 2015

 BIO:        Karen Metzen Glorioso
Received:  July 2, 2015

 Dear Gang,

We’re busy gradually moving all our stuff from Northern CA to Southern CA, and I may actually retire after this year.  I’ll miss some things about the Bay Area, like the roads through the Wine Country and the great sports teams.  San Diego County is not the best place for sports nuts, but then, there’s a lot of other good stuff down here.

Fortunately, we’re both healthy, and so is my 96-year-old mom.  I spend all of my vacation time visiting her, as she’s still a lot of fun to be with.

I hope that everyone there is well and happy, and that you have a great time at the reunion.  It’s at times like these that I wish I lived closer to Madison.

Love in Badger Spirit,

Karen Glorioso

Wisconsin High School
60th  Reunion – September 17, 2020

BIO:      Karen Metzen Glorioso
Received:  7/30/20

The biggest change we’ve made in the past few years is that gave up our homes in California and moved to the Texas hill country.  We have a place on a large lake northwest of Austin. (Ralph grew up spending summers and week-ends on a lake in Upstate New York, and I always loved the lakes in Madison.  Therefore, our motivation to move.)  We miss things about California:  the weather, friends, and the beachside restaurants, but this place is beautiful, and we are very happy here.