Linda Watts Linda Watts Newberry

Linda Watts


Mailing Address:

     1957 W Conkling Park Drive
     Worley, ID 83876

Phone:
208-310-0999
Linda Watts Newberry
madaboutmoose47@gmail.com
  Updated: January 9,2020 (Contact Information)
 
Dale & Me - Snowshoeing
Dale & Me - Snowshoeing
Spouse: Dale

Kids:

     Jeremy
     Laura

All I can say is life is way too short. I never accomplished the things I thought I would, but life has been fun and very, very good. To anyone who might wonder, I'm very much the same as I have always been. I'm still tall; I never took up smoking and I never gave up drinking.

After graduating from MHS I attended the University of Idaho for two years, then moved on to the University of Denver where I met my husband Dale. It was 1968 and we'd been married for six months when Dale got drafted. As a matter of fact, he got his draft notice the same day we were accepted for the Peace Corps. As you might have guessed, Uncle Sam took precedence. Dale left for Ft. Lewis in January of 1969. About the time he finished basic training we figured out that he'd never get sent to Viet Nam if we had a baby on the way. You know, Uncle Sam didn't care a bit. Dale left for Viet Nam in late November that year; by then I was nearly 8 months pregnant. As luck would have it he was severely wounded (you aren't going to believe this) on his first mission. He was flown back from Japan on Christmas Day and checked into Fitzsimmons Hospital in Denver. A few days later, on New Year's Eve 1969 our son Jeremy was born here in Moscow. Dale recovered from his wound although he lists a bit to the right when he walks. He has an opinion on almost everything , a bizarre sense of humor, and an incredible lust for life.

After Dale's recovery we moved to La Junta, Colorado, a small town somewhere after making a left turn at the end of the earth. They grow cantaloupes and onions there and make mega vats full of dill pickles. Dale sold Caterpillar tractors and for a few years I was a stay at home mom. In 1979, thinking that if you can sell a Caterpillar D-8 why not a typewriter; we returned to Moscow and purchased Wallace Office Equipment. I loved being in business downtown, but hated the stress of a business in which the technology was changing at the speed of light and inventory was outdated long before it was sold. After working in the business for 14 years as office manager, bookkeeper, salesperson, stock clerk and janitor I went to work for University of Idaho Conferences and Community Programs where I've been since 1991. My office plans and coordinates non-credit educational classes for the community and develops and organizes professional conferences both on and off the UI campus.

Our son Jeremy, who refers to himself as our low-maintenance child, is a contractor in Portland, Oregon. He and his wife Deanna have two wonderful little girls, Zoe Heather Faye (12) and Zana Taffy Bell (10). During his years at the U of I he was a member of the house band at John's Alley here in Moscow. It's a real dive, but I happily went down, listened to the band (it's no wonder I can't hear very well) and got regularly introduced to the college crowd as "Jeremy's Mom" - doesn't take much to make me happy. I was proud and I still am.

Our high-maintenance child, Laura was born in 1973. If you are wondering about the high maintenance part, let's just say when she was 1 ½ we found her walking around on the 2nd story roof of a friend's house. She had escaped out the window during nap time. That was just the beginning. I won't expand on the rest but I will say she graduated with a Masters Degree from the UI and is a Vocational Consultant for Standard Insurance in Portland. Laura and her husband Darrel have a baby girl, Ashley Sahara Sage who will be 2 this coming summer. Like all the rest of you, I joy in my children and am so very, very proud of them.

In the last 15 years I have mountain biked in Idaho, Oregon, California, Utah, and Montana, rafted the lower Salmon River and Hell's Canyon, motorcycled both the Colorado and the Canadian Rockies, canoed portions of the Clearwater, the St. Joe and the Whitefish Rivers, been to the top of the World Trade Center (and wept uncontrollably when the towers fell to the ground), attended the Wright Brothers Centennial of Flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina and ridden in the Goodyear Blimp. I was also fortunate enough to watch the sun rise over Hailiakula on Maui where I rode a crappy rental bike to the bottom, jeep Baby Lions Back in Moab (Utah), sail on Montery Bay, and get caught in a hailstorm outside Sturgis on the back of a Harley - ouch!! No, life has not been dull.

I have loved being a part of the reunion committee. We connect like we never did in high school, sharing the laughter of the past and the heartaches that time brings. As I read the biographies and memories of my classmates I am awed not only by your accomplish-ments but by the growth, maturity and humor that we all seem to have achieved. - I'm so glad to have shared memories with all of you. In closing, I particularly want to thank Bill (class of '64 ) and Connie (Dahmen) Sever for volunteering to set up and maintain the webpage. It is truly a gift to all of us.
Daughter Laura and Ashley
Daughter Laura and her daughter Ashley
Son Jeremy, Ashley and Me
Son Jeremy, Ashley and Me
 

I run into John Weber occassionally. The two of us having a bit of a competition to see whose hair is the grayest. He's actually winning but I'm a close competitor.
 
My grandaughter Ashley and Me
My granddaughter Ashley & Me

A fuzzy picture taken on a trip to Maui
A fuzzy picture taken on a trip to Maui


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