Rogers High School Newport RI
Class of 1986 20th Reunion - November 2006
20-YEAR CLASS REUNION - As members of the Rogers High School Class of 1986 sat in their creaking auditorium seats, dressed in rented red-and-black polyester gowns and caps, they daydreamed of what was ahead, looking forward to graduation parties, summer and the rest of their lives. Ronald Reagan was president. It was "Hip to Be Square," there were "Manic Monday(s)." Dire Straits offered the "Walk of Life," Simple Minds sang "Don't You (Forget About Me)" and The Boss crooned "My Hometown." Two decades later, a reunion was organized by a committee that included a couple of members who admittedly lacked Viking spirit back in the day. One lost in student council elections twice, but went on to become a Newport City Council member. But collectively, they organized the "best reunion yet," according to Stephanie Abramson-Pires. "Now that I have a Viking (her daughter is a freshman), I'm much more school spirited." About 70 classmates, who came from as far away as San Francisco, gathered at the Vasco de Gama Portuguese American Hall on Fenner Avenue to catch up with former classmates. The cheerleader became a lawyer. The creative guy followed his dream and is a successful artist and 3D animator. The class also boasts a U.S. Navy chief, teachers, a director of a nonprofit agency, police officers, a yoga instructor and one man who claims to be a designer for Victoria's Secret. Most refused to admit to feeling old, instead choosing to recall and relive the glory days. The parties at George Grassi's parents' home proved most memorable, and for old times sake, after shutting down the Fenner Avenue Hall and Celtica, Grassi held a party for his classmates one more time to hold them over until the next reunion.

the above appeared in Dave Hansen's Milestones, a regular feature of The Newport Daily News
ABOVE: Dena Warner, Holly Pimental and Dean Martland
BELOW: Krista Petropulos, Tracey Napolitano,
Jim Dougherty and George Grassi
Christine Keenan with her husband
ABOVE: Lisa Brugman, Billy Gallagher, Murphy and Shannon Maher
FAR LEFT: Jay Jackson and Dru Fernandez
LEFT: Mike Fleming, Petrina Cooper, Chris Jones and Sarah Mermin
BELOW LEFT: Gordie Johnson, Kenny Jenkins, Patrick O'Rourke, Tommy Miner and his wife and Fred Bebee
BELOW MIDDLE: Jamie Kirwin and Colleen Murphy McCarthy
BELOW RIGHT: Stephanie Meriweather Sleeper, Diana Sleirtin and Craig Grant
BOTTOM LEFT: Ed Soares and Christie-Ann Gafgen
BOTTOM MIDDLE: John Paiva, Tammi Thumbtzen Johson and her husband
BOTTOM RIGHT: Paul Aubin, Jane Cororan (Class of 1987) and Rob Lasky


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