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St. John school in Robstown celebrates reunion
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October 12, 2015
This year's reunion was the first time all seven siblings of the Abbott family were able to attend the reunion at the same time. They are, from left, Sister Maureen Abbott, S.P. ('56) from Chicago, IL; John Abbott ('57) from Middleburg, VA; Jean Abbott Wood ('55) from Concord, MA; Kathleen Abbott Oxford ('59) from Lemoore, CA; Patricia Abbott Ashton ('64) from Anaheim Hills, CA; Christine Abbott Wisian ('69) from Corpus Christi, TX; and Elizabeth Abbott Karchmer ('62) from Corpus Christi, TX.
Two hundred and fifty alumni attended the 2015 reunion of St. John Nepomucene Catholic School in Robstown on Sept. 26. Among those in attendance were all seven children of Fritz and Winnie Abbott, who attended grade school and high school from 1946-1969. The school closed in 1970. It was the first time all seven siblings were able to attend the reunion at the same time.
The Abbott siblings are Jean Abbott Wood (Class of 1955) from Concord, MA; Sister Maureen Abbott, SP (Class of 1956) from Chicago, IL; John Abbott (Class of 1957) from Middleburg, VA; Kathleen Abbott Oxford (Class of 1959) from Lemoore, CA; Elizabeth Abbott Karchmer (Class of 1962) from Corpus Christi; Patricia Abbott Ashton (Class of 1964) from Anaheim Hills, CA; and Christine Abbott Wisian (Class of 1969) from Corpus Christi.
Wood, the eldest of the Abbott clan, attended fourth grade when the school opened on Feb. 4, 1946 and graduated from the school in 1955. Wisian, the youngest of the seven, graduated in 1969 a year before the school closed.
Many in attendance did not graduate from St. John's High School, but had attended grade school and graduated from a different high school–either Robstown, Banquete or the College Academy. Most of the alumni came from farm families in the Robstown and Banquete area and many had managed to stay in touch throughout the years.
"It was the best attendance ever," said Karchmer, who was one of the seven siblings who graduated from St. John's. "My class (1962) had 22 out of 25 students who came to the reunion."
"One of the things that struck me," said reunion coordinator John Lloyd Bluntzer, "was how many former students of St. John's wanted to come to the reunion."
"In my class of '57, there were four non-SJHS graduates who had left in the 8th grade and went on to attend a different high school," Bluntzer said. "One came from Brazoria, Texas, one from Kingsville, one from near Tyler, and the last came from Florida. While the one from Tyler had attended a previous reunion, the other three had never attended a reunion since leaving St. John's school and two of them I had not seen since 1953."
When one member of the junior class of 1970 discovered the announcement of the reunion on Facebook, he contacted the reunion-planning group and asked if it was okay if his class could attend. They immediately said yes. In 1970 the junior class at St. John's numbered about 47 students, so he emailed all of his classmates.
"He and I referred to that Junior Class of 1970 as the 'Would-Have-Been 1971 Graduating Senior Class of St. John.' If memory serves me correct, about a dozen of that class attended," Bluntzer said.
"The entire planning group was so pleased to see so many former students from that period come and reconnect with their former classmates."
The planning group numbered about 15 and all volunteered to do what was necessary. Many helped by emailing or mailing a class or two. Two members on the planning group lived in San Antonio, one in Victoria and one in Lake Jackson. "There were many volunteers. No arm-twisting. All did an excellent job in their role and only with such dedication and cooperation made this event successful," Bluntzer said.
Sisters of Providence of St-Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, who taught at the school made a tremendous contribution to many people in the surrounding communities, especially at St. John's School. Some 320 students graduated from St. John's and the school produced two diocesan priests, Father Jerome Zurovetz (Class of 1956) and Father Henry Heese, who attended grade school.
St. John's also produced two Sisters of Providence, Sister Margaret Heese and Sister Maureen, who is one of the seven siblings from the Abbott family.
"The sisters had a good sense of humor and made us learn Queens English, speak properly and diagram sentences. Everybody was well respected if you graduated from St. John's," Karchmer said.
St. John's has remained a fond memory in the hearts of many and it all started with four nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of St-Mary-of-the-Woods, ID who taught grade school in four new classrooms in 1946.
This year the reunion began with Mass at St. John's Church. After Mass, alumni walked down memory lane as they revisited their old classrooms, now used by the parish to teach CCD, after which they met up at Robstown Community Hall had dinner and danced.
