Class of 1968. Jacqueline Ovard. Senior Class Secretary. Senior Dinner Committee. BYU BS Elementary Education 1972. BYU-Hawaii 1984. Married Dr. Virgil E. Jacobsen: BYU BS Industrial Arts Teacher 1973. BYU MIE Industrial Education 1976. BYU EDS Public School Administration 1981. BYU EDD Public School Administration 1982. BYU Hawaii 1984.

Class of 1968. Veea Palmer. BYU 1974. Married LeEarl Baker, BYH Class of 1965. LeEarl died on August 6, 2006. @2006

Class of 1968. Brook Parker (male). ~ ~ ~ ~ DEATH NOTICE: Brook Stanley Parker of Brooks, Alberta, March 31, 2023. Stanley “Brook” Parker of Brooks, Alberta, passed away in Calgary on Friday, March 31st, 2023 at the age of 75 years. Brook was born on November 4th, 1947 in Brooks to Stanley and Jean Parker. Brook moved to Utah where he attended Brigham Young High School in Provo, Utah. Source.

Class of 1968. Becky Sue Redd. BYU 1973. Married Dr. Brian Lambert, BYH Class of 1968. Her parents: Charles Redd [BYH Class of 1911] and Annaley Naegle Redd, LaSal and Provo, Utah. Their children: Katheryn Anne "Kathy" Redd Mullins [BYH Class of 1952] (Gary), Solvang, CA; Charles Hardison "Hardy" Redd [BYH Class of 1954] (Sonya), La Sal; Annaley Redd (died in infancy); Robert Byron Redd [BYH Class of 1957] (Mary), Provo; Paul David Redd [BYH Class of 1959] (Diane), Paradox, CO; Maraley Redd Rasmussen [BYH Class of 1961] (Richard), Winnetka, IL; Beverly Redd Woods [BYH Class of 1963] (Loyd), Mapleton; Regina Redd Mitchell [BYH Class of 1964] (James), North Salt Lake; Rebecca Sue Redd Lambert [BYH Class of 1968] (Brian), Mapleton. [2000]

Class of 1968. Christeena Richards. Chorus Vice President 1968. BYU-Hawaii Music 1969. BYU 1973. Married Joseph McDonald "Mac" Brubaker on Aug 26, 1970. We have eight children: 5 boys and 3 girls. Husband goes by "Mac" to avoid confusion, since his father goes by "Joe". Alternate address: PO Box 17257, Salt Lake City, Utah 84117 ~ ~ ~ ~ I attended BYU Hawaii my freshman year after college and returned to BYU Provo the fall of 1969, where I majored in music. I was chosen the Engineering Week Queen and 2nd runner-up to Belle of the Y in Spring 1970. I met Mac Brubaker as part of the Engineering Week contest, and married him in August 1970. We are the parents of 8 children and 11 grandchildren so far. In the children, we have an orthopedic surgeon, an assistant dean at the U, a daughter who heads the harp department at BYU, another daughter who teaches harp, an attorney specializing in international arbitration, a web architect, a son graduating this year with a degree in finance, and a high school sophomore who loves martial arts. Two of our girls wanted to play the harp. Lessons and associations led to me owning a business of renting, importing and selling harps. Another child wanted to learn classical guitar, so I studied that with him for a few years. I am currently studying organ with Tabernacle organist Bonnie Goodliffe, and enjoying the Temple Square organs. As a result of having grandchildren, I write stories for children, am a song-writer and composer, and I am starting to illustrate my own books. My husband is a commercial real estate broker in Salt Lake City. He and I team-teach at the LDS Institute on the U of U campus. We also enjoy 4-wheeling, water and snow skiing, and sea kayaking. After waiting more than 10 years for a permit, we are finally rafting the Colorado River this summer! @2008

Class of 1968. Harold L. Ricks. BYU Information Systems Technology 1991. His parents: Eldin Ricks and Irene Hailes Ricks [she taught in the BYU Elementary School up to 1968]. Their children included: Harold L. Ricks [BYH Class of 1968], Orem, Utah; Marjorie Ricks [BYH Class of 1970] (James C.) Swindler, Draper, Utah; Dennis Ricks; and Stanford Ricks. ~ ~ ~ ~ Street address: 1166 Briar Avenue, Provo, Utah 84604-2867 @2010

Class of 1968 and 1969, graduating Junior. Robert A. Riddle. BYU BS Mechanical Engineering 1974. Robert is serving on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. @2019

Class of 1968. Scott Royall. BYU Hawaii Business Management 1980. BYU BS Business 1982.

Class of 1968 and 1969, graduating Junior. Lilia Rubio.

Class of 1968. George Shaw. BYU BS Geographic Planning 1975. BYU MS Geography 1976. Married Lorna. His parents: Merlin John Shaw and Mildred Ottley Shaw, married 1937 in Salt Lake City. Their children: Heidi Ann Shaw (Jack) Birch of Murray; Varol Edward Shaw of Provo; Merlene Shaw [BYH Class of 1962] (Lynn) Bybee of South Ogden; David Owen Shaw [BYH Class of 1964] of Orem; George Glade (Lorna) Shaw [BYH Class of 1968] of South Jordan; and Irene Shaw (Don) Casper of Evanston, Wyoming. ~ ~ ~ ~ Born August 29, 1950 to Merlin John Shaw (BYU Professor of Religion) and Mildren Ottley, fifth of six children. Two older siblings also graduated from BYH: Merlene Shaw Bybee (Class of 1962) and David Owen Shaw (Class of 1964). Served in the Australia East Mission, 1970-72. Graduated from BYU (1974) BS degree in Geographic Planning, MS degree from BYU (1976) in Urban Geography. Married Lorna Marie Morgan of Sanford, Colorado (1974) in the Salt Lake Temple. Lived in Provo, West Jordan, Sandy, and South Jordan, Utah. Parents of seven children: Valerie, North Salt Lake, Utah; Suzanne (Dustin), Tooele, Utah; Rachel (Ron), West Valley City, Utah; Merlin Jay (Melanie), St. George, Utah; Karalee (Michael), Taylorsville, Utah; Gregory Glade (student at UVU), Brian Morgan (student at BYU and recently called to serve in the Washington Everett Mission). Grandparents of nine beautiful children. ~ ~ ~ ~ Career: City Planner for the cities of Orem, Sandy, Salt Lake City, and South Jordan, Utah. Currently Community Development Director for South Jordan City. Wife is the Herriman High School Seminary Secretary. ~ ~ ~ ~ Church Service: Scoutmaster, Teacher's Quorum Advisor, YM President, Bishop's Counselor, Bishop, and High Councilor. Currently 1st Counselor in the South Jordan Utah Country Park Stake Presidency. ~ ~ ~ ~ Hobbies and Interests: Hiking/ backpacking in Southern Utah, camping, traveling, home remodeling, gardening, provident living, and family activities. @2010

Class of 1968. Ronald Tye Smith. Senior Class Social Chair. Chorus, Senior Dinner Committee. Graduate of the University of Oklahoma; "GPR" trained with the US Air Force; practicing in Utah County since 1986. Dr. Smith is a native of Provo where he graduated from BY High School and Brigham Young University. General Practice, Dentistry. Alternate address: 1983 N. Main St., Orem, Utah 84057-2101

Class of 1968/1969, graduating Junior. Steve Soffe. Sports Reporter of Brigadier Newspaper in 1967-68. BYU Mechanical Engineering 1989. ~ ~ ~ ~ HIS OBITUARY: Steven Wayne Soffe passed away peacefully at his home in Logan, Utah on March 4, 2023 after a brief, but courageous struggle with colon cancer. He was born on March 8, 1951 and adopted at the age of 14 months by his loving parents, H. Wayne and Dorothy Ruth Stringfellow Soffe. He was raised in Provo, Utah, along with his sister Sherry. He graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1968. He later served in the Pennsylvania Harrisburg mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Steve’s father, a coach and instructor at BYU, passed away when he was 15 and his mother passed away when he was 21. Luckily he didn’t have to be alone too long because he met and taught the gospel to his future wife, April Lynn Yost, while serving his mission. They met again when Steve returned to Provo where April was attending BYU. Because they were both orphans, Ron and Beverly Kidman, the parents of one of Steve’s former mission companions, welcomed them into their home and provided them with a wonderful family to be a part of for the rest of their lives. Steve and April married July 13, 1973 in the Provo Temple. As a young man, Steve worked a gritty, blue collar job at Geneva Steel, which later served as the site of Kevin Bacon’s iconic dance scene in the 1984 film, Footloose. His family heard regular facts like these throughout his life. When Steve was laid off during the economic downturn of the late 1970s, this became a blessing in disguise. Steve and his family were able to relocate to Cache Valley to focus on a college education in engineering. Steve graduated from Utah State University and worked as a systems safety engineer for the space shuttle program at ATK (formerly Thiokol,) for 22 years. He then worked at Hill Air Force Base until his retirement in 2020. He always loved to share his love of aeronautical facts and history. Steve loved being a woodworker and built many beautiful pieces of furniture for his family members. After his retirement he was able to spend more time doing this and made many wonderful toys and furniture for his grandchildren. He was always the one that everyone called when something stopped working or something needed to be done, and he was always the one who showed up to figure out what to do. He often wondered why his family thought he could do anything, and the reason was because he could do anything, except for maybe plumbing. Plumbing was his nemesis. He loved to help people and be of service whenever he could. Steve served in many church callings over the years. He especially enjoyed serving in a USU married-student stake and as a ward librarian team along with his wife April. They have always said that they work best as a team rather than individually, so this was a very enjoyable calling for both of them. Steve’s children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren were his world. He loved his family so much and was never happier than when he was with them. He attended every dance recital, band concert, cheerleading competition, play, graduation, and all the football, baseball, soccer, basketball and lacrosse games. He was always the proud dad or grandpa taking all the pictures with a huge smile on his face. One of the greatest joys of Steve’s life was when he was gifted an Ancestry DNA kit a few years ago which resulted in him connecting with his birth family. He found that he had two brothers, Paul and Mike, two sisters, Diane and Pam, his Aunt Beth and Uncle Bob, and multiple cousins who all welcomed him and April into their amazing family. Steve, who started adulthood as an orphan, was blessed with an amazing family and was so happy to see all of them before he passed. He is survived by his wife, April and children, Jason (Mireesa), Wayne, Amy (Cam), and Mark (Lindsey). His beloved grandchildren are Taeler (Jaxsen), Terra, Vivianne, Makinley (Taft), Makelle, Oliver, Miles, Kennedy and Harrison and great-grandchildren Lennon, and Grant, who will be arriving in May. Steve’s family would like to thank the many friends, neighbors, home health and hospice workers, and hospital staff who provided care for Steve and made his last days more comfortable. Funeral services are under the direction of Allen-Hall Mortuary and will be held Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 12 p.m. at the Cliffside Ward building, 1380 Mountain Road, Logan, Utah. A viewing will be held at the church from 11:00 to 11:45 a.m. prior to the funeral service and on Friday evening, March 17 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Allen-Hall Mortuary, 34 E. Center St., Logan, Utah. Interment will be in the Logan Cemetery. The funeral will be livestreamed and can be accessed by going online at www.allenmortuaries.com. Source.

Class of 1968. Diane Sowards. Chorus. BYU BS Education 1972. Married David W. Merrill: BYU BS Design & Graphics Technology 1978. @2010

Class of 1968/69. Sylvia Spears. Associate Editor of Brigadier Newspaper in 1967-68. BYU 1974. She married Neil Goldstein. ~ ~ ~ ~ DEATH NOTICE: Sylvia Spears passed away before Christmas in December 2022 in California.

Class of 1969, graduated in 1968. Lesley Strong. Lesley graduated as a junior and was the Valedictorian for the graduating juniors. She graduated from Brigham Young University in 1971 with a BS in Elementary Education and Minor in History. She began her teaching career with the Salt Lake City School District in 1972. She earned an MA in Education from Westminster College in 1980, and an administrative degree from the University of Utah in 1992. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Curriculum and Professional Development in the Salt Lake City School District. Her parents are Robert Q. Strong and Beth C. Strong. She has three sisters; Carol Strong Lowe (BYH Class of 1971), Diane Strong Krause (Larry)(BYH Class of 1972) and Jeanne Strong Schaerrer (Mark). Lesley married Tom McLaughlin in 1978, and they are the proud parents of Michele and Elizabeth and one grandson Brandon. @2009 ~ ~ ~ ~ Class of 1968 and 1969, graduating Junior. Lesley Strong. She married Tom McLaughlin.

Class of 1968. Natalie Taylor. Chorus. BYU BS Recreation Management & Youth Leadership 1972. Married Murlin R. Ralph.

Class of 1968. Kathryn Thurston. BYU BA English 1971. Married David R. Thornock, 1 son, 1 daughter. Kathryn's parents: LeRue Elroy Thurston and Idell Warnock Thurston [BYH Registrar], married 1942 in Manti, Utah. Two sons, David L. Thurston [BYH Class of 1965] of St. George, Utah; and Douglas Thurston [BYH Class of 1971] (dec.); and two daughters, Ann Marie Thurston Johnston (dec) of Bartlesville, Oklahoma; and Kathryn Thurston Thornock [BYH Class of 1968] of Wenatchee, Washington.

Class of 1968. Ann Tippetts. BYU Art Teaching Certificate 1972. Florida State University MS Art Education 1992, Florida State University, PhD, 2007. Art Teacher, Cobb Middle School, Tallahassee, Florida. Married William A. Christiansen, also BYH Class of 1968. They have four children: Nathan, Shawn, Brandon, Alissa. Ann is now living in Riverton, Utah, and they are divorced.

Class of 1968. Mary Valgardson. Senior Class Vice-President. Senior Dinner Committee. ~ ~ ~ ~ HER OBITUARY: Mary Valgardson was born August 17, 1950, Provo, Utah. Her parents are Paul Ephriam Valgardson and Florence Marie Davis Valgardson. She married Gordon Frederick McEuen, Jr. on June 2, 1971. She died July 27, 1978 in Provo, Utah. Interment, Provo City Cemetery.

Class of 1968. Jeris Walker. She married Mike Paddock. ~ ~ ~ ~ Her parents: Cyril F. Walker and Raisa V. Weeter Walker. Her brother, Myron Glenn Walker, was a member of the BYH Class of 63. Her sister, Veone Walker (Jesse) Kallbacka, lives in Utah. @2007

Class of 1968. Rachel Wallace. BYU BA Spanish 1972. BYU Teaching English as a Second Language 1974. BYU MA Spanish Literature 1974. Married Arnold K. Hardy. Her parents: Scott Pyper Wallace, M.D., and Ruth Elizabeth Spangler, married in 1947 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Four children: Mark (Bonnye) Spangler Wallace of Salt Lake City; Rachel (Arnold) Lavelle Wallace Hardy of Bountiful; Rebecca (Douglas) Wallace Later of Sandy; and Martha (James) Ruth Wallace Swigart of Redondo Beach, California.

Class of 1968. Joseph A. West. Webmaster and founder of this BY High alumni website. ~ ~ ~ ~ He played Scrooge in The Christmas Carol play in his senior year. ~ ~ ~ ~ His parents are Franklin Lorenzo West, Jr., M.D., and Helen Frances Montrose West. ~ ~ ~ ~ BYU BA Economics 1974. BYU MBA 1976. BYU-Idaho Construction Management 2002. Wife, Lani DeHart, BYH Class of 1968. Nine children. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Mission president of Portugal Porto Mission from 1996 to 1999: Joseph A. West, 45, Crest Haven Ward, Rexburg Idaho East Stake; bishop; former stake executive secretary, high councilor, ward mission leader, Sunday School teacher, elders quorum secretary, and missionary in the Brazil South Mission; computer system designer; received bachelor's degree in economics and master's degree in business administration from BYU; born in Salt Lake City to Franklin Lorenzo Jr. and Helen Frances Montrose West; married Lani DeHart, nine children. She is Relief Society compassionate service leader; former stake girls camp director, Primary president's counselor, Relief Society teacher, Primary teacher, Beehive teacher, and Cub Scout den leader; received bachelor's degree in elementary education from BYU; born in Payson, Utah, to Louis Kershaw DeHart and Virginia McNamara Halladay DeHart. ~ ~ ~ ~ Joseph West, former Executive Vice President at EZ-Net Tools, 310 North 2nd East 108, Rexburg, Idaho 85046. Joseph also worked at BYU-Idaho as a project manager in Information Technology. Work email: westj@byui.edu @2014 ~ ~ ~ ~ 2020 BIOGRAPHY: Joseph West was born in Utah, grew up in Boise, Idaho, and then moved back to Utah to finish high school at Brigham Young High School in Provo. During high school he started dating Lani DeHart, who became his wife three months after he returned from the Brazil South Mission. They have been married 48 years, have nine children, and 46 grandchildren. Brother West earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA from BYU. He has served in the church as a primary teacher, Sunday school teacher, high counselor, bishop, and mission president in the Portugal Porto Mission. Brother West has been working at BYU-Idaho for nine years as a project manager and business analyst in the IT department. @June 2020

Class of 1968. Garth Wilde. ~ ~ ~ ~ Garth Lynn Wilde was born on January 1, 1950 in Provo, Utah. His parents were Orvin Eskel Wilde and Sylvia Verl Miner Wilde. Garth Wilde died on February 10, 1981 in Springville, Utah. Interment, Springville, Utah.

Class of 1968. Clinton Williams. BYU 1975. @2010

Class of 1968. Sara Frances Willis. My parents: James Granville Willis, Sr. and Naomi Frances Fowlkes Willis. They have 7 children: 3 girls and 4 boys. My husband is Jansen Dennis Wellendorf and we were married in the SLC Temple in 1974. We have 6 children - Kirk Frederick Wellendorf, Jonathan Rolf Wellendorf (died 1993), Tinka Elizabeth Wellendorf Bagley, Karl Granville Wellendorf, Joel Dale Wellendorf, and Taylor Reed Wellendorf. I will add more later - I think of our class often! @2020