# Did you ever look up your long lost high school classmates?



## fuzzybuddy (Mar 6, 2021)

I graduated in 1964, from a tiny Catholic school. We had 23 kids in my graduating class. I moved away from there well over 50 years ago. I decided to look up my classmates. I started with the boys, ( their names were the same as in H.S.)There were 8 of us. I'm 76, and 5 had passed on. Yikes. I got sick and landed in a home, so my task of looking up my classmates came to an end, But have you tried to look up your high school classmates? How did you do it? You can look up the boys, but how about Susie Smith , who is now, Mrs. X?


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## Keesha (Mar 6, 2021)

No I haven’t looked up any classmates but I hung out with many of them after school ended. We hung out together as a big group and went to many concerts and parties together. Once I met my husband and moved to the country and didn’t see as many of them but a couple of years ago I reunited with a bunch of them from the stage band we were all in. It was really fun to see them again.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Mar 6, 2021)

I tried to look up a few years ago but gave up. Finding the girls was next to impossible because their names have been changed. I realized the ones I really cared about where people I still kept in touch with., many have passed on but I do have one left from my first year in high school.


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## Murrmurr (Mar 6, 2021)

I went to a website called classmates.com. I found 2 former classmates who were pretty good friends of mine, but I also got a boat-load of emails from the website urging me to pay the monthly fee that would allow me to message those friends.


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## Lewkat (Mar 6, 2021)

Only a few I knew well or was related to.  I was in a class of over 400 kids and the only time I so* many of my classmates again was at our 50th reunion in 2000.  By then, a lot had passed away or moved too far to join us.  But a good turnout anyhow.

*saw


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## jujube (Mar 6, 2021)

For a large number of them, I'd have to be looking at the obits. I get an alarming number of death notifications from our class historian.  I'm always afraid I'm next......


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## officerripley (Mar 6, 2021)

As said above, it's hard to look up females since their last names could well be different. I did though try looking up some of the male classmates--I used linkedin.com--who were the popular guys back in high school and it turned out like I suspected it would: they had all done well for themselves--well, probably using daddy's $$--corporate lawyers, CEOs, etc.


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## bowmore (Mar 6, 2021)

No, I don't, because they are all on the East Coast. Funny story-my late wife went to school in Pittsburgh, and they were holding a 50th reunion. They also had a small alumni group here on the West Coast. We discussed going back to the reunion, but 90% of the people still lived in Pittsburgh, so it was no problem for them to go.
I said that you did not care to even see the group on the West Coast, so what is the sense of going back there.


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## Serenity4321 (Mar 6, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> I went to a website called classmates.com. I found 2 former classmates who were pretty good friends of mine, but I also got a boat-load of emails from the website urging me to pay the monthly fee that would allow me to message those friends.


LOL I keep getting emails from them. Periodically they will show a name or 2 and say.._do you remember  _.... some of the names I remember and others  I have not  heard of, even among the guys. Recently they sent names of 2 people that  I know have died asking if I remembered them as 'friendly, attractive' etc. Both were friends of mine. The site always asks for a fee to reveal names and I have considered paying  but have not as yet...


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## Serenity4321 (Mar 6, 2021)

jujube said:


> For a large number of them, I'd have to be looking at the obits. I get an alarming number of death notifications from our class historian.  I'm always afraid I'm next......


Hope it's ok your comment struck me as funny ...hope you meant it to. I know what you mean.  It seems the older we get the more people of 'our time' are dying..not just classmates but stars, politicians etc...


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## AnnieA (Mar 6, 2021)

I've had to through the years.  Was senior class president and it is tradition at our school for that to be a lifetime job when it comes to organizing class reunions.  I bailed on the job after the 25th reunion but still know pretty much where everyone is thanks to social media.


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## Pappy (Mar 6, 2021)

Classmates.com will hook you up with many of your classmates. But, there is a charge. I had fun on it, but left it awhile ago.


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## PamfromTx (Mar 6, 2021)

Social media is a good source to keep tabs of former classmates.  Facebook, for one is where I've found many of my classmates.  We keep in touch via phone calls, emails, FB messenger or texting.  Of course there are many we don't hear from.   A few have passed away.


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## Don M. (Mar 6, 2021)

One of my old high school classmates keeps a list of the remaining classmates, and updates the rest of us every couple of months.  Through her posts, I've been able to keep track of the "survivors", and exchange notes with a half dozen of the old crew.  However, the numbers of those left are declining more with every passing year....at last count there are about 250 of us left....out of a starting number of almost 600....kind of depressing sometimes.


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## jujube (Mar 6, 2021)

I went to my 50th reunion.  Everyone was joking about having a 75th reunion.....I volunteered to host it....in my closet.


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## CinnamonSugar (Mar 6, 2021)

Went to visit a friend in San Diego a few years back that I knew from grade school/girl scouts/ballet.  Also had a chance to spend an evening with another long-time friend (known since kindergarten); we processed 40 years of catching up in one evening! =)


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## debodun (Mar 6, 2021)

If you mean finding out where they live and going to their house, no. That might be considered stalking. On social media, yes, for a few.


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## horseless carriage (Mar 6, 2021)

Our alumni of 1957 held a reunion in 1997. I didn't go. Schooldays were not happy days but I did have a stroke of good fortune that came out of misfortune. In January 1961, I was knocked down by a, hit and run motorist whilst on a pedestrian crossing. Recovery took almost a year, during that time I was sent to a special type of hospital where they had the kind of equipment to aid that recovery. One of the teachers, a head of department, would read up on my classwork and then visit me, teaching me, one to one. My school offered me a return but I would have to drop a year to catch up. Catch up? Thanks to that one to one teaching I was ahead if anything. I left school and finished my higher education at college. 

Learn from the past but don't look back. I have never wanted to look up lost friends, including schoolfriends and definitely not girlfriends.


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## Nathan (Mar 6, 2021)

I registered with classmates.com eons ago...a couple years ago I got an email that someone had looked at my profile.   I logged in and discovered that it was my 10th grade high school girlfriend.   I stayed in touch with her on Facebook, I kept my distance as I am married and she was single.  You know what I mean.   I had some feelings stirred, but decided that they were unhealthy and _unmanageable_.


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## OneEyedDiva (Mar 6, 2021)

A classmate found me on Facebook and added me to the group for our classmates. We also graduated in 1964 but I'm a couple of years younger than you. I thought it was amazing since I didn't remember her from school and my name had completely changed because I took a Muslim name. I wound up connecting with a lot of former classmates via the group as well as  individually on FB. We had over 700 (yes seven hundred) people in our class and we've maybe lost 10% of them as far as we know. The woman who found me started a listing of deceased members and sadly a couple of years ago, we had to add her to the list. When we find out about someone's passing we post their obit and their name gets added to that list.

One former classmate was one of my BFFs when I was in high school. I got her number from her son who was on FB and called. We didn't stay in touch though. Someone in the group gave me information about my other high school BFF but I never followed up. Another classmate used to message me and he'd call periodically, saying we (Boomers) had to keep up with each other. He was a gregarious fellow. He called me Oct 2nd for a brief chat, posted on FB Oct 5th and died later that day! 

Another classmate and I lived in the same neighborhood and worked together for decades. Though we were somewhat adversarial at work sometimes we were still friends and became the best of friends after we retired. We spoke on the phone often. My husband never minded me having phone conversations with him I guess because our friend (they were army buddies) introduced us and tried for years to get us together. My friend also helped me find my half siblings. He died a little more than a year ago and I still can't believe he's gone. I miss him so much 

It's too bad you had to discontinue your search due to your circumstances. It's also sad that you lost so many.


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## fmdog44 (Mar 6, 2021)

My two friends in HS went our separate ways after it was over. I imagine with the military draft this was true of many boys.


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## Buckeye (Mar 6, 2021)

Class of 1964.  Approx 45 kids, 12 of which have now passed.  I refuse to pay Classmates.com a penny but I did register so I get the same annoying emails.

My SO and I went to first three grades together, then high school.  Knew each other, but never dated.  Reconnected 50+ years later on Facebook.


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## J.B Books (Mar 6, 2021)

All my good friends in high school are dead except one.
I don't care about the rest of my class.


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## Buckeye (Mar 6, 2021)

At our age, the first place to look for our class mates is find a grave dot com


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## Marie5656 (Mar 6, 2021)

*A lot of mine looked me up after Facebook got popular.  I have never actively looked up many. I did look up a couple college classmates...One I reconnected with and we have stayed friends ever since...and we graduated in the 80's (I started college in my later 20's). The other classmate seems to have fallen from the face of the earth. Seems to have no social media presence*


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## Ladybj (Mar 6, 2021)

Yes.... I found a few of them on Facebook.  You can find almost anyone on FB.


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## RadishRose (Mar 6, 2021)

Yes, just a few, on FB. Didn't reach out though. I am still friends with the 6 that meant the most to me. We were 7, but one passed away 3 years ago. One is out of state and one is overseas, but we keep in touch.


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## Jeweltea (Mar 6, 2021)

I am friends with a couple of my high school friends on Facebook. I don't remember who reached out first. There are a couple that I might like to contact but I don't know their last names.


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## Fyrefox (Mar 7, 2021)

Classmates.com can connect you with the names of former high school classmates who have registered with their system and allow you to create a "profile," but will not allow you to communicate with them unless you buy into one of their "plans."  If the people so connected were not those that you were friends with, it's not worth the expense of doing so...


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## Pecos (Mar 7, 2021)

Class of 1960 with about 625 members. I joined the Navy a couple of weeks later and rarely went back. Someone got in touch with me for the 45th reunion and since I was traveling out that way, I went. It took me quite a while to recognize anyone that I knew in HS, except my Chemistry Teacher who looked healthier than my classmates. As the evening wore on, I learned that so many of us had passed. I also got updated on my "nobody nerdy" friends, most of whom had gone on to earn Master's degrees and have very successful careers. My general impression is that a high percentage of the big shots were not doing so well. 
Later, we were supposed to sing the "School Song" and I did not have any clue what that was. (My wife mentioned that she didn't have a clue as to what her school song was either.)
My final impression was that "these people need to get a life." The antics from 45 years ago, and the outcome of the football game against Austin just didn't count anymore. I did learn what I had "not been missing."


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## Mr. Ed (Mar 7, 2021)

I was popular in high school, had a lot of friends. Connected with many of them on FB. Tried to go to a high school reunion but when it didn’t work out I gave trying to relive the past and focused on the present.


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## Gaer (Mar 7, 2021)

No, I won't chase anyone down.   If they want to contact me, they can.


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## SetWave (Mar 7, 2021)

Graduated in '65 and enlisted by December.
Anyway, we have enjoyed reunions every ten years and a group of us still keep in touch and were getting together every few months until the goddamned virus hit. (some call it Covid but to me it's just the goddamned virus). 
I actually ran into a classmate during my induction and we went through bootcamp together. Our serial numbers are in sequence. He's the glue that keeps us going.
Also bumped into a couple of classmates during my service. One, who I surfed with a lot, was a pilot and we both laughed upon saluting.
I'm one of the rare people who has no social media presence but still keep in touch easily.


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## mrstime (Mar 10, 2021)

A couple of the grads of 1957 started a site with news of other grads, reunions, etc. They also have the class of 57 pictures from the yearbook. Half of us are dead. The rest of us are pretty far flung from Canada (me) to Florida, and a few stayed right there in So Calif.


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## dobielvr (Mar 10, 2021)

Murrmurr said:


> I went to a website called classmates.com. I found 2 former classmates who were pretty good friends of mine, but I also got a boat-load of emails from the website urging me to pay the monthly fee that would allow me to message those friends.


I tried 'classmates ' for a minute too.
And then the emails came telling me so and so left me a message, but you'll have to pay to see it.
All kinds of baloney.

I kept on going and never looked back.

The friends I want to see or talk to are on my fb page.
Went to 1 high school reunion.  That was enough.

ETA:I have looked for 2 old boyfriends, I heard 1 of them is deceased(maybe) and I can't find the other one.


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## asp3 (Mar 10, 2021)

I've reached out to a couple of old classmates over the years.  I forget how I connected with one who was one of the two girls I actually went on dates (very few) with during high school.  She and I had lunch and connected on Facebook when we were both on there.  Another classmate I just connected with recently when he joined the Facebook group for our high school.  He was among a group of friends who would go to my house at lunch and play pool.  We also used to hang out together and make movies or take pictures.  We drifted in different directions immediately after high school and didn't stay in touch.

I've got four people I keep in very sporadic contact with and have done so since high school.  One of them and I were in regular contact commuting to college together and hanging out for many years.  However after he finished college before I did he met my then girlfriend and the two of them hooked up and eventually got married.  I'm more in touch with her than with him.

Another was a year younger than me but he was almost like a brother and stayed with us part of his senior year because his parents moved to Idaho and he wanted to finish high school where we lived.  He has visited my parents more regularly than he's visited me but we've gotten together from time to time and speak on the phone every few years.

Another friend was actually a neighborhood friend who went to a boarding school but he was almost a high school friend.  We connect every few years.

Finally a friend who died about 10 years ago and I did spend a lot of time together through college and years afterward.  He was a very odd person but I enjoyed him.  He had a physical issue that made him look and walk strangely, but he eventually found a woman who enjoyed him and his company.  I was honored to perform his wedding ceremony.  He eventually passed from complications of colon cancer.


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## Serenity4321 (Mar 11, 2021)

J.B Books said:


> All my good friends in high school are dead except one.
> I don't care about the rest of my class.


I can relate...the love of my life is dead and so are 3 of the other loves of my life...


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## Lara (Mar 11, 2021)

Several guys have contacted me and have asked to meet somewhere but there was only one, my first true love, that I considered until he told me he was married with 3 kids. He said his wife was meeting up with old friends so no big deal. He was now a rich accountant and sent pics of his family vacations at ski resorts etc. I said I couldn't meet with him because when a woman falls in love it lasts a long time and I still somewhat had feelings for him. My "no" was final and he didn't push. I cried after we hung up.

The only person I contacted from HS was my very best girlfriend. I was so looking forward to reconnecting with her. When we were young we sang together once on stage and I was terrible but she was awesome. The audience must have been holding back their laughter with my "soprano" voice. She did a lower beautiful harmony. 

She was destined for a very social life, performing in front of many and socializing non-stop...it just wasn't me. Well it was me for about a year in the spotlight but I was uncomfortable with it. She became well-known. I looked her up but sadly she died in 2016 of cancer. There were many online videos, her work-out videos, her book promotions, interviews, and her funeral I watched them all...and cried throughout. She was such a good roll-model for me. I'll never look anyone else up again.


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## JustBonee (Mar 11, 2021)

It's easy to find old classmates online .. even going back to early 60's for me.   Have talked with many over time. 
But I find it hard to find  any common  interests  today with most  when we connect  ...    going back to shared events of high school   loses interest  quickly.   And I (and hubby)  moved across the country after college days. 

It's still an emotional drain  to find out when someone passes..  and so many are gone now.  
Really  prefer not to  spend time looking way back.


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## JonDouglas (Mar 11, 2021)

We had a pretty good turnout at our 50th reunion despite being scattered all over the country.  Part of the reason for that was I worked my ass off trying to find and contact class members for the event organizer (i.e., our class historian and coordinator).  Out of that came a number of renewed contacts, some of which persist to this day.  The key is understanding where shared interests lie and talking about those rather than the past.

Unfortunately COVID killed the plans for our 60th along with my plan for a last ride back on the motorcycle - am getting too old for those thousands of miles rides.  Also, we have lost a good number of class members over the last decade.  I take every opportunity to remind them how we helped shape each others' lives to some greater or lesser extent and wish them the best going forward.  Sadly, as to be expected, the contacts are passing on.


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 11, 2021)

I found one or two, but generally we've scattered to the corners of the globe.  I doubt we would have much in common.


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## Sassycakes (Mar 11, 2021)

I went to an all-girls school and the girls I was closet to that are still alive, I still have contact with them. I speak to one that I was friendly with starting in 1st grade as a matter of fact we spoke on the phone this morning. It's funny that I read this today because I was thinking of a friend I had in High School. She passed away before we graduated. I remember going to her funeral mass and crying. I was worried that the Nun would see me crying until I looked around and saw another girl crying too, so I thought if it's ok for Rita (the nun's favorite ) to cry then so could I.

May your troubles be less and your blessings be more and nothing but
happiness come through your door.


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## katlupe (May 1, 2021)

I went to three different schools. One in NY and then 2 in FL. I have reconnected with many of my classmates through fb. Some I am closer to than others. Of course, that is where I connected with my boyfriend since we were in same class in school (K-4th grade) until my family moved to FL in 1962.


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## DaveA (May 1, 2021)

This June will be the 70th anniversary of my high school graduating class. Haven't tried looking for classmates but I wouldn't imagine there's too many of us left.


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## Pinky (May 1, 2021)

Quite some years ago, I was in touch with one of my closest teen friends .. after I'd paid a visit to her parents when I went out to the west coast to see my brother. We wrote each other for awhile, then it petered out, unfortunately. 

Way back in the mid-70's, another high school girlfriend visited us with her husband. They got married just out of high school. Again, we wrote for awhile, then, lost contact.

I think too many years went by, and there was little we had in common anymore.


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## Pecos (May 1, 2021)

Pinky said:


> Quite some years ago, I was in touch with one of my closest teen friends .. after I'd paid a visit to her parents when I went out to the west coast to see my brother. We wrote each other for awhile, then it petered out, unfortunately.
> 
> Way back in the mid-70's, another high school girlfriend visited us with her husband. They got married just out of high school. Again, we wrote for awhile, then, lost contact.
> 
> I think too many years went by, and there was little we had in common anymore.


It is the same here, and after being retired from the Navy for 30 years I find that I have little in common with most of them either. Life only moves in one direction and we all move on. I only have three old Navy friend that I regularly communicate with, and none from my HS years.


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## Gary O' (May 1, 2021)

jujube said:


> I went to my 50th reunion


Yeah, went to mine, too
Scary stuff
It was like seeing movie stars from the '60s
Hard to erase


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