Gina and John Nenniger

Hello Howards,

We are so sad to hear your news. We have been terrible about staying in touch. Last year my electronic daytimer and my hard drive packed it in within 24 hours, which made it even worse, because I lost what few phone numbers we had. We are well and still enjoying living in Calgary. Emily (20) is now at San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying violin. We are mystified as to where the interest in music came from. Maybe it is just her way of marking out her territory completely separate from John and me, but she has been very firm since she was four that this is what she wants to do. Beth (17) spent grade 11 attending a public school in Spain. It was the best thing we ever did for her. She came home completely fluent in Spanish and finished two years of high school in one year. She is now living in Vancouver and trying to decide what she wants to do for university. We had a lot of medical problems with Beth when she was little. We almost lost her twice and spent much of her first three years in Children's hospital. Those early years seem to have given her a fierce sense of independence, which is now serving her well, but made for some difficult times as a parent. Meghan (15) is still at home. I suspect that she will go pretty much the same route as Emily, as she is very committed to her viollin. Both she and Emily have had some wonderful opportunities to travel the world through their music. Because of the travelling and competitions Emily was and Meghan still is home-schooled. Beth also found she could accelerate through home-schooling, so she finished high school through a home-schooling program. Jason (11) is into hockey. I never thought I would become a hockey mom, but it does keep him motivated with respect to schoolwork and other commitments. He plays goalie, but is always the smallest on his team. There is not much going for him in his genes.

John and I started our own company 21 years ago when Petro-Canada shut down their research lab. It was a blessing in disguise. John is much happier and I have flexibility wrt to working hours. For many years we specialized in addressing plugging deposit problems in the upsteam oilfield -- wax, asphaltenes, scale, hydrates. In the lean times, John started following his passion, which is inventing things. We have a lab in a warehouse bay. I even got my Class 3 air brakes card, so I could drive the heavy trucks to field trials. We have always joked that we could drive 18 wheelers if the company doesn't work out. John is now deeply involved in a solvent process for the tar sands. Our consulting business has pretty much shut down. I don't know where we will be if this latest project does not pan out. I do all the administration for the company and chase kids. With John's heavy commitment to work, Beth's medical problems, and four kids, I have really cut back on my engineering hours, but maybe that will change in the future. John is thoroughly enjoying this latest project and will talk your ear off, if given the chance.

We would very much like to hear from you, if you feel up to it. Our thoughts are very much with you.

Wishing you all the best from your former students and fellow Kentuckian,


Gina and John Nenniger