Sunday, December 6, 2015
I am at once sincerely sorry for the loss of your father and grandfather and so happy he had a long life to spend with his large family. I do hope he enjoyed his well earned retirement. I knew Mr. Hosie from my days at the old HS on Middleville Rd. That science building, and what I learned there was a life-long inspiration to me. I know you've heard stories about how funny Mr. Hosie, Mr. Kass & Mr. Therien were and it's all true! But, more than funny, they helped us learn and appreciated the physical sciences of chemistry and physics.
On Nov. 22, 1963, I arrived for my advanced chemistry class with Mr. Kass; there was a notice on the blackboard to report next door to Mr. Hosie's room. Being one of 2 or 3 girls in the advanced chem class I was accustomed to practical jokes directed at us and perpetrated by the guys in the class and Mr. Kass. Thinking this was a new kind of joke, I cautiously entered Mr. Hosie's room to find everyone gathered around a small B&W television; everyone was spellbound by the news from Dallas that President Kennedy had been shot. I arrived just in time to see & hear Walter Cronkite announce that the president was dead. It was stunning. Shortly thereafter an announcement came over the PA system that school was dismissing early. They called all the buses and we went home. It may seem sad to you that I associate Mr. Hosie with the assassination, but actually I felt a bond between all of us in that room that continues to this day: we witnessed history & tragedy together.
My thoughts will be with you as you say goodbye to your father & grandfather.
