advertisement

Grant high school friends reunite after 72 years

Lorraine Thomson, 90, didn't know anyone when she moved in to Oak Hill Supportive Living in Round Lake Beach last May. But then one day, while taking a walk outside, she saw a familiar face coming toward her on the walking path - someone she hadn't seen in 72 years.

It was her childhood friend Audrey Roettiger, a classmate from Grant Community High School's Class of 1944 who also lives at Oak Hill.

"I stopped her and said, 'I think I know you,' and then we hugged and hugged and hugged," Roettiger, 89, said Tuesday.

"We're still hugging," added Thomson, as they laughed and affectionately grabbed each other's arms.

The two women, both widowed, have become close friends, closer than they were as teens.

Everyone knew everyone at their tiny Fox Lake school, which had a graduating class of 46 students. So they were friendly to each other, but they had different friends and lived in different parts of town. Both were members of the choir, while Thomson was a cheerleader and Roettiger was in the band.

"She had her clique and I had my clique," Roettiger said.

After graduating, they went their separate ways, got married and raised families. They didn't cross paths again until their chance encounter last May. Now they live down the hall from each other.

While sharing their story Tuesday, the women flipped through Grant's Class of 1942 yearbook, from their sophomore year, which showed the female students in skirts and saddle shoes, along with advertisements for Fox Lake businesses with four-digit phone numbers. They didn't have yearbooks their junior and senior years because World War II created a paper shortage.

Good-humored, sharp and active, both women said they're grateful to have reunited at this late stage of their lives and cherish their friendship.

"I'm a talker, and so is she, so we get along good," Roettiger said, laughing. "I think it was meant to be."

  Then-sophomores Audrey Roettiger, far left, and Lorraine Thomson, far right, in the 1942 yearbook from Grant Community High School in Fox Lake. Gilbert R. Boucher II/gboucher@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.