Bob Hertzel

Updated March 2023:

Where to begin again....So my wife passed away in 2013 and I wrote a book about her cancer journey. While it was not an international best seller, it truly helped my grieving process, to talk about her journey from my eyes as a caregiver, after the fact, not during the emotional period of her sickness. And then I dated for several months- a daunting task at best, while still working in real estate in Westport, Ct. A year to the week after my wife’s passing, I met Joni on a dinner date and sparks flew from the beginning. We dated for a few years, then lived together for a bit, then married during that first year of the pandemic, on a beach, with just family, everyone in masks. That same year I lost my mother in May, after she had just turned 100 a month and a half earlier, in a nursing home, of COVID. The funeral was graveside, just family, everyone in masks. I had retired in 2017. Since I met Joni, we have traveled extensively and she has become my new guiding light. Her husband had predeceased my wife by 8 months and we ended up having so very much in common, including extended families who actually like each other.

After I retired and we got married, what was next? Well, of course, we moved back to Sharon. Why- well I like it here, liked growing up here, liked my friends and classmates, even liked the lake. Some of our kids are in the area, we’ve met a great group of new friends, and I’m still able to play tennis, enjoy poker and read now more than ever. Life is good and I’m trying to savor it. I’m happy to still see some local classmates and have thoroughly enjoyed all of our reunions. My daughter is about to marry in October for the first time. She was recently recruited to become the manager of an exclusive new clothing store in Westport. My son has moved to Connecticut to live with his girlfriend and has started a business to business consulting and brokering company, mostly in the tech field.

I’m happy, content, and looking forward to our 60th reunion. I hope more people will write here about their lives since high school. We’ve all gone through life’s ups and downs, but we’ve managed to raise families, been in the military,, worked hard to pay the bills and maybe became leaders of some sort in our business journeys. I for one, find these stories quite interesting, stories which have sprouted from the shadows of Sharon High School. Stay healthy my friends.

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Updated March 18, 2015:

Where to begin anew? I continue to live in Southwest, Ct, in a small woodsy town, Weston, which is one town away from where I have begun my third career. I have been in residential real estate in Westport, Ct. for the last eleven years, and am probably good working for another year or two at most. The past several years have been personally traumatic, having lost several close people, including my wife of 38 years, Susanne. She suffered through the ravages of lung cancer, a double lung transplant and finally succumbed to liver cancer almost two years ago. As part of my grief and healing process, I wrote and had published a short book on her health voyage through my eyes as a caregiver. Hopefully it will help others going through similar paths.

As we have gotten older, and lost more and more classmates, I guess I think about mortality more. Clearly we all have aches and pains of some kinds, but……….we have gotten this far. And that is why I hope to see as many people as possible at our 50th. We have all lived our novel lives and I enjoy seeing people from our class whenever possible. I recently returned from Florida, after having seen Mike Cohn and his wife, Linda Finer and Arlene and Danny Kates. Catching up was wonderful, and the smiles were even better. I also see Alan Byer and Stan Spack on occasion.

I am still managing to play tennis twice a week, a little bit of golf and finally let softball go 2 years ago, after the knees got cranky. Advil has become one of my muses.

My kids are still single, but I am ready to be a grandparent already. So here’s to our collective health and well being. I look forward to seeing everyone in the fall, to share memories, and to catch up and smile.

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Previous bio from 2001:

I'm living in Southport, CT in southwestern CT with my wife of almost 25 years, Susanne, my 2 kids, Meredith about to be 20 years, adopted, from Korea, and my son Greg, who is 18, who will be a senior in high school next year. Life has gotten fast and furious as the kids have become older, and more involved in their own lives.

I worked some 14 years with the Social Security Administration in New York, and in Boston. During that time, I ran into Toni Kalb, who also worked for SSA, in NY, and actually worked a couple of years in the same office as Judy Bernstein, who at last recall, was living in Brookline. Toni had moved to California many years ago. I am in constant touch with Alan Byer, who lives in Westwood, MA, and have seen Stan Spack off and on over the years. He's still living in Attleboro at last glance.

After 14 years with the government, I reluctantly took a job helping to run my wife's family's retail business in Westport, Ct. and we've been there for over 17 years now. I now run that business on my own, and have become an active member of the Westport community, serving on the boards of United Way, the Chamber of Commerce, and our Downtown Merchants Assoc., the last two of which I've served as President at various times.

I still try to stay active in sports, still playing softball, tennis, and golf- at least the legs are holding up so far! Recently, this past month, I had the opportunity to meet with Mike Cohn and his wife, who were in town for a wedding. We had a great talk, reflected on some great times, and promised to be in touch more often. He is a successful physician in Pittsfield, MA.

I was at our 10th and 20th reunions, haven't heard much from anyone else since, and likewise hope we can make the effort to see each other this year!