(This is the first of a three part series. We are beginning with our pioneer Board of Directors) Aug 2008

Jane Lacy Me Leary- F'37 Native San Franciscan. Lived on Paris Street, went to Excelsior, Monroe and Balboa. Worked for Pacific Bell for 43 years. Married to "Mac" Me Leary for 49 years. He was a Pearl Harbor Survivor of USS Pennsylvania (December 7, 1941) deceased. Avid Giants fan, Executive Secretary for the Alumni for many years and now Assistant Executive Secretary. Jane was one of the original board members.

Gladys Oliver Shannon- S'43 Was raised in the Excelsior District in a home on Brazil. She attended Cleveland, Monroe and Balboa graduating in the class of S'43. She married Daniel Shannon a San Francisco Police Officer who is deceased. They had two daughters. She has been a board member for about 22 years and is very active at the Doelger Center, the Outer Mission Residence Association, dance clubs and other organizations.

Dorothy Benvenuti Orchid- F'45 Born in Berkeley in 1928, parents purchased an Excelsior District home when she was one year old. She attended local schools of Excelsior, Monroe, James Denman, and a graduate of Balboa, F'45 class. She married classmate, Robert Orchid, F'45, a S.F. Industrial Arts teacher; deceased. They had two sons. Dorothy earned an Associate of Arts degree from the College of Marin, and was an employee of that College for twenty years. Dorothy became an active member of the Board of Directors in 1997. She is called "Bronze Lady" because through her efforts classes prior to 1938, when tradition started, were able to be represented with Bronze Numerals of each class from June 1931, the first graduating class of Balboa.

Emily Powell Palmer- F'46 Emily is a native of the Excelsior District. She attended Excelsior, Monroe, and James Denman Junior High, and Balboa. At Balboa she was involved in student government, sports, was concert mistress of the orchestra, and was a speaker at graduation. Emily attended San Francisco State College for two years and later attended University of San Francisco and attained a Bachelor of Science Degree. A charter member and executive director/secretary of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists for 18 years and Vice President of Montgomery Capital Corporation for 30 years. Emily has two children, twelve grandchildren and three great grandchildren from her marriage to classmate, Leifur Magnusson II deceased. She is now a widow, having lost her second and third husbands, Ben Sumrall and Dr. James K. Palmer. Emily has been involved with the Balboa Alumni Association since April 1970 when it was organized by Nick Kafkas and the 100 Bucs Service Society.

Enrico "Ric" Micheli-F'46 He was born in San Francisco and raised in the North Beach neighborhood and moved to the Portola District in 1940. He attend Cooper, Hancock, Taylor elementary schools and went to Portola Junior High before attending Balboa. He became interested in music at an early age and played in all the school bands, and played saxophone professionally in the Bay Area from 1945 to 1951 and 1953-1955. He also worked in a sporting goods store through Junior High and Balboa. He served in the Army from 1951 to 1953. He was married to Ramona Juarez, a graduate of St. Peters Academy in San Francisco for 51 years. He has a daughter and a son. He attended San Francisco State College from 1948-1951 and 1954-1959 earning a BA and MA, leading to a teaching career in the San Francisco Schools for 37 years as a teacher and administrator. He was brought to the Alumni Association by Emily Powell, a classmate at Balboa.

Rudy Ramirez- F'46 He was born in San Francisco on November 4, 1928, in a flat on 17th Street. He attended Franklin and Marshall Grammar schools, Evert Junior High and Balboa. He was raised in the south of Market area, then the Mission and then the Excelsior. He graduated from Balboa in F'46. He married Janet in 1958 and they have just celebrated their 50th Anniversary. They have two children, one son and one daughter. He says becoming a librarian wasn't something he planned on doing, it just happened. He got drafted in the Army and that changed whatever direction he was headed. The guys he met while in Korea were college grads/ students and they told him that he was smart and should go to college, so he went after he left the Army. He was the librarian at Mission for 7 years, Poly for 1 year, McAteer for 7 years and then Balboa for 16 years. He joined the Alumni in either 1984 or 1985. He still goes to Balboa to help out in the library at least once a week. Rudy said " Whenever I meditate about my life has turned out. . . I sometimes think about what I want to do when I grow up". . .