Sergeant Bluff-luton High School Alumni
Sergeant Bluff, Iowa (IA)
Jeff King
Sergeant Bluff-luton High School
Class of 1965
→ Join 1755 Alumni from Sergeant Bluff-luton High School that have already claimed their alumni profiles.
→ There are 74 classes, starting with the class of 1932 all the way up to class of 2025.
JEFF'S PROFILE
This is a limited view of Jeff's profile, register for free or login to view all their profile information.
| First Name | Jeff |
| Last Name | King |
| Graduation Year | Class of 1965 |
| Gender | Male |
| Current Location | MO |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| About Me | ""THERE’S MORE to MY STORY … Then and now … I transferred to the Sergeant Bluff school system in my 8th grade Junior High. Little did I know at the time that it was a blessing in disguise, and as chronicaled in our '61-'65 yearbooks, I somehow made it through! From Naval Aviation to the global Railroad, Marine, & Power Generation industries, life has been a mesmerizing ride. Now settled in rural Southeast Missouri, I’m enjoying a slower pace of life while focusing on checking off those elusive “bucket list” items, one of which is reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances! While it doesn’t feel like so much time has gone by, here’s a peek into my life's journey since graduating from SBHS… with some flashbacks during those formative years! SOME NOTABLES … • LOCATION: Southeast Missouri is likely our forever home surrounded by gently rolling hills peppered with oak, maple, hickory, dogwood, and red bud woods, some close-by caves, old historic mines, and lots of vast Conservation Areas, State Parks. Whitewater rapids, clean tubing rivers along with inviting tranquil "blue spaces" gives me cause to pause! • RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Serendipity led a single soul to hitch her loving heart to mine. We continue to head to our “diamond jubilee” in 2027! (See photos) • LEGACY: Our Shared Legacy continues to thrive with 5 blessed kids (including fraternal twins), 14 free-spirited grandkids, and 6 huggable great-grandkids (including identical twins). MORE SERENDIPITOUS BLESSINGS: Adoptive parenting runs in our family ... We adopted our preemie daughter in the ‘90s, and infant twins were adopted by our Son & Family about 18 yrs ago. We are so blessed! MILITARY SERVICE: A Rewarding Life Decision … PROLOGUE: During the summer after graduating SBHS, I dated a beautify, kind, warmhearted classmate. we became close friends. We agreed to stay in touch, and parted in the Fall as she left for college and I for bootcamp. Back in the day, getting mail from family and friends while in the military was an extremely welcomed and anticipated event. Suffice it to say, my college friend convinced her sorority housemates to write and perfume cards and letters to me, then sent them all to me in a single “Care Package” containing 32 pieces of mail! Needless to say, opening scented mail in an open barracks filled with guys became an unforgettable memory! (Thanks always, MKL!) Thus, the memorable start to a fantastic military journey! I was in U.S. Naval Aviation for eight years (the last six years married, thus, as a military family). 1st at Meridian, MS, then at NAS Whiting Field, Pensacola, Key West, and, finally at NAS Miramar, CA. Coach Stahle taught me well at SBHS! At NAS Key West, I played 3rd base, fast-pitch softball for the champion NAS Key West Bombers traveling team. Hooyah! At NAS Miramar, I was a training instructor crewmember on the Navy F-14 “greenfield” training program, which became the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). The program involved replacing F-4 Phantoms with F-14 Tomcats: A major four-year adrenaline rush for me. WORK CAREER … I enjoyed an extensive and rewarding career journey with a GM Division. I retired after an amazing 42 years with GM's Electro-Motive Division (a.k.a. EMD, its "diesel-electric power & locomotive manufacturing division): albeit, my last 10 yrs was a corporate “master’s class” on venture capitalism, cost forensics, & organizational development. GM, ultimately, sold EMD to Caterpillar, Inc. OH, the TRAVEL and MILESTONES I’VE EXPERIENCED … • Over the years, I've stayed in 13 countries, 27 U.S. States, over 50 cities & towns, moved 10 times, and owned 6 homes... every stop along the journey was an amazing blessing! • Some favorite "People Countries" include the USA, England, Scotland, Argentina, and “Unforgettable” “Old” Yugoslavia. Honorable mentions: Brazil & France. • Some favorite “Cultural, Cuisine & Memorable Cities” include Paris, London, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal, Cancun, Austin/Dallas/Ft. Worth, Chicago, NYC/Manhattan, Wash. D.C., San Diego, San Franciso, Reno, Salt Lake City, Lake Tahoe, New Orleans, Key West, Memphis, Kansas City, Pensacola/Navarre Beach, and so many more … (sorry, Sioux City didn't make the top 50, though I DO vividly recall the olfactory "perfume" from the active Stockyards wafting over SBHS back in the day!) EDUCATION … Another memorable “saga …” Continuing my education was a long, strenuous, and challenging journey that did, however, provide career advancement benefits! Thankfully, the Navy taught me tenacity and self-discipline to "get 'er done!" The” GI Bill” was my enabler ... thus, I graduated Class of ’82 after 9 years, while working full time, helping raise and support a family, and moving from time-to-time. I attended 5 schools; going nights/part-time with much unquestionable support from my "Better Half”—whew! GM helped support me with Grad School (Class of ’94). FOND MEMORIES from “HIGH SCHOOL’S FORMATIVE YEARS”: • Being free-spirited and carefree; “Life” was simple and fun! A shout out to all my sports compadres and games-supporting classmates! • A special thanks to GB, JH, RP for the great impromptu fun times and exciting memories, e.g., The spontaneous Friday or Saturday nights we cruised and, sometimes, won local challenges to race "up Nebraska and down Pierce" streets in Sioux City! (A shout-out to the SC Police who, on one occasion, politely escorted us to the edge of the city, and asked that we be homeward bound!) lol • Playing four sports over four years was an unforgettable blast! The post-game hangouts and bantering among team pals and friends were so special; Coach Stahle was a whiz at wrapping wrists, ankles, and bruised shoulders, as well as being a great mentor & fun PE teacher! (May he RIP!) • Spanish, Typing, Chemistry and Mr. Coffin's Geometry classes were all a "hoot!" Except for Mr. Coffin, who always seem to present a stern demeanor, each of the respective, teachers made it too easy to have devilish or lighthearted moments during class. • The cherished friendships and camaraderie formed with like-minded classmates through various extracurricular activities, as captured in our SBHS yearbooks, are truly unforgettable! What a profoundly innocent, formative, and fun time it was! • I always looked forward to the busy, fun-filled summer breaks! As SB was an agricultural community, “hoeing beans" and "haying" on nearby farms with my "BFF", JH, kept us “grounded” and in reasonably good shape for the upcoming football season. (A shout-out to "The Rogers Family" for hiring us each year! Thanks for the memories!) • I'll never forget the time JH, who was a “southpaw”, and me, who is right-handed, were “walking” bean rows swinging our machetes like no body’s business. Suddenly, our knives glanced off each other’s, and JH’s left-hand middle finger got sliced badly. JH’s Dad and I rushed him to the hospital in Sioux City! While JH was getting his finger stitched up, we waited in a coffee shop about a half block from the hospital entrance. To this day, I chuckle from seeing JH leaving the hospital, walking towards us, smiling his familiar broad smile, and raising his left hand at us (or maybe just me?), which now brandished a snow-white, fully bandaged middle finger that protruded far above the rest of his fingers and could be seen from blocks away! (RIP JH!) • SBHS summer break was also kind to our football teammate, TomH! From farm work and lifting weights, we couldn’t get over how “buffed” he got the summer between our Freshman & Sophomore years. He looked like “The Hulk" for football from that summer! lol • “Getting in shape” during summer practices for Fall football season was a real kick! I never did get the hang of not puking after consecutively doing calisthenics, wind sprints, the “blocking sled,” and 25 laps around "the field," ALL without re-hydration! (Thanks again for the memories, EB, JH, GB, RP, TO, WT, et al. It was totally worth getting sweat-soaked, as well as every bruise and sore muscle!) Similar routines applied to basketball, baseball, and track, though they didn’t seem as grueling? • Over 3 yrs, I learned what "love" and "breakup" felt like for the first time! (It was a REAL Yay-Boo journey! Enough said ...!) To a couple of compassionate and consoling souls, who shall remain nameless, thanks for the friendships and invites to the "moonlit" river beach parties! Although nearby campfires were warm and cozy, I seem to recall WE lost the battle with the "sand fleas" on occasion?!) POST-SBHS LIFE's LESSONS learned along the way ... • “Every day’s a good day... some are just better than others!” • Don’t judge—context is key to truth! (Always triangulate information sources!) • Focus on fixing what is controllable; leave the rest to the “Man Upstairs!” • Listen to and follow your conscience; it’s most likely whispers from my Guardian Angel?! • "Sometimes we need hard days to know who is family, who is a friend, who is a partner and who is a passenger in our lives." • Don't take 'ACQUAINTANCE FRIENDSHIPS' for granted; some may grow into being "THE BEST’! Sometimes, the colloquial term, Silence is Bliss, resonates with inner peace while during other times it distinguishes meaningful friendships. In any event, life's too short for toxic silence! • "Four-legged companions" are the best teachers of unconditional love & devotion! • AGE is just a number to me ... It's ATTITUDE, WILL and MINDFULNESS that truly reflects presence and condition over time! • PRAYER, a.k.a., talking with and listening to my LORD, is ESSENTIAL for “whole wellness”! The LORD is my "Eternal Wingman!” We have no secrets! SOME FAVORITE QUOTES: • “… Still lookin’ for true north and my North Star!” • “Don’t forget to duck!” • "There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over!" • "One Oops wipes out five atta-boys/girls!" • “Silence is bliss!” * "Life and time are the best teachers. Life teaches us the use of time and time teaches us the value of life." (Chas. Darwin apocryphal) SPORTS TEAM ALLEGIANCES: • Iowa State (ISU) Cyclones, Butler University Bulldogs, U of Illinois-Urbana-Champagne Fighting Illini, University of South Dakota Coyotes (Loyalty to Daughters’, SIL's, and Son's alma maters); • Chicago Cubs (Fun-fact: Our daughter was an ATC for the Cubbie farm team, then the "ButlerU Bulldogs", then to Tampa Bay, then “left the ATC field” due to limited vertical advancement for women); A backup rah-rah: the STL Cards. MEMORY-MAKERS ACQUIRED ALONG the WAY … • Nature is an awesome teacher! e.g., experienced the Miramar, CA hillside fires, New Orleans Hurricane Carmen, and fire ants; Plainfield, IL Tornado/Flood, the '67 "Chicago Blizzard", etc., etc., etc. • Truly! "Serendipitous" events must be heaven-sent, i.e., Friendships, Soulmates, Knowledge, Miracles, Nature, etc. • The wholesomeness and genuineness of small family-owned ranches, farms, and vineyards, businesses. • The heart-warming companionship from our 19+ 4-legged "furr-pals" over 60+ years ... • Savoring cultural cuisines and culinary specialties at authentic locations (not just the food, but also the humanity and heritage from which it was developed) • Being one with nature, e.g., Hiking, camping, fishing, sailing, snorkeling, animal whispering, stargazing, awakening & honing my senses! • Feeling & hearing "Blue space" mindfulness, e.g. whether sailing Lake Michigan, cruising Lake Tahoe, snorkeling in the Caribbean, the Gulf Coast, off Key West, or La Jolla Cove, tubing the Black River, hiking along whitewater rapids, or thundering waterfalls. • Absorbing peace & solitude during colorful & calming sunrises or sunsets. SOME HONED INTERESTS ... • Staying relevant! • Discovering small-town history and artisan legacies • Outdoor photography of unique subject-matter, or indoor special events. • Music appreciation (all genre). It’s my best mental health therapy, (especially, smooth, soft jazz, contemporary classical, unforgettable vocal or instrumental talent)! (Shout-outs to Grover Washington, Jr., Larry Carlson, Euge Groove, Desa & Della Raye, Yo-Yo-Ma, Manna Jazz, and Solomon Ray) All genres are mood enhancers for me, especially when enjoyed in the right context; Thanks, Harriet from London: “Yesterday Once More” (Spotify)! MY SIMPLE JOYS: • Listening to personal experiences told by people from all walks of life. • Quiet reflection, solitude, and thought-provoking moments. • Sitting by an open fire, listening to low-voiced, wine-sipping conversation (or in comfortable silence). • Timelessly getting lost in music appreciation that fits my mood. • Being conscience of my senses during a country sunrise with a steaming mug of coffee. • Being mindfully present during isolated moments with family members and friends, whether it be while playing, talking or just listening before they all go their own way." THE MORAL of MY STORY ... ... Embrace "life!" Celebrate its victories and wonders! Don't let regrets or resentment rob the ability to love or to enjoy true happiness, and don't let life get in the way of God's gifts for recognizing “real" friendships, "real" love, or your "real" self! Blessings, peace, and much happiness to my fel...(read more) |
Class of 1965 Alumni and Other Nearby Classes
→ Reunite with 13 class of 1965 alumni that have joined.
Ross Davis
Class of 1961
Mariah Mammen
Class of 2016
Pam Brown
Class of 1995
Marissa Wolfe
Class of 2015
Natasha Wittmaack
Class of 2004
Jenni Wood
Class of 1987
Cheri Jorgensen
Class of 1999
Julie Wood
Class of 1988
Nicole Cleveland
Class of 2004
Jim Klemish
Class of 2002
Terry Jones
Class of 2002
Todd Lindsey
Class of 1982
Chris Groves
Class of 1989
Kim Davis
Class of 1976
Yvonne Marie
Class of 1973
Dena Lansink
Class of 2016
Travis Sykora
Class of 2003
James Simmons
Class of 1965
Recent Class of 1965 Reunions
Plan a Class of 1965 Reunion for Free
Class of 1968
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Jul 06, 2018
Description: Okay we have missed all but out 20 year class reunion. this year is 50 years and I am not sure if anyone is interested ...(read more)
SB-L All-School Alumni Annual Banquet
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Jun 14, 2014
Description: Please contact Misty Miller, (Class of 1980), President, SB-L Alumni Association for a flyer. It will be emailed to you....(read more)
SBL 102nd Annual Alumni Banquet
Invited Classes: All Classes
Date: Jun 11, 2011
Description: Honored Classes: 1961, 1971, 1981, 1986, 1991, 2001, 2011