Joe Martin begins chemo treatments

Joe Martin, Class of 1959, who lives on Treasure Island, Florida with wife Arlene Kitchin, will begin chemotherapy Tuesday for his lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system.

Arlene’s Facebook post:

Joe Martin starts his first round of chemo tomorrow. (Tuesday, July 22) He will be at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa all day for that process. All prayer, blessings, good karma and positive thoughts are welcome. We will take whatever you have to offer. Thanks.

Joe, a professional photographer, had strokes in March and lung surgery in June at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Joe and Arlene, an artist, show up at the Monongah High Alumni Reunion/Sarasota at the home of Bill Meredith, Class of 1957, and wife Roleta, a Clarksburg Washington Irving High grad.

The third annual MHS Alumni Reunion at the Meredith home in Sarasota will be noon Friday, Feb. 6, 2015. There were reunions in 2012 and 2013, but none in 2014 while Bill recovered from surgery.

Bill and wife Roleta host at their home at 3201 Charles MacDonald Drive in Sarasota. If you'll be near Sarasota Feb. 6, 2015, let John Olesky know at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com so that Roleta will know how much food to have ready.

Paula and I will be staying in The Villages, Florida from January through March of 2015, except for heading down to Siesta Key and Sarasota Feb. 5-9 to take in the MHS reunion at the Meredith home and the Greek Festival at St. Barbara's Church in Sarasota Feb. 7.

If you're within a short day drive of The Villages in January through March 2015, call me at (330) 388-4466 and we'll have a mini-Monongah meeting there, too.

Meanwhile, send your prayers to Joe and Arlene, the Nova Scotia escapee.