Linda Lopez Gandy, Class of 1965, and husband Jim Gandy, Class of 1964, are celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary today -- Friday, August 24.

 

Both are on the Monongah High Alumni Association board, with Linda as president. This is the longest, continuous high school alumni reunion in West Virginia.

 

And they do a lot of traveling together. Like to Sanibel Island in Florida, about midway between Sarasota and Naples.

 

They were at Monongah High together, too. ighHH Jim was one year ahead of Linda.

 

Linda is a beautician at May’s Beauty Shop and a Leeds Candy Store sales clerk. She studied for the beautician job at Morgantown Beauty College.

 

Linda was one of coach Gene Kenzior’s softball players on the 1960 Marion County champs from Monongah. And, for one year, under coach David Van Meter.

 

Linda has probably the most famous Monongah father ever. The late Sam Lopez, Sr. survived the 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis, including four days in the Philipines Sea with sharks picking off crew members floating in the Pacific Ocean. With 880 dead from the Japanese submarine torpedoes’ explosions and days in a treacherous, watery situation, the ship went down with 1,196 aboard.

 

That is the worst at-sea death total in Navy history.