John Brawley in the Twin Cities

It has been a long time since I have seen anything about Darien or our class of 87. I am now living in Maple Grove, MN just northwest of downtown Minneapolis for the past five years or so. My fiancee Diane Knapper and I are getting married on May 6th in Jamaica. This is our first marriage for both of us so we are getting a bit stressed at the moment. I own a travel agency, Premier Travel Services and Diane is a stockbroker with Piper Jaffray & Company, soon to be aquired by UBS. The picture is our Acapulco Christmas, December 28, 2005.

After graduation I made my way to Prescott, AZ to attend flight school but my color blindness made it impossible to pursue a career as a commerical pilot so I switched to Aviation Business. After two years I transfered to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks to complete my degree program in 1992. At the time of my graduation my father died suddenly of cancer in Miami. I immediately relocated to help my mother tie up all the loose ends involved with my father's business affairs. I made Miami my home for tens years and operated my travel agency which afforded me the opportunity to travel to about 80 countries. I also earned a Culinary Arts degree from Brown College's Le Cordon Bleu Program here in Minneapolis.

I have not been back to Darien for about 10 years I think. It must have changed a lot since my last visit.

I still keep in touch with Rich Repass from time to time. He is a MD practicing in Louisville, KY. I attended Dave Garney's wedding in Lake Tahoe around 1997? but have not heard from him recently. Chris Gilmore is an executive chef in Fort Lauderdale the last I heard.

I look forward to attending the 20th reunion next year to meet up with some old friends.

John Brawley