Thomas J. Parmley turned to Eva Butler Israelsen during their recent high school class reunion and made the comment in fun that they ought to plan another such event in the future.
Brother Parmley, Salt Lake City, is 92 years old and Sister Israelsen, Logan, Utah, is 95.They are the only two known survivors of 36 graduates from the Jordan High School class of 1915 - the first graduating class at the new school, dedicated in 1914 in Sandy, Utah. The pair, wearing class rings on wrinkled fingers and displaying tattered yearbooks, gathered with family and friends on June 30 at Utah State University in Logan to commemorate their 75th class reunion.
This was the first time the two nonagenarians had seen each other since their last class reunion 25 years ago in 1965.
Brother Parmley began playing with the idea of another reunion when his 90th birthday began creeping up. The plan blossomed, he related, when his son-in-law, Richard Muir, and Sister Israelsen's son, Earl Israelsen, made arrangements for a luncheon at the Student Union at Utah State.
An advertisement was placed in an issue of the Deseret News in June announcing the reunion, but as the date approached it became apparent "the old gang" would consist of just Brother Parmley and Sister Israelsen, who was class valedictorian. Brother Parmley said nine alumni were unaccounted for.
During the afternoon of the reunion, the two former classmates enjoyed food and fun, but Sister Israelsen said she most enjoyed "reviewing the happy days that we had at Jordan High School. They were happy years for me . . . , and then renewing my acquaintance with Dr. Parmley."
The pair have conversed on the phone about once a week, during the past six weeks, she said. "I enjoyed it. He's a very interesting man to visit with," she added.
Their memories of each other have remained warm through the years since graduation. Brother Parmley remembers Sister Israelsen as "by far the brightest in the bunch."
Sister Israelsen wonders why she was valedictorian and not the young Thomas Parmley. "He's a marvel. I've admired him so much . . . ," she explained. "He worked so hard in school and I know he worked to help the family. I think his desire for education is what made him a great educator," she reflected.
Brother Parmley was a professor of physics at the University of Utah for many years and, ultimately, head of the physics department. In 1923, he married LaVern Watts, who later became Primary general president. He currently lives in Salt Lake City. (See separate story on Brother Parmley on this page.)
The-then Eva Butler married Victor Eugene Israelsen in 1917, while attending Utah State Agricultural College in Logan. She now resides in North Logan, Utah. (See separate story on Sister Israelson .)
