Sad news hearing that "Jake" had passed. I knew who he was in high school as he was on the varsity basketball team which went 29 and 0, winning the CIF championship that year. We became good friends after we graduated from SoPas high. We both really liked Mexican food and he introduced me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, the original El Cholo. As I recall, you could order a "platter" of cheese enchiladas, which consisted of three enchiladas, rice and beans for $1.95!
We hung out for several years from around the summer of 1968 well into the 1970s. When he worked at Chicken Delight, we rode with him in his GTO and sometimes in his parent's Thunderbird. He called his car the Goat and his folks' car the Thunder Chicken.
We lost touch by the end of the 70s and I did not see him again until the class of '67's 20th reunion. I was living in Oregon at the time and Jake offered to take me to the airport for the return flight, after we had lunch at El Cholo. His young son Eric was with us and I rode bunched up in the back of Jake's Corvette.
Saw him again at the 30th reunion and perhaps, the 40th as well. I looked for him at his classes' 50th reunion, but he was not there.
Jake was a natural born salesperson and he had a great smile and an outgoing personality. I will always remember our friendship and his always upbeat style. Boy, could he shoot a basketball!
My experiences with Jake were action packed, never dull and full of laughs. As the years went by, we maintained our friendship and continued to share laughs and relive the “good old days”.
Our memory bank is filled with Middle League Baseball, girlfriends, school dances, going to the beach, PCC, working at Chicken Delight and his lifelong involvement with cars.
His CIF Championship Basketball exploits were always a topic he loved to share. Another favorite memory involved Carl Skidmore, Jake and myself. Jake had a 1966 GTO, I had a 1965 GTO and Skid had a 1963 409. We spent many evenings cruising Colorado Blvd looking for other car enthusiast hoping to engage them in a drag race in the Rose Bowl.
Shortly before Jake passed away, I spent the week with him at his home in Fort Mojave. He had many stories to share, which were sprinkled with fiction, reality and Jake’s perception. I was exhausted from laughing when I left.
To this day, when reminiscing about Jake with Carl Skidmore and Dave Knox, we all remember him for his infectious laugh.
Dennis Dalton (1968)
Sad news hearing that "Jake" had passed. I knew who he was in high school as he was on the varsity basketball team which went 29 and 0, winning the CIF championship that year. We became good friends after we graduated from SoPas high. We both really liked Mexican food and he introduced me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, the original El Cholo. As I recall, you could order a "platter" of cheese enchiladas, which consisted of three enchiladas, rice and beans for $1.95!
We hung out for several years from around the summer of 1968 well into the 1970s. When he worked at Chicken Delight, we rode with him in his GTO and sometimes in his parent's Thunderbird. He called his car the Goat and his folks' car the Thunder Chicken.
We lost touch by the end of the 70s and I did not see him again until the class of '67's 20th reunion. I was living in Oregon at the time and Jake offered to take me to the airport for the return flight, after we had lunch at El Cholo. His young son Eric was with us and I rode bunched up in the back of Jake's Corvette.
Saw him again at the 30th reunion and perhaps, the 40th as well. I looked for him at his classes' 50th reunion, but he was not there.
Jake was a natural born salesperson and he had a great smile and an outgoing personality. I will always remember our friendship and his always upbeat style. Boy, could he shoot a basketball!
Don Chambers (1966)
Wow, sorry to hear this about Jake -- always an outgoing, happy guy.
Stephen Albert Stanley (1967)
My experiences with Jake were action packed, never dull and full of laughs. As the years went by, we maintained our friendship and continued to share laughs and relive the “good old days”.
Our memory bank is filled with Middle League Baseball, girlfriends, school dances, going to the beach, PCC, working at Chicken Delight and his lifelong involvement with cars.
His CIF Championship Basketball exploits were always a topic he loved to share. Another favorite memory involved Carl Skidmore, Jake and myself. Jake had a 1966 GTO, I had a 1965 GTO and Skid had a 1963 409. We spent many evenings cruising Colorado Blvd looking for other car enthusiast hoping to engage them in a drag race in the Rose Bowl.
Shortly before Jake passed away, I spent the week with him at his home in Fort Mojave. He had many stories to share, which were sprinkled with fiction, reality and Jake’s perception. I was exhausted from laughing when I left.
To this day, when reminiscing about Jake with Carl Skidmore and Dave Knox, we all remember him for his infectious laugh.
Stephen Stanley
67’