John Barry

Hey Jeff,

I stumbled upon your blog the other day – what a great idea & very cool that so many people have found it already. I have been out of touch with just about everyone from NG over the last twenty (two!!) years, but I was able to make it to the 20th reunion in '06 – at first I hadn't intended to go, but I was inspired by my wife's 20-year reunion a few months before, and just couldn't resist ours! It turned out to be an incredibly fun time – I can't wait until the next one! It was interesting seeing so many people I hadn't seen in YEARS and seeing how everyone had aged since high school. Amazingly well, I might add – I have heard all the reunion horror stories, but in our class everyone looked pretty fabulous! (just wait till the 50th!!) I ended up hanging out with some really cool people & had a great time, and got a chance to spend some time & get to know some of our alums I didn't even know in high school. (I think some of them didn't even go to NG but just crashed the party, but they were a blast to hang out with anyhow!!). I did not take many pictures at the reunion - wish I had taken more, but I do have a few to share. Attached is a shot of myself and Kerry Breen at the party – it was a blast seeing her again, and to also hang out with Sue Lockyer, who I didn't even really know in high school. I also have a couple of pics of the crowd waiting for the group photo that never came out! (At least we now have a shot of the back of everyone's head!). It was hilarious seeing the old pic you posted of Sue's kitchen with John Weisel & Rich Jursich sportin the flannel shirts. How it brought me back again! It must have been summertime or Weisel probably would have had his Derby jacket on as well!

After high school, I went to college at Saint Mary's over in Moraga, living in the dorms & spending most of my time partying & going to Dead Shows, occasionally showing up in class. My college girlfriend Nancy & I ended up moving to Los Angeles and getting married in the summer of 1991, where we have lived for the last 17 years. We adopted a beautiful baby girl named Monica in 1991, who is now 10 (going on 25!!) and will be in the 5th grade next year. My wife Nancy was the recipient of a Kidney-Pancreas transplant in 2001, a fairly uncommon procedure at the time, which effectively cured her of her juvenile diabetes and she has not had to take an insulin shot in over seven years, when it used to be several times a day. Although her transplanted kidney failed in 2006 & she is currently on dialysis & hoping for another transplant, the pancreas is still going strong. Her illness has been tough at times, but also helps us appreciate the time we have together & make the most of every day we have. Life is too short for all of us... For most of the 90's, I worked in the computer industry, both at a small computer & audio/video rental company in Burbank, as well as spending several years in the IT department at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, which was pretty cool & quite an experience. After my daughter was born, I decided to get a real job (ahem) and went to work for a commercial escrow company in downtown LA (www.comescrow.com) where I have been for the last 10 years (time flies when you're having fun!!), where I work as an escrow officer & specialize in 1031 exchanges. I spend most of my time these days hanging out at home and enjoying life in what little free time I seem to have these days! Attached is another picture of myself, my wife Nancy & daughter Monica taken a few years ago in Manhattan Beach.

Excellent idea again, Jeff thanks for putting this together – what a great way for people to keep up with each other & be able to post comments & stuff! Hopefully it will get even more to the next reunion & we can all party till dawn... (or at our age until about 10:30 or so..)

Anyone feel free to email me at johnnyrocberry AT gmail.com

Hope everyone is doing well - happy 40's!!

John Barry

Group shot, with Kristin Hicks getting excited


Kerry Breen and John Barry