Michele Blakeslee-Beatty

Wow…thirty years. In some ways it seems like yesterday and in others it seems like three lifetimes ago. I couldn’t make it to the thirty year reunion because we already had planned a surprise birthday party for my mom’s 70th birthday. I did see Greg and saw the pictures of what looked to be a great time.

I actually started taking classes at MJC before I graduated because I had all my credits by the last semester. I went but was not really interested; it seemed like a continuation of the previous four years. I was dating Tom Miller and he was drafted by the NY Mets organization to play in their minor league system. We were married in 1980 and got our real education traveling and playing baseball. We lived in Jackson, MS and Lynchburg, VA and spent spring trainings and winter ball in St. Petersburg, FL. My oldest daughter was born in Lynchburg. It was great fun and we saw a lot of the country but not great for a marriage. We were divorced in 1984 but are friends now and see each other occasionally at family functions.

I was working for Del Monte Foods in Human Resources where I met John, my husband of over 22 years. We have three children, Meghan, Michael and Hallie. Meghan is married and we have a grandson, Michael is single and is a technical director for one of the Fresno TV stations and Hallie is a sophomore at Escalon high school. They are all great kids, though each one different and challenging in their own way, and even more important, great human beings. I loved it when my kids were young, but it is truly gratifying to know your children as the adults they become and have them realize that maybe you do know a few things about life and that all those rules they thought were stupid, really were for their benefit. And yes, I have thanked my mom for all the rules I thought were stupid when I was growing up!

While working for Del Monte, John was moved to the corporate arena in San Francisco and I worked at the R&D facility in Walnut Creek. We did that for five years and got tired of Bay area living, so when John was offered a chance to run his own facility in Washington State, we moved to Yakima in 1995. We were there for seven years and absolutely loved the Northwest. Yakima is actually on the east side of the Cascades and much like the Central Valley with a lot of agriculture. It is the apple capital and also has a rapidly growing wine region (more on wine later). While there, I worked for the County Prosecutor’s office in the Victim/Witness Program. Very interesting and intense but great friends were made.


Another job opportunity for John at Signature Fruit, which was TriValley and now is Seneca brought us back to California and Escalon is where we ended up in 2002. (Wow, it’s hard to sum up 30 years!) John made a full circle and is now back with Del Monte Foods. I had the chance to go back to school and follow my passion for interior design. It’s so much better when you go back to school because you want to and not because you have to. So at 42, I made my way through the program and for the past three years have worked as the designer on staff of a flooring design company and also have my own business with a studio and office in my home doing residential and commercial interior design. I love what I do and though it is challenging right now, what isn’t? As Marty Livingston said in his bio, you can google me to see what I’ve been up to and I have joined the 21st century with Facebook and a design blog…who knew thirty years ago that this is where computers would take us.

For fun we like to camp, hike (miss Washington for that) cook, garden, read, and go to Oakland A’s games. I have completed a marathon through Team n Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society down in San Diego. I would say our passion is wine. We have spent many hours with friends and family over great food and wine and most of our vacations involve hitting a winery or two! We have travelled in New England as John’s brother and his wife live outside of Boston and been to Ireland and Scotland but hope to travel much more. Our house is always a work in progress, for John it’s the curse of being married to a designer…he may grumble but is usually game when I say “You know, I was thinking…”. Using Greg’s baseball analogy, life has thrown us a few curve balls but its how you take the pitch that gets you through.

I have some great high school memories and during that four years, you think it’s the most important thing in your life. My sisters and I were all at Beyer at the same time at one point and we now get together annually for “Sisters Weekend” with no spouses or kids. Over the years we have talked many times about our high school experiences and each one of us have such a different take on it and as my kids have gone through and the little bumps in the road happen, I try to tell them that it’s really such a short part of what their story will be, so enjoy it! (and of course they look at me and say “yeah, right mom”)

So here’s to the next thirty years and the changes they will bring!