Larry Loessin ('64)

I was in the Class of '64 but failed to graduate. I and many of our classmates attended Laura Steele Elementary together. In 1965 I quit Highlands (with a 9th grade education) and got a job. I was married in September and drafted in December. I was trained as a Military Policeman and sent to Panmunjom, Korea. There I got my GED. I was sent to Duncanville Texas for my last six months in the Army. I was hired by the Dallas Police Dept. before I got out of the Army. In 1975 I got my Bachelors Degree in Law Enforcement & Corrections.

Due to problems at home, my school years weren't that much fun. I seldom attended because of those problems. I actually quit school twice, Feb. '64 and again in Jan '65. I had five motorcycles before I got my first car. I still have a bunch. Going into the real world with no education scared me to death. I started grabbing every opportunity to catch up. In 1969, the new Police Chief in Dallas held two huge meetings at Fair Park and announced that he wanted all his officers to have a college education (very few back then did). I signed up. I went to school taking a full load of courses and working full time on rotating shifts and working all the extra jobs I could get. My last job was managing the Print Shop at Trinity University.
Occasionally a male student would come in the Print Shop and start complaining about how hard school was. I would reply "I had something when I went through college that you don't have". He would ask "What's that?". My answer; "A job and a mortgage"!!

Reading, restoring antiques to include motorcycles, antique cameras, radios & phonographs (yes, I have a tube tester), repairing computers (and everything else in your house), building websites, radio controlled drones and rescuing animals.